Duchess Anna Amalia Library

Weimar, Germany

The Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. The library contains 1,000,000 books, 2,000 medieval and early modern manuscripts, 600 ancestral registers, 10,000 maps etc. The research library today has approximately 850,000 volumes with collection emphasis on the German literature. Among its special collections is an important Shakespeare collection of approximately 10,000 volumes, as well as a 16th-century Bible connected to Martin Luther. The Duchess Anna Amalia Library is named for Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who arranged in 1766 for the courtly book collection to be moved into the library.

The main building is the Green Castle (Grünes Schloss), Anna's residence, which had been built between 1562 and 1565. The architect was Nikolaus Gromann. The dowager Duchess had the building converted into a library in 1761. The Duchess, seeking a tutor for her son Duke Carl August, hired Christoph Martin Wieland, an important poet and noted translator of William Shakespeare. Wieland's Shakespeare volumes formed the core of the collection. From an architectural standpoint, the library is world famous for its oval Rococo hall featuring a portrait of Grand Duke Carl August.

One of the library's most famous patrons was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who worked there from 1797 to 1832. The library also includes the world's largest Faust collection. The Duchess's significant 13,000-volume music collection is also available in the library.

In World War II, most of the collection was housed elsewhere to preserve it from Allied bombing. Today, the library is a public research library for literature and art history. The main focus is German literature from the Classical and the late Romantic eras.

The library is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site entitled 'Classic Weimar', which, as unique testimony to the cultural epoch of Weimar Classic, reflects the outstanding role of Weimar as an intellectual centre in the late 18th and early 19th century.

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Details

Founded: 1761
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Germany
Historical period: Emerging States (Germany)

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Marie T (3 months ago)
The room is really beautiful, it's worth seing once in my opinion. Because of the system to buy a ticket for a 30 minutes slot, I thought the amount of people visiting at once would be limited. It was actually very packed so couldn't move around as freely as I would have wished (on a sunday around 11-12h) The employees were all friendly. Maybe a visit is more pleasant during the week days.
Andrew Hennessy (8 months ago)
A beautifully restored and maintained library representing the decadence and thirst for knowledge of years past. It’s a great location and not too far away from the main shopping district in the old city. Entry is for a fee of roughly €10 per person and kids are free. You will be required to wear clumsy feeling slippers over your shoes to protect the old floorboards. There are set times when tours take place so maybe check the website before going. The library itself is a wonderful display of craftsmanship and eloquence. There are also many side attractions apart from the main room. The building also plays host to some travelling exhibitions and is also located above the more modern city library. There are small gifts available and plenty informative displays. I wouldn’t recommend small kids as they may get bored and make a lot of noise.
Florian Kleintje (9 months ago)
The building is beautiful and the staff is very friendly and helpful. The complete building and the exhibitions are a very good example for accessibility for everyone. The exhibitions have audio guides you can use via app or borrow a device there. The rococo library is quite impressive and the time slots ensure that it is not crowded. The Cranach exhibition has a selection of well known pictures. However, the presentation and even more the guide focuses on the superficial description and neglect placing the object in a proper historical context or a critical review. Especially the Cranach exhibition could provide more insights about marketing, (self-) presentation and cult of personality in the classical Weimar and many parallels to current times. Curated well, but disappointing in the guidance.
jl kw (18 months ago)
Thought this was very expensive for viewing what is effectively one room. You are not allowed on the upper levels. Info on the audio guides was scant. However, the new library over the road was free to visit and an inspiring building
Aleksei Minkov (2 years ago)
It took us 30 minutes to convince the cashier about the Museumssonntag. She was unaware that the library also participated on this day and argued with us. The two cashiers didn't speak English, making it even more complicated. Then they said that admission is only possible with excursions for which we still have to pay—worst Museumssonntag experience in whole Weimar. The website says, "Ticketreservierungen werden nicht benötigt," while the cashier said we had to make a booking since all tickets were fully booked for this day. Given all these negative reviews, visitors have pointed out this problem already multiple times for several years. At the same time, admisitration takes no action to manage this problem except answering these reviews and giving instructions on what visitors had to do. Bauhaus and Goewritinghaus museums employees make the experience way more continent.
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