Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Kunstbibliothek
Owner Id00030253
TypeCorporate body
Biographical dates - Period of existence1867 -
Other InformationIt followed the foundation one year earlier of the Deutsches Gewerbe-Museum zu Berlin (or German Design Museum), which was set up at the initiative of the Greater Berlin Artisans’ Association. As a result, the ideals that underpinned the German Design Museum’s foundation – the return to artisanal qualities – also defined the library’s acquisitions policy. Its essential purpose was to convey historical knowledge of style, technique, material, and traditional methods to artists and artisans. By 1881 the German Design Museum had changed its name to the Kunstgewerbemuseum, and took up residency in a newly designed building on Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse that also accommodated its library and teaching institute. In 1924, it was given the name it bears to this day: Kunstbibliothek (Art Library).
During World War II significant parts of the library’s holdings and collections were placed in safe-storage at external locations. Use of the library however continued until 1944. Just two years into peacetime, in 1947, parts of the collection were again made accessible to the public at its temporary site in Berlin-Dahlem. This was followed in 1954 by the library’s relocation to Jebensstrasse in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
In 1962 the erection of Kulturforum was announced. In 1987 those plans started to take concrete shape with the start of construction on the new building for the Kunstbibliothek and Kupferstichkabinett, which had originally been designed by Rolf Gutbrod, with subsequent alterations by the architectural practice of Hilmer & Sattler. Opened in 1994, the new rooms at the Kulturforum provided a new home for the holdings of media on architecture, book art and media art, photography, fashion, and graphic design. In 2004, the Museum für Fotografie opened in Jebensstrasse, followed by the opening of the Archaeological Library in 2012 at the Archäologisches Zentrum close to the Museumsinsel Berlin. Both are divisions of the Kunstbibliothek.
Variant NamesDeutsches Gewerbe-Museum zu Berlin
Kunstgewerbemuseum
Activity
Start (year)1867
MARC Area Codee-gx
Profession / Type of InstitutionLibrary
CharacterisationNo characterisation/lay
Last Edit2021-06-10 14:23:09