

Cimelia of the Staats- und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg

The Augsburg Library was founded in 1537 under the banner of the Reformation and, due to its outstanding importance and collection history, was part of the collective memory maintained in Augsburg. Its holdings were considerably expanded by secularization property, i.e. books from dissolved religious houses, after 1806. In the 19th and 20th centuries, important aristocratic and club libraries were added. At the end of the 19th century, it received a representative new building centered around two Cimelia Halls, which were designed 'to incorporate the more valuable library treasures' and are accessible to the public via a magnificent staircase. These cimelia, i.e. rare books, include the selection that has been made accessible, in cooperation with the Bavarian State Library, by the State and City Library Augsburg as a digital collection.