Gunnerus Library

The Gunnerus Library in Trondheim is the oldest scientific library in Norway and dates back to 1768 when it was the library of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS). The library is named after bishop Johan Ernst Gunnerus (1718–1773).

The Gunnerus Library is among the most important historical libraries in Scandinavia due to its rich collection from the 18th century. It focuses especially on the academic fields of archaeology, botany and zoology, but is also a general scientific library with an extensive collections in the history of culture and sciences, as well as genealogy and local history. The library is open to the public and is mainly frequented by scientists and students from the NTNU and local historians.

The Gunnerus library is located in Trondheim’s neighborhood of Kalvskinnet. It is based in the building of the DKNVS' library which dates back to 1866, and the new adjacent annexes which were later added in the years 1939 and 1975.

The library boasts a collection of photographs, maps, manuscripts and a huge holding of books dating back from the 15th century. The library also holds an extensive book collection which came from the Norwegian legal deposit and revised materials from the last one hundred years.

The year 1768 applies as the library’s founding year because the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (DKNVS) hired Peter Daniel Baade as librarian. He was supposed to convey the book collection outwards. But Baade’s employment was of short duration. Already after one month he got appointed as priest to Zealand in Denmark. That is the reason why Johan Ernst Gunnerus, the co-founder of the Society, became librarian, a position which he held until he died in 1773. At this time the library was located in Gunnerus’ house at Dronningens gate.

According to the Society’s earliest statutes every new member had to pay 10 riksdaler or give two books within the same value to the library. That is how the library started to build its collection. But also testamentary inheritances were made, for example from Gerhard Schøning and Christopher Hammer.

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