The University Library in Poznań is the leading academic library in the Greater Poland region. It is a unit of Adam Mickiewicz University, established to support its scientific and educational activities. It creates a space of knowledge gathered and made accessible through historical collections as well as the latest information sources. The Special Collections Department houses one of the largest collections of Masonic prints in Europe.
Description of the Masonic Collection
This collection was created from prints confiscated by the Nazis from German and other European Masonic lodges, which were discovered in the autumn of 1945 in Sława during an operation to secure abandoned and deserted prints in the western territories of Poland. From there, it was transported to the University Library in Poznań.
The oldest part of the collection is composed of seventeenth Rosicrucian prints. The number of volumes of the eighteenth century old prints in the collection amounts to several thousand volumes. The bulk of the collection, however, comes from the nineteenth and the twentieth century. A significant part of the collection (about 70%) consists of periodicals, including a set of periodic reports from German grand lodges and lodges, as well as lists of lodge members, mainly German.
The collection also includes a continuously updated set of modern literature devoted to Freemasonry.
Size of the Collection
The collection comprises approximately 80,000 volumes.
Website:
Associations with other organisations:
The University Library is a unit of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Opening hours:
Special Collections and Local Studies Reading Room Mon. – Fri. 9.00 am. – 8.00 pm. Sat. 10.00 am. – 5.00 pm.
Entrance fees:
Visitor’s Card for non-members of the Poznań academic community (once every 6 months) – no fee
Contact:
Karolina Tomczyk-Kozioł
Head of the Special Collections Department
kartom7@amu.edu.pl
=48 61 829-3835