The State Library of Württemberg is a large library in Stuttgart, Germany, which traces its history back to the ducal public library of Württemberg founded in 1765. It holds c. 4 million volumes and is thus the fourth-largest library in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The WLB owns an important collection of medieval manuscripts as well as one of the largest Bible collections in the world. The WLB is one of two state libraries of Baden-Württemberg, the other being the Badische Landesbibliothek at Karlsruhe. One of the library's main purposes is to collect and archive written literature from and about the Regierungsbezirk Tübingen and Regierungsbezirk Stuttgart, i.e. roughly the former land of Württemberg. The library is entitled to a legal deposit of every work published in Baden-Württemberg. The WLB has also been part of the Stuttgart University library system since 1967. As an academic library, it is responsible for the humanities sections of the University of Stuttgart as well as for the Stuttgart College of Music and the Stuttgart Academy of Arts.
History
The library was founded by Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg as a public ducal library in Ludwigsburg, then state capital of Württemberg, on the occasion of his 37th birthday on 11 February 1765. The library was relocated to the Stuttgart Herrenhaus in 1777. Karl Eugen acted as the library director until his death, trying to establish one of Germany's leading libraries. To achieve this goal, he merged existing ducal collections with a collection he bought from his first librarian, Joseph Uriot, creating a collection of well over 10,000 volumes. The ducal collections of antiquities and coins were also added to the library collection. Karl Eugen also bought important collections for his library. With the right of legal deposit of new books transferred from the government library Bibliothek des Regierungsrats to the new public library and the incorporation of many state-run administration libraries from all over the country, the collections grew quickly. At Karl Eugen's death, the library held 100,000 volumes. While his successors were not as interested in books as he had been, the library still grew continuously, e.g., by incorporating books from monasteries secularized in 1803. Most of the monasterial collections, however, were given to the Royal Library, founded by King Frederick I in 1810. This old-type court library was only incorporated to the collections of the public library much later. In 1820, the library moved to the Invalidenhaus, a former military housing complex in Stuttgart. At nearly the same location, a new building was erected from 1878 to 1886. At this time, the library was renamed Königliche Landesbibliothek. After the end of the monarchy, the institution was again renamed and gained its current name Württembergische Landesbibliothek. The library was nearly completely destroyed in World War II. The most valuable items had already been stored at a safe place outside Stuttgart, but approximately half of the collection was lost in the fire that followed an air raid on 12-13 December 1944. The losses included all literature after 1930, many complete thematic sections, many newspapers and magazines and most of the former Court Library. Of the buildings, only an administrative building survived. After the war, the library tried to fill the gaps in its collection. Regional publishing houses tried to help achieve this goal by donating large numbers of books to WLB. Horst Linde designed a new library building that opened at the former location on 3 August 1970.
Special collections
Manuscripts Collection, holding over 15,000 manuscripts. The last major acquisition were 700 manuscripts from the collections of the princely library of Donaueschingen, funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg. This transaction included the manuscripts of the Zimmern Chronicle and other pre-eminent works of Baden-Württemberg history.
Old and Rare Prints, with over 7,000 incunabula, a small collection of rare book covers, rare books from the 16th to 19th centuries, and remnants from the former Württemberg court library. The incunabula collection is one of the largest in the world.
Bible Collection, with more than 20,000 printed Bibles, including a Gutenberg Bible and the only complete copy of William Tyndale's English Bible. The WLB bible collection is considered by many to be one of the most important in the world, only second to the British Library's collection.
Music Collection, including many manuscripts and musical estates
Map and Prints, holding c. 136,000 maps, c. 120,000 portraits, mainly of regional personalities, and c. 31,500 postcards
Dance and Ballet Collection, c. 2,700 volumes on the history of dance and ballet
Hölderlin Archive, including manuscripts and first editions of Friedrich Hölderlin's works; editor of the International Hölderlin Bibliography
Stefan George Archive, including Stefan George's literary estate and editions of his work
Former Library of the State Crafts and Trade Office
Inventory
As of 27 Feb 2019, the library held c. 6.1 million media, including:
