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Restoration of Germany's famed Anna Amalia library complete, 3 years after devastating fire

The restoration of Germany's famed Anna Amalia Library, a UNESCO World Heritage List site gutted by fire three years ago, has been completed and the building will reopen to the public next week, officials said Thursday.

The US$18.2 million restoration was undertaken after a fire on Sept. 2, 2004, tore through the roof and top floor of the 16th-century rococo palace that houses the library.

Tens of thousands of irreplaceable books were lost and damaged in the fire, though in a dramatic rescue, a daisy-chain of people spirited 6,000 historical tomes — including a 1543 Martin Luther Bible — away from the flames.
Read entire article at AP