University Library Freiburg

The University Library Freiburg is the library of the University of Freiburg. As an academic and research library, the University Library caters to students and staff of the University of Freiburg, the University of Education Freiburg, the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, and the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Freiburg. The library is open to interested members of the public as well.HistoryWhen the University of Freiburg was founded in 1457 the libraries were most commonly attached to the respective faculties. The term „biblioteca universitatis“ was used for the first time in 1505 in protocols of the university's Academic Senate probably for the faculty of arts's library. Besides the faculty's book-collection, its different Burses (medieval predecessors of student halls) and so called “Stiftungshäuser” (student housing maintained by endowments) were of great importance for the students (Domus Cartusiana, 1485; Collegium Sapientiae Collegium Sapientiae Freiburg 1496 and in the 16th century Collegium Battmanicum, Collegium S.Galli and Collegium Pacis). Endowments were important to the library's accretion as well, particularly in its early years. Maria Theresia's Maria Theresa reforms constitute the background of the above-mentioned arrangements and increasingly influenced the library's acquisition policies as well. In 1755, the various libraries were finally joined to form a common library and a new hall was constructed to house the inventory of books.A full-time librarian worked there from 1768. The abolition of the Catholic order Society of Jesus in 1773 marked the end of the Jesuit presence at the university. The Jesuit order had been in charge of large parts of the university since 1620. Due to the suppression of the order, large collections of books from Jesuit libraries were transferred to University of Freiburg, leading to a rapid expansion of the University Library's stock. In 1791 the grammar school moved to the Brunnenstraße and would later become the “Berthold grammar school”. The library remained at its location. The secularization and reforms introduced by Emperor Joseph II of Austria subsequently caused the disbandment of several monasteries, further contributing to the increase in books.