- Saving of 1.1 million ashbook pages amidst Anna Amalia blaze
A 1613 book by Galileo Galilei and a 1660 collection of love songs were part of the valuable cultural artifacts that were annihilated in the 20-year-old fire at the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar. Although many manuscripts were preserved or are still being retrieved, approximately 1.1 million pages of damaged texts, known as "ash books," have been restored with unique methods by specialists, as reported by the Klassik Stiftung Weimar. This restoration effort will lead to the preservation of 1.5 million out of the original 7 million damaged pages.
The catastrophe occurred on September 2, 2004, when a cable fire ignited a catastrophic fire in the UNESCO World Heritage library building. Regrettably, the roof and various other architectural elements were entirely consumed by the inferno. Moreover, the lavish Rococo interior suffered significant damage from both heat and water. According to the Klassik Stiftung, around 50,000 historical books and 35 portraits were irreversibly destroyed.
The renovation of the library's historic building, which was also monitored by renowned poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), cost an astounding 12.8 million euros. In 2007, then-President Horst Köhler attended its grand reopening. Fire protection was an essential component of the reconstruction, with the installation of a cutting-edge fire suppression system that, according to the foundation, rapidly extinguishes fires and minimizes damage to cultural assets, furnishings, and building materials.
On the night of the disaster, a human chain facilitated the salvage of numerous books by firefighters and citizens. An impressive 28,000 volumes were spared from harm, while an additional 118,000 books sustained damage from both water and fire. At that time, the estimated financial loss of the library's book collection was a staggering 67 million euros.
As of now, 11.3 million euros have been spent to replace the lost works, as reported by the foundation. An additional 7.8 million euros have been invested in restoring the "ash books." The Klassik Stiftung has secured funds from both the federal and state governments to cover the costs associated with rescuing the manuscripts until 2028's end.
Regrettably, a complete understanding of the destruction has yet to be achieved in certain aspects. Ironically, the Duchesses Anna Amalia and Maria Pawlowna's significant music collection was particularly hard-hit by the fire. Despite this, the foundation states that there are "clear, yet not yet fully identified losses," as the degree of damage to the recovered fragments is so severe that not all of them have been fully identified yet.
The restoration process for the damaged texts, known as "ash books," has involved unique methods to preserve other valuable cultural artifacts that were affected by the fire. Despite the extensive damage, there are still clear, yet not yet fully identified losses, in the significant music collection of the Duchesses Anna Amalia and Maria Pawlowna.
