| Erfurt University Library, Research

KEK funds restoration of two manuscripts from the "Bibliotheca Amploniana"

The Coordination Office for the Preservation of the Written Cultural Heritage (KEK), which is financed by federal funds, supports the restoration of two manuscripts from the "Bibliotheca Amploniana", the famous collection of medieval manuscripts preserved and researched at the University of Erfurt, as part of its model project funding.

This funding is related to the project "Digitisation and deep scientific indexing of manuscripts of the Bibliotheca Amploniana in the Erfurt University Library" fundet by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Its aim is to digitise all 977 Codices Amploniani (CA manuscripts) located in the Erfurt University Library by the end of September 2026. A prerequisite for digitisation and indexing is that all manuscripts are in a suitable state of preservation. In the case of the two late medieval manuscripts (Dep. Erf., CA 4° 263 and Dep. Erf., CA 4° 323), however, the damage is so complex and the work so costly that an external contract must be awarded for this.

The manuscripts were restored in the spring of 1922 by the Erfurt bookbinder and binding researcher Adof Rhein (whose estate is kept in the Erfurt University Library and is currently being scientifically indexed) according to the standards of the time. However, some of the material used was acidic and urgently needs to be removed to prevent damage to the paper.

The work is expected to be completed in December. The manuscripts will then be presented to the public at an event.

More links

Back