Current activities, events

The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek complements its renowned collection by two very rare works of the Czech artist Josef Váchal (1884 – 1969): "Ďáblova zahrádka, aneb přírodopis strašidel" ("The devil's garden, or the natural history of spirits") of the year 1924 and "Šumava umírající a romantická" ("Bohemian Forest dying and romantical") of 1931. The two impressive, leather-bound folio volumes are illustrated with exquisite coloured wood engravings and rank among the absolute masterpieces of Czech modern art between the two world wars.

6 March – 21 June 2020
250 historical images from the mid-19th century up to the 1970s invite visitors to go on an exciting journey through time in Munich and its surroundings. The extraordinary photographs are from well-known Munich photographers, such as Franz Hanfstaengl, Georg Fruhstorfer, Felicitas Timpe or Heinrich Hoffmann. The Image Archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, which manages the photographic legacies and image archives, offers a representative insight into the institution’s outstanding photograph collections.

The Image Archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek received the seal of quality "Certified Licensor" of the Federal Association of Professional Image Providers (Bundesverband Professioneller Bildanbieter; BVPA) at the beginning of the year. This means that the Image Archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, with its collection now grown to 17 million images, has become a member of the circle of big picture agencies, such as mauritius images or bpk.

We are pleased about the 10,587 likes we have received for our 108 posts in the year 2019 on our Instagram account @bsbmuenchen.

The Directors General of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Dr. Klaus Ceynowa and Dr. Dorothea Sommer, were delighted to take a look at the artist’s book created in 2002, for which Anselm Kiefer treated photographs with ash and lead. "Die Ungeborenen" – the unborn – are all children who were aborted, never begotten or those who will be born in the future. The prominent recent acquisition joins a further Libri Selecti of the artist: The large-format "Euridike" came to the collection of artists’ books almost 30 years ago.