20th Anniversary of the University Library – A Building Full of Stories
On 10 October 2025 in the Maurice-Halbwachs-Auditorium, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar celebrated the 20th anniversary of the University Library’s new building. President Prof. Peter Benz opened the event with a wink: »We’re all celebrating each other – and all because of this wonderful building.«
Since it opened in 2005, the Library has been more than just a repository for knowledge; it is a meeting point, an event venue, and a daily learning space for students. Daniel Kleine-Kraneburg, University Library Advisory Committee member who presented anniversary greetings from the students, also reminded guests of this.
In his speech, Prof. Dr. Helmut Heit, Director of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar’s Kolleg Friedrich Nietzsche, offered an inspiring outsider perspective on this reading and thinking space. Library Director Dr. Frank Simon-Ritz then took the audience on a journey through two decades of Library history – from laying the foundation to the start of construction work to the lively learning centre that learning centre that the building is today. He made it clear that the Library remains in a state of transition – the aim is to make future operations even more sustainable, energy-efficient, and accessible.
Guests and staff engaged in conversation in the reception that followed in the lower foyer – the very same space where study groups meet every day and scenes for the crime series »Tatort« with Christoph Waltz were once filmed.
Photos: Bauhaus-Universität Weimar / Thomas Müller
