Der Große Brockhaus

The Brockhaus Enzyklopädie is a German-language encyclopedia which until 2009 was published by the F. A. Brockhaus printing house.

The first edition originated in the Conversations-Lexikon published by Löbel and Franke in Leipzig 1796–1808. Renamed Der Große Brockhaus in 1928 and Brockhaus Enzyklopädie from 1966, the current^[update] 21st thirty-volume edition contains about 300,000 entries on 24,000 pages, with about 40,000 maps, graphics and tables. It is the largest German-language printed encyclopedia in the 21st century.

In February 2008 F. A. Brockhaus announced the changeover to an online encyclopedia and the discontinuation of the printed editions. The rights to the Brockhaus trademark were purchased by Arvato services, a subsidiary of the Bertelsmann media group. After more than 200 years, the distribution of the Brockhaus encyclopedia ceased completely in 2014.

Paralleling other 18th century encyclopedias, the scope of the original Conversations-Lexikon was expanded beyond that of earlier publications, in an effort to become comprehensive. Published by the Leipzig scholars Renatus Gotthelf Löbel (1767–1799) and Christian Wilhelm Franke (1765–1831) from 1796 onward, it included geography, history, and in part biography, as well as the more typical mythology, philosophy, natural history, etc.

Upon Löbel's death in 1799 Franke sold the rights to publication to Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus (1772–1823). The deal was made at the Leipzig Book Fair on 25 October 1808 for the price of 1,800 thalers.

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