Origin and history
The Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire de Strasbourg (BNU) was founded after the tragic destruction of two Strasbourg libraries in 1870, during the bombing of the Temple Neuf church during the Franco-Prussian war. These collections, with more than 300,000 volumes, including invaluable medieval manuscripts such as Hortus deliciarum d'Herrade de Landsberg, were reduced to ashes. In the face of this disaster, an international call for donations was launched by Karl August Barack, allowing for the rapid reconstruction of a fund of 200,000 books by 1871. The library, originally installed at the Rohan Palace, took the name of Kaiserliche Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek zu Strasburg (KULBS) in 1872 under the aegis of the German Empire.
The current building, of Italian neo-Renaissance style, was erected between 1889 and 1894 on the Kaiserplatz (now Republic Square) by architects August Hartel and Skjold Neckelmann. It became a symbol of German cultural policy in Alsace, hosting prestigious gifts such as 40,000 books from the Königsberg Library (destroyed in 1945) or 4,000 volumes from Emperor William I's personal collection. Under the leadership of Julius Euting, the BNU specializes in religious and oriental science, forming one of Europe's richest funds in these fields. Its hybrid status, both national and university, was preserved after 1918 despite the return of Alsace to France.
The Second World War marked a new tragedy for the BNU: in 1939, 1.5 million volumes were evacuated to Clermont-Ferrand and the Puy-de-Dôme castles to escape the bombings. Despite these precautions, 500,000 books were lost (destruction, theft, censorship), including medical collections stored in Barr. The Strasbourg building, slightly damaged in 1944, also saw its Wilhelmian interior decoration dismantled during the post-war renovations (1951–1956). These events strengthened its heritage vocation, however, with unique holdings such as papyrus (5,200 documents) and 6,700 manuscripts, including works by Goethe and Hans Arp.
Since the 2000s, the BNU has embarked on a major modernisation project, the BNU Nouvelle project, with a budget of 61 million euros. The works (2010–2014) were designed to restore the centrality of the dome, create cultural spaces (auditorium, exhibition rooms) and increase the capacity to 660 places. The building, classified as a historic monument in 2004, reopened in 2014 with an area dedicated to open access collections multiplied by six. Today, the BNU remains the second largest library in France by the volume of its funds and a centre of excellence for the humanities, the Germanic and religious studies.
The BNU is also distinguished by its digital commitment, with projects such as Numistral, its online heritage library, or partnerships with Wikimedia France to spread Alsatian heritage. Its digitized collections, accessible via portals such as Alsatica or Europeana, include trench newspapers from 1914–18, Protestant archives and an extensive regional iconography. In 2020, its statute was reaffirmed by a decree linking it to the University of Strasbourg, while maintaining its administrative autonomy and its role as conservator of the Rhine written memory.
Architecturally, the building combines a monumental facade, classified, with interiors redesigned to reconcile modernity and heritage. The central dome, symbol of the library, was preserved during the works, while reflective metal elements were added to diffuse the zenithal light. With 81 linear km of shelving after extension, the BNU continues to enrich its collections (25 000 documents/year) and to affirm its international reach, particularly in the Rhine and European university networks.
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