Introduction

500 years ago Martin Luther provoked far-reaching consequences with his criticism of the church. The possibility of making a new profession beside the faith, which had hitherto been indispensable and determined by the Church, caused a beginning, hope, and liberation on the one hand, and fierce opposition and hatred on the other. The bookprinting with movable type had only existed for half a century. With the increasing demand for publications on the Reformation - text and illustrations - it developed rapidly. The exhibition shows a selection of contemporary, well-known, but also very rare and unique prints from the University Library which reflect these historical circumstances in various forms: a letter of indulgence, pamphlets, front covers, single-page prints, theological, propagandistic and warning texts as well as pieces of invective and caricatures.

Most of the books presented here belong to a collection that goes back to the earliest times of the Bernese library. After implementation of the Reformation in 1528 the Liberey der Hohen Schule (Library of higher education) supplemented their collections which had been confiscated from monasteries by contemporary literature which served the teaching of reformed pastors. In the following centuries unique specimens and donations from collectors of old prints were accrued.