Famous Books

Name: Famous Books
Rating: 4.7 (30 reviews)
Author: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

By: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

Books

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Features & Capabilities

The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek is one of the biggest and most important universal libraries worldwide. Its vaults accommodate some of the most precious and world-famous works of mankind’s written cultural heritage.

The app "Famous Books. Treasures of the Bavarian State Library” presents an exquisite selection of these holdings: 52 splendid manuscripts, unique incunabula and rare, precious printed works from the Occident and the Orient

Only very rarely can the public view the physical manifestations of these treasures in exhibitions. The brilliant, complete digital copies of the exhibits - formatted for presentation on iPad and iPhone - provide a fascinating insight into the treasures held by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.

Users can browse through and freely zoom into the manuscripts and printed works from the first to the last page. Among the exhibits are, for example, the manuscript A of the Nibelungenlied (The Song of the Nibelungs), the eight volumes of the Ottheinrich Bible, an edition of each the Gutenberg Bible and the World Chronicle of Hartmann Schedel, the Babylonian Talmud and Wolfram von Eschenbach’s epic poem Parzival.

User Growth & Download Statistics

App

By:

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

Rating:

4.70

(30)

Version:

2.9 Last updated: 2025-09-18

Version code:

878160239

Creation date:

2010-07-12

Compatible devices:

Size:

237.83MB

URLs:

Website ,Privacy policy

Full description:

Source:

Apple Apps Store

Data ingested on:

2026-06-07

Compare stats and ranking:

Ranking

# 235,989 ▲ 1,027

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Developed by:

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek

Apple Apps Store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/famous-books/id380668385

Website:

https://www.bsb-muenchen.de/en/search-and-service/apps/famous-books/

User Reviews

Overall, reviewers praise Famous Books for its stunning, hi-resolution, zoomable manuscript images and broad access to full books, far beyond highlights, with a user-friendly mobile interface and helpful contextual descriptions. It is especially valued by scholars for rare, complete-page views. However, several recurring issues temper enthusiasm: occasional slow loading and server connectivity problems, illegible text on some pages, lack of thumbnails or quick multi-page previews, and compatibility problems on older devices.

Pros

Full access to entire manuscripts/pages (not just highlights), enabling a comprehensive, self-guided exploration.
Hi‑resolution, zoomable images of the manuscripts.
User-friendly interface and enjoyable mobile browsing.
Rich accompanying descriptions providing helpful context for each piece.
Valuable for scholars and lovers of medieval texts due to access to rare collections and full-page views.

Cons

Occasional slow image loading and general connectivity/server issues.
Text on pages is not always legible and can be hard to read.
Lack of thumbnails or easy multi-page viewing (no quick way to see multiple pages at once).
Compatibility issues on older devices (e.g., iPod Touch) and occasional authorization glitches.

Recent reviews

This app provides access to beautiful manuscripts I wouldn't ever get to see otherwise, and in a very user-friendly interface, and I love how you can zoom in so close. I just wish there were more apps like this one! Now if only I could actually read any of these languages... :)

by So*****, 2014-03-31

Really bad

by Lc*****, 2013-12-14

Love browsing through this app it gives me inspiration every day! Sometimes I find that it takes a while to load images but other than that, great app!