Bamberg State Library

The Bamberg State Library is the regional library for Upper Franconia and one of the largest cultural heritage institutions in Bavaria. Founded during the secularisation of 1803, it combines the book collections of the dissolved monasteries and convents of the Bishopric of Bamberg and the older University of Bamberg. The library holds more than half a million volumes and is constantly being expanded to include current literature on regional studies and the humanities. It is open to the public free of charge for study, research, work and education. The inclusion of three books in UNESCO's Memory of the World document heritage underlines the international significance of the approximately 1000 medieval manuscripts. 165 of these volumes date back to the founding of the diocese by Emperor Henry II († 1024). The manuscripts, the 3,500 incunabula from the 15th century and the extensive collection of graphic art are being catalogued and digitised in stages. Many of them are already freely accessible worldwide at www.bamberger-schaetze.de.