St Mary's Library
A treasure trove in all areas of science from the 15th to 18th centuries
Dating back to 1552, St Mary's Library is one of the oldest and largest Protestant church libraries in Germany and belongs to the Protestant market church community. The impetus for its foundation was Martin Luther's call to establish Protestant schools and libraries and thus bring education to all sections of the population. The collection comprises 36,000 volumes, in addition to 400 incunabula (printed works from before 1500), works from all fields of knowledge from the 16th and 17th centuries and - as a special treasure - Bibles with handwritten dedications by Luther. For example, the Bible of Felicitas von Selmenitz, a first edition of Luther's Bible translation from 1534.
An der Marienkirche 1, 06108, Halle (Saale)
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Luther Bible in the hands of a woman
Felicitas von Selmenitz, who came from the lower nobility, turned to the Reformation at an early age. The Word of God served her as an aid in life, support in bringing up her children and comfort when they were lost. Felicitas is an example of the impact of the ideas of the Reformation and the resulting educational offensive, particularly among women.
The centrepiece of her book collection is the first complete edition of the Bible in Luther's translation with a dedication by Luther: Der Ehrbarn tugentsamen frawen felicitas von Selmenitz meiner Lieben gevatterin Martinus Luther d d
The original Bible can be found in St Mary's Library in Halle. You can also take a look inside and leaf through it here.