Digitisation of a Greek manuscript from the Anhaltische Landesbücherei Dessau for worldwide use
The holdings of the Anhalt State Library (ALB) in the Dessau-Roßlau City Archive include numerous manuscripts from the Middle Ages and the early modern period. A significant collection of such manuscripts in the ALB is part of the book collection of Prince George III of Anhalt. This includes a Greek manuscript of the New Testament from the 15th century with the shelfmark Georg Hs 4, which has become the focus of international scholarly interest.
On 19 May 2025, this manuscript was digitised on site in Dessau-Roßlau by two employees of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM).
The CSNTM, based in Plano, Texas (USA), is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to digitally preserve Greek New Testament manuscripts. To this end, the centre produces high-quality digital copies of such manuscripts from libraries, museums, monasteries, universities and archives around the world.
The images produced are freely accessible on the centre’s website – a searchable library of currently around 1,700 Greek New Testament manuscripts. With more than 50,000 users exploring manuscripts in its digital library each year, the CSNTM facilitates a partnership between manuscript owners, archivists/librarians and researchers around the world.
With the digitisation of the Georg Hs 4 manuscript, the Anhaltische Landesbücherei Dessau is now part of this special worldwide network. The digitised copies of the Georg Hs 4 manuscript will also be made available to the ALB as a partner institution free of charge for all its own purposes.
