Archives and Manuscripts

The "Archives and Manuscripts" universe offers a variety of explorations through the written heritage of the National University Library of Strasbourg (BNU), the University of Strasbourg and the Société des Amis des Arts et des Musées de Strasbourg. It provides
access to unique documents of different origins and from all periods, since late Antiquity down to the 20th century.

The "archives" are publications written by researchers, intellectuals, scientists and writers, and constitute raw material to explore. Authors are for instance the ancient art historian Adolf Michaelis, the industrialist and politician Scheurer-Kestner, the mathematician Kurt Hensel or the lawyer Warnkönig.

It includes manuscripts from the Cairo genizah, most of which are still unpublished. The corpus of manuscripts of the Rhineland Mysticism of Strasbourg in the 14th and 15th centuries is remarkable and rooted in our area. The corpus of friendship books gives a view of the sociability of the old times. And in this universe we can also approach the great Goethe through manuscripts of his works and direct testimonies about his person and his relationships.

This section is the place to fully exercise one's skills in deciphering. Many languages and scripts are represented here and the very art of beautiful writing, calligraphy, is displayed in the Soennecken funds, which is entirely devoted to this art form with its infinite
variations.

This universe is expanding continuously. Other facets of handwriting and calligraphy will be offered to amateurs and researchers over the years.