Status: 24.08.2023, 09:19 a.m.
By: Sven Trautwein
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Bookstores are a wonderful place to browse. New publications, but also literary demands can be found here. We present Germany's most beautiful bookstores.
According to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, there are around 5,000 bookstores in Germany. Those interested in reading will not only find supplies for their bookshelves in train stations and shopping malls, which can be arranged in very different ways. These bookstores make the hearts of book lovers beat faster. The result is a very subjective list of the most beautiful and interesting bookstores in Germany.
Bookstore "Felix Jud" in Hamburg
Felix Jud bookstore: In November 1923 he opened his "Hamburger Bücherstube Felix Jud & Co." at Colonnaden 104. © Michael Kneffel/Imago
The bookstore "Felix Jud" in Hamburg was opened in 1923 and is a cultural institution located between the town hall and Jungfernstieg. Here you will also find original artist's graphics and rare first editions. Also worth seeing is the ambience and the Mellin Passage, which exudes its own flair.
Bookstore "Kreutzer" in Schwabach
The small bookstore in the gold-beater town of Schwabach near Nuremberg is not only worth a visit at Christmas time. While a model railway lures you into one of the shop windows at Christmas, the first floor hides not only a well-stocked travel book department, but also a parrot that has many a joke with customers.
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For crime fans: Hammett bookstore in Berlin
Crime fans will get their money's worth in Berlin, especially in the "Hammett" bookstore. Since 1995, a dedicated team has been providing information about exciting new releases on the crime market. According to the website, the bookstore alone has seven meters of shelves with only crime novels about the capital Berlin. Why Berlin is the perfect place for crime novels, explains crime writer Johannes Groschupf in an interview.
Like in the living room "Büchers Best" in Dresden
"Büchers Best" in Dresden is also one of the 2022 award-winning bookstores in Germany. The small but fine bookstore with antiquarian bookshop invites you to browse. Selected events make it a meeting place for book lovers.
"Bookstore Slawinski" in Buchholz
Even in smaller towns, it is worth looking for beautiful places for books. Since 1975, Buchholz has been home to the Slawinski bookstore, which, according to its website, offers "hand-picked literature". Exhibitions and readings complete the offer.
In search of independent publishers: "Ocelot" in Berlin
The Berlin bookstore "Ocelot" offers books from independent publishers. © Sabine Gudath/Imago
The capital Berlin offers countless bookstores. Here it is almost even more difficult to make a choice. However, if you are interested in books by independent publishers, you can't get past "Ocelot". The focus is on fiction and graphically elaborately designed books.
For world travelers: Travel bookstore "Dr. Götze Land & Karte" in Hamburg
"Dr. Götze Land & Karte" in Hamburg is Germany's largest travel bookstore. In keeping with the "Gateway to the World", as Hamburg likes to be called, everything about travel and adventure can be found here. In addition to travel guides, you will also find maps and globes. The perfect place for your next holiday planning and a lot of travel fever.
"Buchhandlung Jakob" in Nuremberg
Like the "Kreutzer" bookstore in Franconia, the "Jakob bookstore" in Nuremberg's old town offers a meeting point for anyone interested in books. After a chequered history and briefly threatened with closure in 2010, it was finally rescued and was able to continue to exist. It was one of the bookstores nominated for the 2022 German Bookstore Award.
Award for bookstores: German Bookstore Award
Since 2015, the German Bookstore Prize has been awarded. An independent jury selects the winners. In 2022, the Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth selected 118 bookstores that have rendered outstanding services to literature. The first three winners will each receive a prize of 25,000 euros. In 2022, the first prizes went to the "Buchhandlung Schatzinsel" in Bernau, Brandenburg, "Friedrich Schaumburg" in Stade, Lower Saxony, and "Logbuch" in Bremen.
The decisive criteria for the nomination were a sophisticated literary range, innovative business models, a cultural event programme or a special commitment to the promotion of reading and literature.
Website of the Federal Government
The list is in no way exhaustive or subject to an evaluative order. If you find yourself in the wide world, here is our list of the most beautiful bookstores in Europe. And these libraries are also worth a visit. If you want to look up more about the most beautiful bookstores in book form, you should take a closer look at "The Most Beautiful Bookstores in Europe" (promotional link) from Gerstenberg Verlag.