The Calvör library

As a church depository - owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover and the parish of Zellerfeld - the University Library looks after the Calvör Library, an important cultural asset of the Upper Harz region.

The Calvör Library is named after the superintendent of the parishes of Zellerfeld, Wildemann, Grund and Lautenthal and later general superintendent of Grubenhagen for the districts of Clausthal, Osterode, Herzberg and Einbeck: Caspar Calvör (1650-1725).

The contents of the medium-sized scholarly library from the Baroque period are diverse. Only a good half of its holdings are theological, with the remainder comprising historical, legal, poetic, philosophical, scientific, medical and geographical writings.

The cataloging of the library, which began in 1961, was continued after its transfer to the university library in 1963. Today, a printed two-volume catalog and a comprehensive index volume provide access to the approximately 12,000 individual publications contained in almost 4,800 volumes. The approximately 3,000 volumes acquired in 1725 were augmented by purchases from the Calvör-Wichmann Foundation.

In terms of its size and comprehensiveness, the Calvör Library offers a cross-section of all intellectual and spiritual currents of the 17th and early 18th centuries. In addition to many rarities (Aldinian prints, family writings, disputations, etc.), the special items include autographs by Luther and Melanchthon as well as two volumes of unique organ tablatures. In addition, many works bear witness to the technical and cultural development of mining in the Upper Harz.

Part of the collection is displayed behind glass doors in the reading room of the university library. More detailed information about Caspar Calvör and his library can be found on a separate website.

Use of the holdings of the Calvör Library takes place exclusively in the reading room and must be registered at least three days in advance by e-mail to service@ub.tu-clausthal.de.

Calvör general catalog (PDF)