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Duchess Anna Amalia Library
The library was founded by Duke Wilhelm Ernst in 1691 and has been one of Germany’s most famous libraries since the 18th century.
The Duchess Anna Amalia Library is a research centre for European cultural and literary history around 1800. It preserves literary records from the 9th to the 21st century as sources of cultural history and for research, catalogues them by formal aspects and content and makes them available for use. The library possesses a total of one million units. Since its profile is dominated by the educational concept of the era around 1800 and its collections from the time between 1750 and 1850 are particularly extensive, the epoch from Enlightenment to Late Romanticism is the major focus of the library’s work.
Since 1998, the historic library building with its famous Rococo hall has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with other Weimar venues dating from the era of German Classicism. In September 2004, shortly before the long-planned redevelopment work was due to begin, the two upper stories of the building were completely destroyed by a smouldering fire in the roof structure. The damaged historic library building with the famous Rococo hall has again been opened for 90,000 tourist visitors per year since December 2007. 50,000 works were irretrievably lost by the disastrous fire. The library has a wide range of clientele, including humanities experts and cultural scholars from Germany and abroad but also students, people with intellectual interests from Weimar and its surrounding region as well as school children.
Opening hours
| Monday: | 09:00 - 21:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday: | 09:00 - 21:00 |
| Wednesday: | 09:00 - 21:00 |
| Thursday: | 09:00 - 21:00 |
| Friday: | 09:00 - 21:00 |
| Saturday: | 09:00 - 16:00 |
Lending: Mon – Fri 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Detailed information
- literature/theatre/music
Services
- Language: German
Accessibility
The Study Centre is designed to be largely barrier-free and can also be explored by wheelchair users without problems. A ground-floor orientation plan for the blind and visually impaired is available at the entrance. There is one workstation for the blind and two for the visually impaired at the Study Centre. For guided tours or lectures and readings, one radio microphone and ten receivers are available.
The historic library building largely has barrier-free access. There are some restrictions on preservation grounds. Since the number of tickets is limited, prior registration is recommended. Entrance is via a lifting platform at the left side entrance (contact to staff via call box). You can also buy your ticket from this member of staff if you have not booked in advance. The admission ticket includes an audio guide which takes you through the 1st floor with the Rococo Hall. Visitors with a hearing aid can hear the audio guide directly via their hearing aid with the help of induction loops. The audio guide is available in writing for the deaf.
With the help of staff, wheelchair users can gain access to the Renaissance Room with changing book exhibitions. Because of the sensitive historic wooden floor, visitors in an electric wheelchair can only view the Rococo Hall to a limited extent. Protective coverings are available for the wheels of hand-driven wheelchairs, which can be put on by wheelchair users themselves or with the help of staff. There is a barrier-free toilet in the basement of the historic building.
