First books return to restored historic German library gutted by fire in 2004

Good News From Germany: Thousands of restored books returned Monday to the shelves of a newly-renovated historic library in eastern Germany that was gutted by a fire more than three years ago.

The Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar reopens Oct. 24 with a ceremony led by German President Horst Koehler, after several years of painstaking restoration and upgrading of the library’s security systems, worth about $18.2 million.