Munich

Life in the freezer is about to become a reality for thousands of ancient books in eastern Germany.

The books form part of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, one of Europe's most valuable collections, which was badly damaged by fire on 2 September.

Some 30,000 of the million volumes in the library's collection were destroyed in the blaze. And at least 40,000 burnt and water-logged books and manuscripts now need to be restored.

The damaged books are being taken to the Centre for Book Conservation in Leipzig, where they will be stored below −22°C to keep mould and bacteria at bay. They will then be freeze-dried before restoration begins. The federal government has pledged €4 million (US$5 million) to kick-start the effort, and private donations are already coming in to help complete it.

Out cold: burnt books from the Anna Amalia Library will be frozen for safe-keeping. Credit: MAIK SCHUCK

“Fortunately, the books were packed very close together, so the main damage has been to the edges of the pages and on the book covers,” says Robert Fuchs, a conservator at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne.

“The fire was a tragedy for the world of German literature,” says Martin Strebel, a restorer who works for the Abbey Library in St Gallen, Switzerland. But he adds that many tools are available to repair the damaged books.

Burnt page edges can be replaced with new paper, for example. And if whole pages look set to crumble, the two sides can be separated and stabilized by a sheet of paper placed in the middle. But only a few experts can carry out this procedure, which is expensive and time-consuming.

Weimar was home to some of Germany's most famous writers, including Nietzsche and Goethe. The library, created in 1761, is listed as a World Heritage Site.