Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences

In 1779, Görlitz had roughly 7,500 inhabitants and was the center of the economical and political independent Upper Lusatia at the corner of the Electorate of Saxony. On 21 April 1779, 20 members of educated and sophisticated classes and nobility came together to found a society called Upper Lusatian Society for the Promotion of Historical and Natural History. Later in 1792 the society was renamed to Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences.

The Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences was founded 1950 by merging the collected volumes of the Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences and the Library of Milich, that came to Görlitz in 1727.

Adolf Traugott von Gersdorff (1744–1807)

Adolf Traugott von Gersdorff

As one of the two founders, Gersdorrf donated his collected scientific volumes and a library with about 10,000 books to the Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences. The literature covers physical, meteorological, mineralogical topics. He left a large collection of literature about lightning protection of the 18th century. His travel journals, geographic works and maps show a remarkable intellectual life in the Upper Lusatia and a vivid exchange with thinkers in Europe.

Karl Gottlob Anton (1751–1818)

Karl Gottlob Anton

The resident of Görlitz and lawyer Karl Gottlob Anton, ennobled in 1802, wanted to found a 'busy academic society' in 1779. His scientific interest lay in history, law, linguistics and Slavic studies. His research about Sorbian languages, Slavs and the early agricultural history gained lasting recognition. In 1801 he donated his scientific works and roughly 10,000 books to his Upper Lusatian Society. As founder and secretary of the Society he bought the house in Handwerk street on the Lower Market Square to meet the demand of the growing library.

The historic classicistic library hall after refurbishment in 2010

The library hall was occupied in 1806, when Karl Gottlob Anton donated his own library to the Society. Possibly the first four arches belonged to this donation; in 1841 another arch was added. The large library hall was modeled on the library of the Francke Foundations in Halle (Saale) and noble private libraries in central Germany and Silesia. The basic idea follows baroque theatre architecture - with triumphal arches of knowledge that divide the hall in different sceneries.

As a research library, it lacks ornamentation. Only the backs of the book decorate the room. The older stuccoed ceilings were knocked off so that nothing distracted from the power of the word. During the restoration in 1951, the original stucco was painterly suggested again.

Due to its simplicity the historic library hall is a prominent example of the early Neoclassicism.

The Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences contains about 150,000 items and roughly 40% of them have been published before 1900. The library includes several rarities and valuables like Incunables from the 15th century, a collection of flyers from the Reformation period, manuscripts and 3,000 historic maps and atlases including sheets of Gerhard Mercator (1571) and Abraham Ortelius (1621). A handwritten codex from the 11th century with texts by the Roman historian Sallust is the oldest item in the library.

The items with the most important scientific value are grouped in the complex Archive. It contains the collected items of Karl Gottlob Anton, Adolf Traugott von Gersdorff and assets of other scholars and poets of Upper Lusatia. The collection ranges from manuscripts of the great Upper Lusatian enlightener Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus (1651-1708) to records of the Bad Muskau poet and Pückler-confidant Leopold Schefer (1784-1862) to the estate of the Görlitz writer and publicist Ludwig Kunz (1890-1976).

With the mill archive from the estate of the mill researcher Günter Rapp, the library houses an extensive collection of texts and about 16,000 photographs of mills in Upper Lusatia and the former GDR.

Jakob Böhme

A high priority is given to the collection on the German philosopher, Christian mystic, and theologian Jakob Böhme. He is undoubtedly the most famous person of Görlitz with the most profound influence on later philosophical movements in Europe. Today, an important task of the library is the systematic collection of literature of and about Jakob Böhme. The library provides information on Boehme's life and impact for further research from philosophical, theological and philological aspects. With about 1,500 works and essays, the Upper Lusatian Library owns a large collection of the theosophist from Görlitz.[4]

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  Librarian room
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  Frontpage of Oeconomischen Encyclopädie by Johann Georg Krünitz
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  Library of Milich
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  A collection of old books

• Christian Knauthe (1737), Historische Nachrichten von denen Bibliotheken in Görlitz (in German), Görlitz
• Robert Joachim (1876), Geschichte der Milich'schen Bibliothek und ihre Sammlungen (in German), Görlitz{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Richard Jecht (1929), 150 Jahre Oberlausitzische Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften: 1779–1929 (in German), Görlitz{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Ernst-Heinz Lemper (1974), Adolph Traugott von Gersdorf (1744–1807): Naturforschung und soziale Reformen im Dienste der Humanität (in German), Berlin{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Annerose Klammt (1977), "Oberlausitzische Bibliothek der Wissenschaften bei den Städtischen Kunstsammlungen", Handbuch der historischen Buchbestände in Deutschland (in German), Hildesheim, pp. 284–289
• Ernst-Heinz Lemper (1994), "Zur Geschichte und Bedeutung der Oberlausitzischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Görlitz", Neues Archiv für Sächsische Geschichte (in German), vol. 64, pp. 85–95
• Martin Kügler, Cornelia Eisler (2000), Johann Gottlieb Milich: Gelehrter und Sammler (in German), Görlitz/Zittau: Oettel, ISBN 3-932693-55-8

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oberlausitzische Bibliothek der Wissenschaften.

• Website of the Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences
• Website of the Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences
• Record in the 'Handbook of historic collections' online
• Digital Collection of the Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences