Batthyáneum Library
Original function:
library
observatory / planetarium
Address:
Bethlen Gábor utca 1.
Historical Hungarian county:
Alsó-Fehér
GPS coordinates:
46.0703582314, 23.5706911596
History
Count Batthyány Ignác, Bishop of Transylvania, founded the Batthyaneum in 1794. It was first built as an observatory, then the bishop gradually expanded it with a collection of minerals and coins and a library. The codices of the 55 000-volume episcopal library of the Batthyaneum is world-famous. The third oldest coherent Hungarian language text, the Gyulafehérvár Rows from 1310, was found in one of the Latin-language codices.
The most important part of the collection is the library, which contains 927 volumes of manuscripts and codices and 565 early printed books. It houses 80% of the medieval Latin codices in what is now Romania. Its valuable Bible collection consists of 600 volumes. The most valuable item in the codex collection is the Codex aureus, the Gospel of Matthew and Mark, written in gold letters in the Benedictine Abbey of Lorsch in 812. The Gyulafehérvár Codex contains a Hungarian language glossary called Gyulafehérvár rows (1310-20). The originals of the Döbrentei Codex and the Batthyány Codex, the oldest known manuscript Protestant hymnal in Hungary, are preserved here.
Batthyány consciously collected books, including the purchase of the 8,000-volume library of Archbishop Migazzi of Vienna. In 1792, the diocese received the Baroque church and monastery of the Trinitarian Order, which had been dissolved in 1783, consecrated in 1745, and Batthyány converted it for the institution. In 1794 he set up an astronomical observatory in the former church, and in 1795 he moved his library from Nagyszeben to the former monastery and most of the episcopal printing press from Kolozsvár. The later Batthyaneum was officially founded on 31 July 1798. Batthyány donated to the institution his private collection of manuscripts, coins, shells and minerals, in addition to books, and died in November of the same year. The library initially consisted of about 20,000 volumes.
Its founder intended the institution to be a developing, bustling scientific workshop, but due to a lack of additional funds it became a museum, and was enriched mainly by the bequests of ecclesiastical figures, including Beke Antal, Buczy Emil, Fogarasy Mihály, Kovács Miklós, Lönhart Ferenc, Majláth Gusztáv Károly and Temesvári János. By 1893, the library had grown to 40,000 volumes. In 1912, it was declared a public collection, and thus received substantial annual state subsidies for the purchase of books. In the same year, a vault was installed to store the most valuable books.
The first director of the observatory was Mártonfi Antal, canon and astronomer, who had previously worked with Hell Miksa in Vienna. Hell Miksa personally supervised the design of the observatory and the acquisition of the astronomical instruments. Batthyány Ignác himself also studied astronomy. He arranged for public lectures and ordered that the astronomer's observations be published in print every year. This was ensured by the institution's own printing press, located on the ground floor. From 1840, the first regular meteorological observations were made here in Transylvania.
In 1914, some of his most valuable books and in 1940, some of his manuscripts were sent to Hungary. In the 1930s, part of its holdings were sold.
In 1949, the collection was closed by the Romanian state and nationalised in 1950. Since then, it has been part of the Romanian National Library and is only open to researchers with special permission. A government decree in 1998 ordered its return to the successor of the diocese, but the Romanians have not returned it to the church since.
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It was first built as an observatory, then the bishop gradually expanded it with a collection of minerals and coins and a library. The codices of the 55 000-volume episcopal library of the Batthyaneum is world-famous. The third oldest coherent Hungarian language text, the Gyulafeh\u00e9rv\u00e1r Rows from 1310, was found in one of the Latin-language codices.@\nThe most important part of the collection is the library, which contains 927 volumes of manuscripts and codices and 565 early printed books. It houses 80% of the medieval Latin codices in what is now Romania. Its valuable Bible collection consists of 600 volumes. The most valuable item in the codex collection is the Codex aureus, the Gospel of Matthew and Mark, written in gold letters in the Benedictine Abbey of Lorsch in 812. The Gyulafeh\u00e9rv\u00e1r Codex contains a Hungarian language glossary called Gyulafeh\u00e9rv\u00e1r rows (1310-20). The originals of the D\u00f6brentei Codex and the Batthy\u00e1ny Codex, the oldest known manuscript Protestant hymnal in Hungary, are preserved here.@\nBatthy\u00e1ny consciously collected books, including the purchase of the 8,000-volume library of Archbishop Migazzi of Vienna. In 1792, the diocese received the Baroque church and monastery of the Trinitarian Order, which had been dissolved in 1783, consecrated in 1745, and Batthy\u00e1ny converted it for the institution. In 1794 he set up an astronomical observatory in the former church, and in 1795 he moved his library from Nagyszeben to the former monastery and most of the episcopal printing press from Kolozsv\u00e1r. The later Batthyaneum was officially founded on 31 July 1798. Batthy\u00e1ny donated to the institution his private collection of manuscripts, coins, shells and minerals, in addition to books, and died in November of the same year. The library initially consisted of about 20,000 volumes.@\nIts founder intended the institution to be a developing, bustling scientific workshop, but due to a lack of additional funds it became a museum, and was enriched mainly by the bequests of ecclesiastical figures, including Beke Antal, Buczy Emil, Fogarasy Mih\u00e1ly, Kov\u00e1cs Mikl\u00f3s, L\u00f6nhart Ferenc, Majl\u00e1th Guszt\u00e1v K\u00e1roly and Temesv\u00e1ri J\u00e1nos. By 1893, the library had grown to 40,000 volumes. In 1912, it was declared a public collection, and thus received substantial annual state subsidies for the purchase of books. In the same year, a vault was installed to store the most valuable books.@\nThe first director of the observatory was M\u00e1rtonfi Antal, canon and astronomer, who had previously worked with Hell Miksa in Vienna. Hell Miksa personally supervised the design of the observatory and the acquisition of the astronomical instruments. Batthy\u00e1ny Ign\u00e1c himself also studied astronomy. He arranged for public lectures and ordered that the astronomer's observations be published in print every year. This was ensured by the institution's own printing press, located on the ground floor. From 1840, the first regular meteorological observations were made here in Transylvania.@\nIn 1914, some of his most valuable books and in 1940, some of his manuscripts were sent to Hungary. In the 1930s, part of its holdings were sold.@\nIn 1949, the collection was closed by the Romanian state and nationalised in 1950. Since then, it has been part of the Romanian National Library and is only open to researchers with special permission. A government decree in 1998 ordered its return to the successor of the diocese, but the Romanians have not returned it to the church since. 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