Renovation of the Murhard Library begins - Valuable holdings will be presented in an annex in the future

The listed old building (main usable area 3600 m²) has a considerable backlog of renovation work. It will be modernized in the coming years, and the building technology will be renewed. The historic Eulensaal will then once again be available for concerts and other cultural events. A four-story extension with around 680 m² of main floor space will extend the building to the northwest, where there is currently a parking lot. The extension will house a stacks, but also a glazed two-story reading room as well as an exhibition room, so that the valuable manuscripts and other cultural treasures can be presented in a well-protected manner.

The library goes back to a foundation of the Kassel citizens Friedrich and Karl Murhard and was opened in 1905. Heavily damaged during World War II, the building became part of the University Library in 1976 and represents its second largest location. Organizationally, it is divided into the Murhard Library and the State Library. Among the most valuable holdings of the State Library are medieval manuscripts such as the Hildebrandslied from the 9th century, one of the oldest records of German poetry. Even before construction work began, part of the valuable holdings had been removed from storage, so they cannot be displayed at present.

The overall construction project is being supervised by the Landesbetrieb Bau und Immobilien Hessen (LBIH) as the client. Planning and construction management are the responsibility of the architectural firm Sichau & Walter, based in Fulda, which also designed the new building. The total construction costs are estimated at around 13 million euros. The money comes from the HEUREKA construction program of the state of Hesse.

Boris Rhein, Hesse's Minister of Science and the Arts, said, "After the Hessian State Museum was already reopened last year in the immediate vicinity after extensive structural repairs, restoration in keeping with the requirements of a listed building and with a completely redesigned exhibition, I am very pleased that the renovation of the Murhard Library can now also be started as part of the university library with funds from the HEUREKA university construction program."

Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey, President of the University of Kassel, added: "Parallel to the renovation of the campus library at Holländischer Platz, a second major project to modernize our library locations is now starting. Here, spaces are being created that will provide our students, scholars and scientists with the best conditions for research and in-depth study, while inviting the urban community in and making our treasures accessible to them."

"The redevelopment of the Brüder-Grimm-Platz site will expand and sharpen the profiles of the two areas housed at this location, the Murhard Library and the State Library," said Senior Library Director Dr. Axel Halle. "The Murhardsche on the one hand will position itself in the future more prominently than before, and in a contemporary interpretation of the testamentary will of the founder, in the broadly diversified educational and cultural life of the city of Kassel. As a place of social and cultural interaction, a mediation site for lifelong learning as well as a space of inspiration for the region and the university, it will network and establish itself more strongly than before with regional cooperation partners after the renovation." And further: "On the other hand, the renovation will provide the Landesbibliothek with the long-needed spatial conditions to present its treasures to the public and to offer scholars from Germany and abroad the contemporary framework conditions of a modern research library."

The head of the Murhard's, Martin Reymer, assures: "Even during the renovation phase, library operations will continue. Some holdings have already been moved to other UB locations, but can be ordered online via internal interlibrary loan. Providing the best possible service and prompt information about any usage restrictions is our top priority."

Visualizations of the extension (graphic Sichau and Walter):

View from Brüder-Grimm-Platz: https://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/fileadmin/datas/uni/presse/anhaenge/2017/Murhardsche_Perspektive_Grafik_Sichau_und_Walter.jpg
 

Interior view of the reading room:
www.uni-kassel.de/uni/fileadmin/datas/uni/presse/anhaenge/2017/Murhardsche_Lesesaal_Grafik_Sichau_und_Walter.jpg

Contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communications, Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
www.uni-kassel.de
 

Sibylle Kammler

Kassel University Library

Phone: +49 561 804 2839

E-mail: kammler@bibliothek.uni-kassel.de