The Hindu : International : Rare books lost in fire

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 05, 2004

International

International

Rare books lost in fire

WEIMAR (Germany): Tens of thousands of irreplaceable books were lost or damaged in a fire at one of Germany's most precious libraries, though some 6,000 historical works — including a 1543 Martin Luther Bible — were saved by a daisy chain of people who spirited them away from the flames. Some 25,000 books were destroyed and another 40,000 damaged by water and smoke, officials said on Friday. The blaze tore through the Weimar's Duchess Anna Amalia Library, housed in a 16th-century rococo-style palace, said Ulrike Bestgen, an expert with the Weimar Classics Foundation. The German Culture Minister, Christina Weiss, pledged up to $4.87 millions in immediate aid to help repair the building and restore damaged books, calling the fire a ``national culture catastrophe and a great loss for world heritage.'' Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire, which broke out in a top floor after closing hours on Thursday night and raged for some two hours before 330 fire-fighters were able to bring it under control. ``This is a painful blow,'' said Weimar Mayor Volkhard Germer.

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