LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS
Germany had no national library until 1913, when the German
Library (7.2 million volumes in 2002) in Leipzig brought together
an extensive collection literature of the German language under
one roof. Th e library also contains 3.9 million volumes of works
written in exile by German authors during the Nazi era. In 1990 a
further consolidation of German libraries was completed with the
establishment of the German Library in Frankfurt, which had 18
million volumes in 2002. Other prominent libraries are the Bavarian
State Library in Munich (7.6 million books) and the Prussian
Cultural Property State Library (10 million books) in Berlin. Th e
Herzog-August Library in Wolfenbüttel (848,000 volumes) has archives
of 12,000 handwritten medieval books. One of the most
important collections of German literature is at the Central Library
of German Classics in Weimar. Th e Berlin Central and Regional
Library, the public library network for the area, contains
over 3.1 million print and electronic sources. Th e German Library
for the Blind in Leipzig was founded in 1894. It serves as a pub
lishing house and production center for Braille texts and audio
books, as well as a public lending library containing 40,000 book
titles and 5,000 titles of sheet music in Braille.
Germany has more than 4,500 state, municipal, association, private,
residential, castle, palace, and church and cathedral treasures
museums, which annually attract over 100 million visitors. Berlin
has the Egyptian and Pergaman Museums, the Painting Gallery of
Old Masters, and the National Gallery of Modern Art. Th e Jewish
Museum opened in Berlin in 2001 off ering exhibits on the history
and culture of the Jewish people in the region. Th e Germanic
National Museum in Nüremberg has the largest collection on
the history of German art and culture from antiquity to the 20th
century. Th e German Museum in Munich is one of the most well
known natural sciences and technology museums in Europe. Th e
Pinakothek Moderne, opened in 2003, houses a huge modern art
collection in Munich. In addition, there are hundreds of smaller
museums, ethnological and archaeological institutions, scientifi c
collections, and art galleries.
Th e Bach Archive in Leipzig contains a museum, research institute,
and library dedicated to the life and work of the composer
J.S. Bach, who once served as the city’s music director. Beethoven
Haus in Bonn and the Richard Wagner Museum Haus in Bayreuth
honor two more famous German composers. Museums on the
life and work of Goethe are located in Frankfurt (birthplace) and
Weimer. Lutherhaus in Wittenberg serves as a historical museum
for both the life and work of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation
that he ignited.