The Anna Amalia Library, part of the World Heritage site of Classical Weimar which was inscribed on the UNESCO List in 1998, will reopen in October 2007, three years after it was damaged by a fire. According to the architect in charge of the restoration works, Mr Walther Grundwald, the deadline should be respected. "We have chosen the date of 24 October for the re-opening, as it is the birthday of the Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Anna-Amalia," he said.
On 2 September 2004, a fire devastated the library which includes notably the world's largest collection of Faust, by Goethe (3,900 volumes), about 2,000 Middle-Age manuscripts and 8,400 historic maps as well as an important collection of bibles and music volumes. About 50,000 volumes were burnt and another 62,000 were damaged, in particular by the water used to extinguish the fire. The cost of the restoration work is estimated at 11.9 million Euros.
In 2005, at its 29th session, the World Heritage Committee requested the State Party to provide the World Heritage Centre with a progress report on the restoration work at the Library by 1 February 2007.
