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Restoration of Batthyaneum Library through financing agreement with Council of Europe Development Bank
Minister of Culture Raluca Turcan announced on Saturday that the restoration of the Batthyaneum Library, an "exceptional cultural site" where the Codex Aureus is located, could be financed through an agreement with the Council of Europe Development Bank.
"I can say that, at the moment, we are in negotiations with the Council of Europe Development Bank to extend the financing agreement on cultural sites that we already have, and in this third agreement, the restoration of the Batthyaneum Library is a priority," the minister of Culture told a press conference.
Raluca Turcan pointed out that the Ministry of Culture has been "chronically underfunded" and has come to be seen over time as "a burden" and "not as a source of development".
"And then, through the National Heritage Institute, through the loan agreement we have with the Council of Europe Development Bank, with the budgetary sources we have created to start a programme to restore the memorial houses, we want to put large investments in culture on Romania's map. An exceptional cultural landmark will be financed in Alba Iulia, namely the Batthyaneum Library," said Raluca Turcan.
The Batthyaneum Library holds the largest collection of medieval Western manuscripts in Romania, including the oldest manuscript of its kind, the Codex Aureus, written between 805 and 810, also known as the Lorch Gospel Book. The first half of the Codex arrived in Alba Iulia in 1786, and the second is in the Vatican Library. The original covers are in museums in London and Rome.
The Batthyaneum also holds the largest collection of incunabula, books published in the second half of the 15th century in Europe, in the early phase of printing, with over 600 copies, namely about 70 percent of the total number in Romania. The library is aimed at researchers and specialists, and access to the premises is allowed only on the basis of an authorization.
(Photo:https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Batthyaneum)