111 years ago, in 1912 the Kingdom of Saxony, the City of Leipzig, and the Börsenverein der Deutschen Buchhändler zu Leipzig (German Book Traders’ Association of Leipzig) signed a contract for the foundation of the Deutsche Bücherei.
The library location in Frankfurt am Main was established in 1946 after the partition of Germany.
On 3 October, German Unity Day, our libraries in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main merged into a single institution. The two locations have since developed into a single modern institution that serves the whole country and has a crucial role to play in the cultural memory of Germany.
111 years after the foundation of the German National Library, we celebrated our anniversary by publishing 111 stories from the German National Library in our blog and holding a variety of events, both online and at our physical locations.
111th ANNIVERSARY OF OUR FOUNDATION – MATERIAL FOR MANY A STORY: 111 STORIES
We have been digging in our memories and archives to bring rarely told stories to light.
In our 111th anniversary year, we have regularly published a story about the German National Library – some anecdotal, some informative. Why is there a doner kebab grill in the German Music Archive? Where do the phone books live? And what is a three-metre tall man doing in the IT department?
You will find the answers and other stories in our blog (only available in German).
Photo: DNB, Fanni Fröhlich
111IES
To mark our 111th anniversary, we like to have your own personal impressions and memories of the German National Library – in the form of an Elfchen (“elevenie”).
We asked for 100 "elevenies" – a very fitting number for our anniversary – and received 611. You can read all the elevenies here. We drew 100 "elevenies" from all those entered. Congratulations to all the winners.
Photo: DNB, Fanni Fröhlich
Open Day in Leipzig and virtual
On Sunday 12 March, the German National Library in Leipzig welcomed more than 2,600 guests to its Open Day, which launched the celebrations marking its 111th anniversary. Interested visitors of all ages, including a lot of families, took a look behind the scenes of a modern library: with insights into its history, glimpses of its future, guided tours of the hidden places in our building with its extensive stacks and reading rooms, and exciting events for children.
The Leipzig Book Fair and the reading festival "Leipzig Reads" took place from 27 to 30 April 2023.
The German National Library was present at the Leipzig Book Fair, with a newly designed promotional area, where we offered an extensive programme for experts and interested visitors.
Hundreds of guests were invited to the exhibitions, events and guided tours that took place on our location at Deutscher Platz in Leipzig.
Find out more in our blog (only available in German)
On 3 October, the German National Library celebrated its 111th birthday and surprised all its visitors in Leipzig with an special birthday programme: an on-site scavenger hunt through the building - both analogue with paper and pencil and digital with an Actionbound.
Find out more in our Blog (only available in German)
The Frankfurt Book Fair and the reading festival “OPEN BOOKS” took place from 18 to 22 October 2023. The German National Library was present at the Frankfurt Book Fair with a varied programme in its promotional area. A large number of visitors were invited to the events, exhibitions and guided tours at our location in Frankfurt am Main.
Find out more in our blog (only available in German).
Our Open Day in Frankfurt am Main on 12 November 2023 officially ended the year of celebrations marking the 111th anniversary of our foundation. Some 1,600 visitors seized the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of the German National Library in Frankfurt am Main: from the roof down to the extensive underground stacks, on guided tours, tours of exploration for children and young people and visitsto the German Exile Archive’s 1933–1945 exhibitions.
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