Minister President Wüst takes over patronage for restoration projects
The entire holdings of the Historical City Library, including Ferdinand Franz Wallraf's library, are to be restored by 2028.
Hendrik Wüst, Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia
Photo: State of NRW / Tobias Koch
Hendrik Wüst, Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, has taken over the patronage of the two restoration projects Historical City Library including the Ferdinand Franz Wallraf Library.
The Historical City Library of Cologne evolved from the Council Library founded in 1602 and the library of Ferdinand Franz Wallraf, which he bequeathed to the City of Cologne in 1818. It was transferred to the University and City Library of Cologne in 1920. The Historical City Library contains the book collections of the Cologne monasteries and convents, the Cologne City Council and important Cologne personalities and families from the 19th century.
It is the cultural heritage of the city of Cologne in book form. It belongs to the city of Cologne and is kept in the University and City Library of Cologne.
Visit to the UCL on 28.09.2021:
F.l.t.r.: Director of the UCL Dr Hubertus Neuhausen, Minister for Culture and Science in NRW Ms Pfeiffer-Poensgen, entrepreneur and cultural promoter Peter Jungen, Head of the Department for Historical Collections Dr Christiane Hoffrath, Rector of the UoC Prof. Axel Freimuth
In 2018, entrepreneur and cultural promoter Peter Jungen launched a concerted campaign to save Ferdinand Franz Wallraf's important library.
This campaign will raise 1.7 million euros for the restoration of the books. The federal government, the state, the city and the university are jointly helping to provide the necessary funds, as are book sponsorships from both foundations and citizens.
Thanks to this private initiative, the Wallraf Collection will be completely restored by 2023 - a milestone for Cologne's cultural heritage in book form.
Due to this great success, Mr Jungen, at the request of Hubertus Neuhausen, Director of the University and City Library of Cologne, is initiating a second concerted action to save the entire Historical City Library of Cologne.
All parties involved in the first project, the University of Cologne, the state, the federal government, as well as the City of Cologne, have again signalled their support. In addition, Mr Jungen, as the founding chairman, is putting together a high-ranking board of trustees to ask for support from citizens of the Rhineland who want to participate in the restoration in the form of a book sponsorship.
Restoration example of a volume from the Ferdinand Franz Wallraf Library:
Albertus <Magnus>: De mineralibus et rebus metallicis.
Coloniae: Birckmann & Baum 1569
We at the University and City Library would like to thank Minister President Wüst for taking on the patronage. This is a great encouragement and support for us to continue our commitment to the preservation of the historical book collection of the city of Cologne.