I: The Research Library in Gotha

The library in the Friedenstein Palace in Gotha/Thuringia houses one of the most important collections of old printings and manuscripts in the Federal Republic of Germany—220,000 volumes with prints from before 1851 and over 10,500 volumes of writings. Duke Ernst I (1601-1675), also known as “Ernst the Pious”, laid the foundation of both the palace as well as the library. Ernst I was the first duke of the House of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg following an inheritance division of the Saxon dynasty of Wettin in 1640.

Its standing as a courtly library afforded its continual access to volumes such as biographies and memoirs (in particular the purchases of Ernst II), music (including a collection of hymnbooks with over 3,000 titles from the 16th to the early 20th centuries), and geography with an extensive collection of maps from the 18th century as well as travel literature of Europe and the world. Particularly thorough collections in the library include those of Ernst Salomon Cyprian (Reformation, Pietism), Johann Gottfried Geissler (German-language writings of the Middle Ages, incunables, early natural sciences), and Ulrich Jasper Seetzen (oriental manuscripts). In addition, Gotha has the books of the continent’s first observatory, whose archives and collections are also a part of the library. And mention should also be made of the over 8,000 title strong collection of eulogies from Anna Sophia Hülsemann.

II. The Scholarship Program

1. Content and direction of the scholarship
The research support program for visiting academics of the Herzog-Ernst-Scholarship aims to both promote and intensify the academic profession through the use of the resources of the research library.

The academic orientation of the scholarship program is intended to carry on the academic spirit of the library itself and its diverse resources. In this sense, the program possesses a thematic and interdisciplinary character. Still, some of the following points ought to be emphasized and applications should reflect the clear-cut fields of the research library:
• The culture of the German and European Court of Gotha (the duke’s private library; correspondences; the courtly calendar)
• The library, transfer of culture, and the education of knowledge-based cultures—in the broader sense, that of the academic cultures from the early modern travel reports to the more modern geographical and astrological sciences (political and travel reports; the libraries of Duke Ernst II of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg; the collection of Friedrich Christian Kries as well as that of the observatory)
• History of the European literature, particularly 16th through 19th centuries (collections of new Latin and Baroque verse)
• History of the interpretation of the religious cultures of biblical and classical ages, of Protestantism, and of Islam (Cyprian’s purchases; the Gerhardina Library; as well as the hymnals and Oriental writings)
• Philosophy and history of the German and European Enlightenment (private library of Louise-Dorothee and Prince August; theatre literature)

The research activities of the scholarship recipients can also be supplemented by the various collections of the Erfurt city library system, which includes the Bibliotheca Amplonia, with its nearly 1,000 medieval writings as well as 40,000 volumes of old printings. This resource derives essentially from the old University of Erfurt, which was closed in 1816 and whose collections reach into the 18th century. These special collections were handed over to the academic care of the University of Erfurt in 2002. In addition, the resources of the Duchess Anna-Amalia Library in nearby Weimar can be used.

2. The conditions of the scholarship

For academic engagement with the resources of the Gotha Library, research scholarships for Ph.D. students will be awarded for periods of three to nine months in the amount of € 1,100 per month starting on March 1, 2010. At the same time, postdoctoral scholarships will also be awarded in the amount of € 1,600 monthly for from three to six months long.

Please note: German language ability is not necessarily a requirement for acceptance into the scholarship program.

Applicants are requested to include the following documents to their applications:

1. Application Form
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. A brief outline (from two to five pages) including a statement of purpose as to why research in Gotha is necessary for the project
4. Two letters of expertise regarding the proposed project
5. Letters of recommendation
6. A publications list, where applicable

The documents listed in points 1, 2, 3, & 6 should moreover be attached electronically. You will find the application form (.doc-file) here: http://www.uni-erfurt.de/forschungszentrum-gotha/stipendium. Where necessary insight into the documents may be requested.

Application documents can not be re-sent. In some circumstances, further documentation may be requested.

Applications for the scholarship can be made under the heading “Herzog-Ernst-Scholarship of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation” until October 30, 2009. Applications are accepted in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish. Please send applications to:

An die Vergabekommission
Herzog-Ernst-Stipendien der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung
Prof. Dr. Martin Mulsow
Forschungszentrum Gotha der Universität Erfurt
Postfach 10 05 61
D-99855 Gotha
Germany

A public presentation of the research project will be required, as well as a short report regarding the research results from the Gotha Library to be delivered upon completion of the project. The goals of these requirements are, of course, to further the academic goals and spirit of the library and of library science in general through the revelation of new findings. Recipients are also asked to provide any published copies of works aided through the scholarship program with the Gotha Library.