Regional State Libraries in Bavaria

The Provincial Library of Amberg was founded in 1803 for the purpose of accommodating the books from the dissolved monasteries in the region of the Upper Palatinate. These collections were merged with the library of the college, the "Studienanstalt", and the holdings of the Jesuit college that had been incorporated in the college library earlier. Today, the Provincial Library holds around 135,000 books. The historical collections of almost 40,000 volumes were published predominantly before 1800, with a further 5,000 works dating from the 19th century. In addition, there are 200 manuscripts, 450 music manuscripts and over 300 incunabula (early printed books up to the year 1500).

Staatliche Bibliothek Amberg
(State Library Amberg)

The first public library in Ansbach, the town of the princely residence at the time, was founded in 1720 by Margrave William Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1686 – 1723). During the 19th century, the court library served as the business library of the government and of the association of historians of Middle Franconia (Historischer Verein Mittelfranken). Following its revival after the Second World War, the library became part of the Bavarian public library system. Currently, the collections comprise a total of around 135,000 media units, among them around 9,000 volumes published before 1800, 350 manuscripts and almost 100 incunabula.

Staatliche Bibliothek Ansbach
(State Library Ansbach)

The Court Library of Aschaffenburg was founded by the Prince-Bishop of Mainz, Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal (1774 – 1802), who transferred his library to Aschaffenburg. His successor Karl Theodor von Dalberg secured the library's continued existence by establishing an endowment. In 1814, the library's administration was taken over by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The collection amounts to almost 140,000 volumes today. The historical holdings include 58 manuscripts and 162 incunabula, 30,000 volumes published before 1900, personal papers and special collections, as well as the Collegiate Church Library (Stiftsbibliothek, 22,500 volumes) as a permanent deposit.

Hofbibliothek Aschaffenburg
(Court Library Aschaffenburg)

The State and City Library of Augsburg developed from the city library founded in 1537. The institution passed into State administration in 2012. The library serves as the archival and research library for the region of Bavarian Swabia and the city of Augsburg. Currently, the library holds more than 570,000 volumes, among them over 4,000 manuscripts, 120,000 items printed before 1800 (including around 3,000 incunabula), as well as substantial special collections of pamphlets, personal publications and dissertations, around 22,000 prints and drawings, around 4,000 autographs and 60 units of personal papers.

Staats- und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg
(State and City Library Augsburg)

The roots of the State Library of Bamberg lie in the secularisation of 1803, which led to the dissolution of the monasteries and clerical colleges in the princebishopric and of the old university in Bamberg. The book collections of these institutions were merged in one regional library. Currently, the library holds around 550,000 volumes. The most important historical items are 6,200 manuscripts, 3,500 incunabula and around 120,000 printed books from the 16th to the 19th century, as well as around 90,000 prints, drawings and photographs.

Staatsbibliothek Bamberg
(Bamberg State Library)

The Landesbibliothek Coburg has formed part of the regional State Libraries of Bavaria since 1973. The library preserves all historical book collections from the territory of the Ernestine duchy or Free State of Coburg, which was autonomous up to 1918/1920. The library's holdings amount to around 500,000 titles, including 400 manuscripts and 151 incunabula. The substantial and in parts outstanding collections of the 16th to the 19th century are complemented by regional literature created within the historical boundaries of the duchy of Coburg.

Landesbibliothek Coburg
(Regional State Library Coburg)

The foundation of the College Library of Dillingen was laid by the book collection of the University of Dillingen founded in 1549 by Otto Kardinal Truchsess von Waldburg (1514 – 1573), Bishop of Augsburg. Until the abolition of the Jesuit order in 1773, the library of the Jesuit college also served as the university library. In the course of the secularisation, the episcopal court library was moved from Augsburg to Dillingen and merged with the Jesuit library. The libraries of several monasteries in northern Swabia came to Dillingen at the same time. The collections comprise 173,000 volumes, among them 527 manuscripts and 825 incunabula as well as 60,000 books printed before 1800.

Studienbibliothek Dillingen
(Dillingen College Library)

The State Library of Neuburg was founded in the year 1803 as the central library for schools and administrative institutions of the region. Today, it preserves around 55,300 media, predominantly books, journals and electronic media. The historical holdings comprise around 35,000 volumes from before 1800 as well as a number of manuscripts, around 550 incunabula and, as a particularly important special collection, over 600 volumes formerly owned by the famous Augsburg humanist Hieronymus Wolf (1516 – 1580).

Staatliche Bibliothek Neuburg an der Donau  (State Library Neuburg an der Donau)

The State Library of Passau dates back to the holdings of the Jesuit college of Passau founded in 1612 and thus constitutes one of Germany‘s oldest publicly accessible book collections. Taken over by the Bavarian state in 1803, the library integrated the dissolved clerical libraries in the city and its surroundings. Today, the library has around 355,000 media units, among them 60,000 volumes from the time before 1800. In addition, there are 189 manuscripts, 328 incunabula and an important collection of emblem books.

Staatliche Bibliothek Passau
(State Library Passau)

The State Library of Regensburg was founded in 1816. Its holdings were composed of the libraries of the institutions that had been closed in the imperial city of Regensburg. As the seat of the "Perpetual Diet", Regensburg was one of the richest library locations of the entire Holy Roman Empire around the end of the 18th century. Its collections of around 490,000 media today include more than 100,000 printed books published before the year 1830, over 1,000 manuscripts and autographs, 1,132 incunabula and around 7,000 old maps.

Staatliche Bibliothek Regensburg
(State Library Regensburg)