Central Library: a meeting place for searchers after knowledge

So much has been read, thought and learned here. This library traces its origins back to the Reformation. Today the Central Library in the Old City with the baroque Schultheissen Hall is part of Berne University Library.

2.3 million books, music CDs, CD-ROMs and DVDs can be borrowed; the library is home to historical documents and works reflecting the latest state of research, to say nothing of standard works and lexicons focusing on Berne. Among the most valuable are the library of the diplomat Jacques Bongars (1554–1612) and the collection of maps put together by statesman Johann Friedrich Ryhiner (1732–1803), which can also be viewed on the Internet: www.zb.unibe.ch/stub/ryhiner/. At www.digibern.ch/ documents on the culture and history of Berne can be consulted.

The programme is completed by exhibitions and events, including the «Buch am Mittag» series.