Catching up:
Irreplaceable books lost to fire at library
“WEIMAR, Germany — A fire that ripped through one of Germany’s most precious historical libraries destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of irreplaceable books, although 6,000 works, including a 1543 Martin Luther Bible, were spirited to safety by a chain of people, officials said Friday.
About 25,000 books were destroyed and 40,000 others were damaged by water and smoke from the fire Thursday night in Weimar’s Duchess Anna Amalia Library, housed in a 16th century rococo-style palace, said Ulrike Bestgen, an expert with the Weimar Classics Foundation. …”