"Herzog August Library" Wolfenbüttel Things to Do Tip by Sjalen

In the palace, Duke Julius in 1572 decided to found a library but it was not until the complete bibliophile Duke August the Peacemaker (rather with his nose in books than around wars I presume) took over in the mid 17th century that the library became really famous. It then held the largest collection of books in Europe and some people called it the Eighth Wonder of the World.

In the late 19th century, the library had outgrown the delapidating palace rotunda it was in and a new building was built where you find it today, in the park next to the palace. Here, there is today a modernised library inside but still with a great collection and in a great interior. It is thought that the library houses around 350 000 books from between the 15th to 18th century, not to mention later publications, and there are also lots of maps, a music library, manuscripts and more. The lecturing hall is sometimes used for concerts and there are exhibitions on all matters librarian.