August Hermann Francke Study Centre – Archive and Library

Short-term change of opening hours

Due to a staff shortage, the reading room of the Study Centre will only be open from 21-24 June 2022 from 9:00-17:00. We thank you for your understanding!

Dear users of the reading room of the August Hermann Francke Study Center,

please register for the use of the reading room by e-mail (lesesaal at francke-halle.de) or by telephone (0345 2127 470). We kindly ask you to place your orders by e-mail or by using the ordering system of the OPAC or the archive database, so that the ordered archive and library material can already be placed at your reading room place before you come.

In the reading room and on the circulation routes, the wearing of a medical mouth-nose protection is recommended. Attention is to be paid to the distance rules.

Together the Archives and the Library of the Francke Foundations form the August Hermann Francke Study Centre. This centre extends spatially from the Historical Library building (House 22) to the adjacent premises (Houses 23-24).

The Study Centre is a service facility for the preservation and cataloguing of and research into the holdings of the Archives and Library of the Francke Foundations. In recent years it has been able to initiate and carry out comprehensive and innovative cataloguing projects with the financial support of the German Research Foundation. They improve our understanding of the sources and provide a solid basis for new perspectives and research projects.

Online Research and Digital Collections

• Information on the holdings of the archives and library
• Archive database
• OPAC of the local library system Halle-Merseburg
• Discovery system of the University and State Library Saxony-Anhalt Ha:Lit
• Digital Collections with Francke-Portal
• Other catalogues and databases

Use of the Archives and Library

The ground floor of the library building houses a public Reading Room, where the holdings of the Library and the Archive of the Francke Foundations can be looked into. The Reference Library with current scientific literature on church history and cultural history of the early modern period, especially concerning Pietism, contributes to the use of the Archive and Library holdings.
Databases and online catalogues are available for research in the archive and library collections. As not all holdings are available online, conventional search tools and catalogues are also provided in addition to the electronic catalogues.
Upon request introductions to the use of the archive and library holdings will be gladly given. Please contact the Reading Room’s supervisor.

• Study center from A-Z
• Registration
• Orders
• Regulations for the archives and library
• Regulation of fees

Conservation and Book Adoptions

A further aim of the Study Centre is the preservation of the centuries-old, valuable holdings of the Archive and the Library. This includes books and manuscripts as well as portraits. The holdings are partially extremely endangered due to wear and tear, ink corrosion or mould. An additional problem is the increasing interest in the historical sources, which –albeit welcomed in principle – require preventative conservational measures. We depend on support from sponsors and on donations. You can help in various ways:

• Individual donations or adoption of books and manuscripts: keyword »Book restoration«
• Individual donations to preserve the portrait collection of the Foundations: keyword »Damaged pictures«

Donations account
Friends of the Francke Foundation
Freundeskreis der Franckeschen Stiftungen e.V.
Saalesparkasse Halle
Konto-Nr.: 1894014177
BLZ: 800 537 62,
IBAN: DE92 8005 3762 1894 0141 77
BIC: NOLADE21HAL

Thank you!

Cabinet exhibitions

In order to offer the interested public an insight into the treasures of the library and the archive, the Study Centre organises cabinet exhibitions in the library's former reading room next to the scenery library, which change twice a year. From April 16, 2021 - September 26, 2021, the exhibition is dedicated to the topic of »Some benefit and pleasure – Gardens in the Francke Foundations in the 18th and 19th century«. Due to the measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible to visit the cabinet exhibition at present. Nevertheless, our online presentation allows you to get an impression of the exhibited objects.