Fürstliche Bibliothek Corvey, Private library in Höxter, Germany

The Fürstliche Bibliothek Corvey occupies fifteen halls of Schloss Corvey, a former Benedictine abbey near Höxter, fitted with 200 bookcases in walnut, curly maple and cherry. The design by Anton Gehtmann, a pupil of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, follows Biedermeier and late Neoclassical models. The Sommeraal keeps grisaille landscapes in its vault lunettes, attributed to court painter Ferdinand Ludwig Bartscher.

The library's core comes from four generations of collecting by Landgrave Viktor Amadeus of Hesse-Rotenburg (1779–1834), who received the former Principality of Corvey from the Prussian king in 1820 as territorial compensation. To secure the inheritance of his adopted nephew Viktor zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, the movable collections were brought to Corvey between 1825 and 1833 while the Landgrave stayed in Rotenburg. The adopted heir was made first Duke of Ratibor and Prince of Corvey in 1840; his descendants still own the library.

The library houses rare English fiction from the early 19th century and functions today as a window into the reading cultures of that era. Walking through the rooms, visitors encounter the literary tastes of the period and discover names that had faded from public memory.

The library can only be visited through guided tours that provide detailed insight into the collections and the architecture of the rooms. It is advisable to check beforehand which languages are available for the tours offered.

The collection contained over 400 female authors whose names had nearly vanished from literary history, contributing significantly to our modern understanding of women's literature. This discovery reveals how a single collection has recovered entire chapters of women writers' histories.