Bibliothèque humaniste de Sélestat

Om museet

The Bibliothèque humaniste of Sélestat grew out of a parish library founded in 1452 thanks to a gift from Johannes von Westhuss, the rector of the church. Liturgical books and works for the Latin school, which enjoyed a high reputation across the Rhine region, were added through further donations. When the humanist Beatus Rhenanus, a native of Sélestat and friend of Erasmus, died in 1547, he bequeathed his personal library to his birthplace.

The two collections were brought together in the church of Saint-Georges, then moved in 1840 to the town hall and in 1889 to the corn exchange, where the building took on a tourist role. When the intercommunal media library was created in 1997, public reading was transferred there, and the Bibliothèque humaniste focused on preserving and presenting its collections. In 2011 the library of Beatus Rhenanus was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.

After four years of works starting in 2014, the architect Rudy Ricciotti restructured the neo-Romanesque corn exchange and added an extension in pink sandstone. The permanent route follows the life of Beatus Rhenanus, presents the Trésor with its medieval manuscripts and 15th- and 16th-century printed books, and then explores Sélestat during the Renaissance, the great discoveries, the Reformation and the shift from manuscript to print.

Højdepunkter

• Library of Beatus Rhenanus, inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register
• The Trésor of medieval manuscripts and 15th- and 16th-century printed books
• Introduction to Cosmographiae, the text in which the name “America” first appears
• Digital device for leafing through digitised books
• Corn exchange restructured by Rudy Ricciotti
• Children’s route, activity booklet and workshops

Permanent udstilling

• Exposition permanente : sur les traces de Beatus Rhenanus – The route presents the life of the humanist Beatus Rhenanus, the Trésor of manuscripts and printed books, Sélestat during the Renaissance, and the shift from manuscript to print.

Grundlagt

1452

Ejer

Ville de Sélestat

Entrépriser & rabatter

Gratis entré: National Heritage Days and other open-door days

Also free for job seekers, holders of the Pass Musée and Pass Alsace, tour guides, library, museum and archive professionals, journalists holding a press card, and donors who have given more than €50 during the year. A ticket bought at the Bibliothèque humaniste entitles you to a reduced-rate admission at the Maison du Pain d’Alsace, and vice versa. Payment by bank card, cash, cheque or ANCV holiday voucher (no change given).

Tilgængelighed

• Kørestolsvenlig
• Elevator
• Handicaptoilet: ingen oplysninger
• Handicapparkering
• Servicehunde tilladt
• Taktile tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog: ingen oplysninger
• Letlæste tilbud: ingen oplysninger
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

The entire museum is accessible to visitors with reduced mobility and is equipped with a lift. The Bibliothèque humaniste car park has one reserved space for people with reduced mobility. Animals are not allowed, except guide dogs and assistance dogs.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

• Familieomvisninger & workshops
• Opgavehæfte, skattejagt eller audioguide for børn
• Børnefødselsdage

Illustrated children’s route for ages 6 to 12 and the activity booklet “Sur les traces de Beatus” for ages 8 to 12, free at the front desk. Birthday parties for ages 7 to 12 (alchemy or manuscript illumination workshop, €10 per child, minimum charge €60). Free admission for visitors under 25.

Transport & parkering

By car via the A35 motorway (exit 16 Sélestat centre – ZI Nord when coming from Strasbourg; exit 18 Sélestat centre when coming from Colmar). The museum is in the town centre, near the Saint-Georges church.

Service & spisesteder

• Museumsbutik
• Garderobe
• Opbevaringsskabe

Shop in the entrance hall (books, calligraphy objects, games, reproductions of old maps); the Salon Érasme, a place to take a break; free individual cloakrooms at the front desk. No Wi-Fi information is available on the museum’s website.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Private fester
• Firmaarrangementer

Op til 128 personer.

Auditorium of 200 m² (128 seats) and Salon Érasme of 105 m² (100 standing guests); rates on request; free guided tours of the spaces are offered before hire.

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