The Albrecht Haupt Collection

The Haupt Collection consists of an important stock of historical architectural works and drawings from approximately the year 1500 to around the middle of the 19th century.

The collection can be traced back to Karl Albrecht Haupt (1852 – 1932) who worked as a building researcher, a professor at what was then TH Hannover (i.e. Hanover technical university), a freelance architect, curator, explorer and collector.

As early as 1901, a significant portion of the items in Haupt's possession were sold to TH Hannover’s library. Further works were acquired between 1923 and 1925. The eventual adoption of the "Haupt Collection" saw the full range of these publications incorporated in the library in the form of a permanent special collection. The collection is housed in Building 1 of the TIB/UB at Welfengarten 1B.

The Haupt Collection consists of three groups of works:

Group I is made up of approximately 6,000 architectural travel sketches drawn by Haupt himself, which he used for his lectures and publications. These individual sheets are accessible via an electronic catalogue.

Group II comprises approximately 6,800 individual graphical works (drawings, copper engravings, woodcuts, etchings), mainly stemming from the late Renaissance, Baroque and mannerism periods. Currently, these graphical works are only accessible via a temporary, handwritten card index.

Group III comprises approximately 1,500 volumes of architectural history, architectural theory and garden design in its broadest sense. It represents a virtually complete collection of the most important works of architectural theory from Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands, covering the period from the start of the 16th century to the early 19th century (with a primary focus on the 17th and 18th centuries). The titles of this sub-collection have now been fully incorporated in the catalogue of the TIB/UB .

All of the items from the Haupt Collection are reference stock and are therefore not available for borrowing.

Papers and documents from the archives of Group I and Group II can only be viewed by personal appointment.

It is possible to conduct searches and, as a rule, to place orders for individual volumes from Group III in the catalogue of the TIB/UB, though the use of any items ordered is restricted to the special reading desks at the reading room information, between the hours of 9 am and 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday (Saturdays only by prior arrangement). In certain cases, outsize formats, volumes in a precarious or poor condition, and certain other works may not be available for viewing in the reading room, in which case an accompanied viewing at their storage location can usually be offered as an alternative.

A selected stock of 100 works (Garden Design, 16th - 19th Century) is now available in a microfiche format. The majority of orders for these volumes will be filled using this secondary format, so as to help conserve the original volumes.