Iron Library Foundation

The Eisenbibliothek—a foundation of Georg Fischer AG Schaffhausen—is a world-renowned specialized library and international hub for research in the history of technology. This unique collection houses some of the world’s oldest and rarest books on the history of iron metallurgy, science, and technology. It is housed in the beautiful historic Paradieskloster, whose grounds lie directly on the Upper Rhine. The collection comprises over 47,000 printed works spanning 750 years, many of them from the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

Visitors will find monographs on iron extraction and processing, alchemy, archaeology, the history of technology and transportation, architecture, art history and artistic metalwork, economic and social history, mechanical engineering and bridge construction, militaria, civil engineering, shipbuilding, earth sciences, mathematics, physics, chemistry, mining and mining law, natural history, mineralogy and metallurgy, metallography, and materials testing. These include medieval manuscripts containing the works of Aristotle, a copy of Isaac Newton’s *Principia* (1687), and construction plans for the Eiffel Tower.