Thanks to a generous grant from the state of Saxony-Anhalt from special COVID-19 funds, 2,000 large-format historical plan drawings have been digitised at the August Hermann Francke Study Centre. As a result, the entire plan archive with more than 3,400 drawings is now available in the Study Centre's Digital Collections. The drawings impressively document three centuries of architectural history of the Francke Foundations and their external properties. The fundamentally revised data enables easy navigation and direct access to specific houses, parts of buildings and detailed drawings. In this way, location-independent and worldwide access to sources that are of central importance for the self-image of the Francke Foundations has been created: Alongside the historical collections, the buildings form the core of the foundations and establish their reputation as an important school and educational institution of both regional and supra-regional relevance.

The importance of this treasure trove of plans for the Francke Foundations is also reflected in a lavishly designed, large-format publication, which was produced in parallel with the re-cataloguing of the collection. The focus is on the drawings and sketches from the 18th century. The systematic overview of plans provided here allows conclusions to be drawn about the planning stages, changes and working methods of the master builders. This not only reveals early modern building management, but also allows the directors of the foundations' concepts of organisation and space to be reconstructed. The illustrated book therefore also provides an example of the scientific questions that can be asked of this valuable part of the Francke Foundations' archive.

Thomas Grunewald: The Plan Archive of the Francke Foundations. The school town in drawings and sketches of the 18th century. Halle 2024.
176 pp., 115 illustrations, € 44.00; ISBN 978-3-447-12334-1