Hello Geoffrey and hello to the list
the development mentioned below is currently debated in Germany and in
short: it is a big scandal. The whole thing has to do with the financial
problems of the house of Baden which are mentioned in the mail. In order
to get out of Baden's bad financial situation the state of
Baden-Wuerttemberg (which is carrying the name of Baden in its
designation) which has taken over most of the possessions of the house
of Baden after 1918 has agreed with the house of Baden to sell the
manuscripts which were originally owned by the house of Baden and are
since 1918 in the Badische Landesbibliothek Baden. The manuscripts' sale
should reconstruct the finances of Baden and help them to build up a
foundation which shall maintain the - in Germany - famous boarding
school of Salem at Lake Constanze. The official reason given why the
manuscripts were choosen for sale is that Baden-Wurttemberg isn't sure
about its legal position concerning the works of art they have taken
over in 1918. Officially they are afraid of a long and unsecure legal
battle with the house of Baden which also claims two paintings by Lucas
Cranach estimated at EUR 250 m. The manuscripts were estimated at EUR 70
m (by whom I don't know) and thus choosen as the lesser sacrifice. It
was already agreed by the two governing parties of Baden-Wuerttemberg (a
coalition of conservatives and liberals) after the provincial elections
this year but nobody had noticed then. When it reached the public about
two weeks ago the outcry was big and it is daily discussed in the media.
Discussed is the wrong word, it is of course strongly rejected by any
thinking person. The provincial prime minister by the name of Oettinger
has rejected all criticism by saying that it is only discussed in the
feature pages and not in the business section thus displaying his
miserable ethos. But now the federal government which is also partly
from the same conservative party (CDU) thinks about claiming the
manuscripts as national cultural assets making it very hard to sell them
abroad. Anyway experts have stated that a sale of so many manuscripts at
the same time would never bring in the estimated EUR 70 m for the house
of Baden. My personal guess at the moment is that the provincial
government will flinch from selling the manuscripts as the resistance in
Baden-Wuerttemberg itself is growing very strongly which has to do with
tensions between the region of Baden where Karlsruhe is the center and
Swabia with the provincial capital Stuttgart. Citizens of Baden are
trying to organize some local resistance since the manuscripts are
regarded as an object of cultural identification. So one should wait and
see if the political pressure is to big even for Oettinger to see that
politics is not all about the business section.
Best wishes and a nice weekend
Andreas
G.J. Roper schrieb:
> The message below, relayed through IFLA, is quite disturbing. This
> library (Badische Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe) contains, as well as
> the items mentioned, at least 20 Arabic and Turkish MSS, including
> documents relating to the Ottoman statesman Osman Pasha. Can anyone
> shed any light on their likely fate?
>
> Geoffrey Roper
> London
>
> =====================forwarded message========================klt? b
> From: Magda Bouwens [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: 03 October
> 2006 09:34
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [IFLA-L] International librarians concerned about manuscripts
> of Baden-Württemberg
> Media release
>
> 3 October 2006
>
> International librarians concerned about manuscripts of Baden-Württemberg
> Dr Alex Byrne, President of the International Federation of Library
> Associations and Institutions (IFLA), expressed dismay when he heard
> of the planned sale of the manuscripts of the House of Baden by the
> provincial government of Baden-Württemberg.
>
> He said: "The international library and archival community is shocked
> to hear of the proposal of the Government of Baden-Württemberg to sell
> all the works acquired before 1872 - some 3500 out of a total of 4200
> volumes - from the manuscript collection of the Badische
> Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe. This incomparable collection includes
> major treasures taken from monasteries in 1803 and documents a
> thousand years of commerce and cultural development in Europe. It is
> not only a treasure for Baden-Württemberg and Germany but part of the
> world heritage. It must be protected."
>
> The collection includes prachtmanuscripts, an illuminated Book of
> Hours belonging to Archduke Christoph I of Baden (1490), the prayer
> book of Susanna von Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach medieval lectionaries
> from the scriptorium of the monastery at Reichenau, and the Gospel of
> St. Peter (ca. 1200). The majority of manuscripts come from the
> libraries of monasteries in the Black Forest, the Upper-Rhine, and
> Lake Constance and most were acquired when the monastic libraries were
> expropriated following secularisation in 1803. They record the
> development of religion and society in the region.
> It is understood that the sale is intended to finance the preservation
> of the Salem castle, the last castle of the house of Baden, and its
> ongoing maintenance. While this is desirable, it must not be done at
> the expense of this important collection of manuscripts.
>
> The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
> calls on the Government of Baden-Württemberg to abandon this proposal
> and renew its commitment to the preservation of the history of
> Baden-Württemberg as documented in the manuscript collection of the
> Badische Landesbibliothek.
>
> The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
> is the leading international body representing the interests of
> library and information services and their users. It is the global
> voice of the library and information profession. http://www.ifla.org
> <http://www.ifla.org/> .
>
> Contact:
> Dr Alex Byrne, IFLA President, Tel +61 2 9514 1465, Email
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Dr Peter Lor, IFLA Secretary General, Tel +31 70 31 40 884, Email
> [log in to unmask]
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> **Dr Geoffrey Roper***
> *Bibliographical Adviser
> Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
> Aga Khan University (International) in the United Kingdom
>
> 4/5 Bedford Square
> London WC1B 3RA
> Tel. +44{0) 20 7907 1072
> Fax. +44 {0} 20 7907 1030
> URL www.aku.edu/ismc <http://www.aku.edu/ismc>
>
> This message is for the designated recipient only and may contain
> privileged or confidential information. If you have received it in
> error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the original.
> Any other use of the email by you is prohibited. The opinions
> expressed in the documents carried by this transmission are those of
> the authors and are not necessarily shared by the Aga Khan University
> or its representatives. Inclusion of links to sites does not imply
> endorsement of the contents of those sites. The Aga Khan University
> will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or
> omissions there from, or in the transmission or delivery of all or any
> part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* Magda Bouwens [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> *Sent:* 03 October 2006 09:34
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* [IFLA-L] International librarians concerned about
> manuscripts of Baden-Württemberg
>
> *Media release*
>
> *3 October 2006*
>
> International librarians concerned about manuscripts of Baden-Württemberg
>
> Dr Alex Byrne, President of the International Federation of Library
> Associations and Institutions (IFLA), expressed dismay when he heard
> of the planned sale of the manuscripts of the House of Baden by the
> provincial government of Baden-Württemberg.
>
> He said: “The international library and archival community is shocked
> to hear of the proposal of the Government of Baden-Württemberg to sell
> all the works acquired before 1872 - some 3500 out of a total of 4200
> volumes - from the manuscript collection of the Badische
> Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe. This incomparable collection includes
> major treasures taken from monasteries in 1803 and documents a
> thousand years of commerce and cultural development in Europe. It is
> not only a treasure for Baden-Württemberg and Germany but part of the
> world heritage. It must be protected.”
>
> The collection includes prachtmanuscripts, an illuminated Book of
> Hours belonging to Archduke Christoph I of Baden (1490), the prayer
> book of Susanna von Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach medieval lectionaries
> from the scriptorium of the monastery at Reichenau, and the Gospel of
> St. Peter (ca. 1200). The majority of manuscripts come from the
> libraries of monasteries in the Black Forest, the Upper-Rhine, and
> Lake Constance and most were acquired when the monastic libraries were
> expropriated following secularisation in 1803. They record the
> development of religion and society in the region.
>
> It is understood that the sale is intended to finance the preservation
> of the Salem castle, the last castle of the house of Baden, and its
> ongoing maintenance. While this is desirable, it must not be done at
> the expense of this important collection of manuscripts.
>
> *The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
> calls on the Government of Baden-Württemberg to abandon this proposal
> and renew its commitment to the preservation of the history of
> Baden-Württemberg as documented in the manuscript collection of the
> Badische Landesbibliothek.*
>
> The *International Federation of Library Associations and
> Institutions* is the leading international body representing the
> interests of library and information services and their users. It is
> the global voice of the library and information profession.
> http://www.ifla.org <http://www.ifla.org/>.
>
> *Contact: *
>
> Dr Alex Byrne, IFLA President, Tel +61 2 9514 1465, Email
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> Dr Peter Lor, IFLA Secretary General, Tel +31 70 31 40 884, Email
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
--
Dr. Andreas Drechsler
Bibl.-Rat
Universitätsbibliothek Bamberg
PF 2705
96018 Bamberg
Tel.: 0951/863-1530
Fax: 0951/863-4530
[log in to unmask]
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana"
- Groucho Marx
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