Königsberg State and University Library

The Königsberg State and University Library (German: Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Königsberg) was a combined state library and academic library in Königsberg, Germany. One of the most prestigious libraries of the eastern German Sprachraum, comparable only to the Breslau University Library (), Königsberg's developed since the 16th century out of several smaller libraries. It was destroyed in 1944 during World War II.

Albert, Duke of Prussia, founded the Chamber Library (Kammerbibliothek) or German Library (Deutsche Bibliothek) above the gate of Königsberg Castle ca. 1526 with about 100 smaller works. Its first director was the ducal secretary Balthasar Gans. Because Albert only had rudimentary knowledge of Latin, the collection contained German books and translations of foreign texts. Its authors were among the most influential of the Protestant Reformation, including Martin Luther, Lazarus Spengler, Martin Bucer, Johann von Staupitz, Andreas Karlstadt, Wenzeslaus Linck (), Johannes Oecolampadius, and Urbanus Rhegius. Other volumes included legal, historical, geographical, and medical topics. By the end of Albert's life, the ducal Chamber Library had expanded to 500 volumes. The Chamber Library passed to the Castle Library in 1583.

The most cherished part of the Chamber Library was the Silver Library (Silberbibliothek). Initially only two of Albert's volumes were bound with plates of embossed silver by silversmiths, but it expanded to twenty after the duke's second marriage in 1550 to Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Besides the splendid Lutheran Bible by Cornelius Vorwend of Nuremberg, there were also three works by Paul Hoffmann, six by Gerhard Lenz, and five by Hieronymus Kösler, the latter three all from Königsberg.

...
Wikipedia