bavarikon4UTreasures from the Landesbibliothek Coburg
The highlights presented here are examples for the Landesbibliothek Coburg's (Regional Library Coburg) history and collection structure. It originated from the Ducal Court and State Library of the Ernestine Wettin dynasty, which ruled here until the 16th century. The library is located in Schloss Ehrenburg, which was built in the middle of the 16th century under Duke Johann Ernst of Saxony (1521-1553). From 1919 until the end of 1972 it was part of the Coburg Landesstiftung; at the beginning of the year 1973 it was transferred to the administration of the Free State of Bavaria.
The library has about 500,000 media units, 55,000 of which belong to the core holdings of the Court and State Library from the 16th to the early 20th century. Collections of great importance include the Luther Collection from the Veste Coburg, the Bibliotheca Casimiriana from the Casimirianum grammar school founded in 1605, the church library from St. Moriz (Depositum) and the Ducal private library. In addition, the state library holds, among other things, 151 incunabula, 6,600 manuscripts (15th century and younger), a collection of about 4,000 manuscripts and prints mainly from the 19th century, a collection of music and a collection of maps from the 16th to 19th centuries comprising about 4,000 individual sheets.
Three highlights are from the 15th century: an astronomical-astrological anthology with watercoloured pen drawings, an edition of the "24 Old" by Franciscan Otto von Passau and a French-language version of the fairy-tale story of the "beautiful Magelone". The 16th century is also widely and diversely represented, namely with numerous Wittenberg Bibles, including a very rare edition of the New Testament printed in Wittenberg in 1530, in which the evangelists like Martin Luther, an Oriental collection codex from the Arabic-Persian-speaking world and a colourfully illustrated handbook on the art of war, pyrotechnics and gunsmithing.
The series is continued with a hand-painted genealogical tablet dating from 1775, on which all the abbesses from the Imperial Abbey of Gandersheim (in today's Lower Saxony) since 853 are listed. Two objects are dedicated to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in the 19th century: on the one hand, a large-format, lavishly designed book about a journey by the Coburg duke and duchess to East Africa from 1864, and on the other hand a chronicle, which Duchess Alexandrine (1820-1904) gave to her husband Duke Ernst II reigned 1844-1893) for their silver wedding anniversary. The last piece is a copy of the operetta "Simplicius" by Johann Strauss (1825-1899; citizen of Coburg-Gotha since 1886) with a personal dedication by the composer to Ernst II.
>> This collection is part of the holdings of the Landesbibliothek Coburg (Regional Library Coburg).