It is named after Joachim Heinrich von Bülow, a passionate 18th-century book collector. The bailiff of Celle left behind an extensive collection comprising around 9,000 printed works, 37 manuscripts, 30 incunabula and more than 2,000 maps and tables. Following his death, the university’s first curator, Gerlach Adolph von Münchhausen, persuaded the heirs to bequeath the collection to the fledgling university. It became the core of the University Library's founding collection. When the library opened in 1734, the collection was housed in its first reading room, located approximately where the present-day Bülow Hall is situated.
As a token of gratitude, the library was initially to be named the ‘Bibliotheca Bülowiana’ – a name which, although it lasted only a few years, now regains its historical significance with the hall’s new name.
The Bülow Hall in the Historic Building is now used for seminars and selected events. To mark the renaming, a newly designed display case in front of the hall provides information about the first library hall. Inside, selected illustrations showcase special holdings from the Bibliotheca Bülowiana and provide insights into the history of the early university library.
Further information
You can find out more about the beginnings of the University Library and the history of the SUB on our page ‘History of the SUB Göttingen’.
Our Collection Catalogue also provides detailed information about the Bibliotheca Bülowiana and the founding collection of the University Library.