Die Deutschen Inschriften

(DI) (English: The German Inscriptions of Medieval and Early Modern Times) is one of the oldest collections of historical inscriptions. The series tries to collect, to describe and to explain a huge number of inscriptions. The inscriptions used date from medieval and early modern times. The Inscriptions are in today's Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Austria and South Tyrol. The project was instituted by the German linguist Friedrich Panzer (from Heidelberg) in 1934. The historians Karl Brandi (from Göttingen) and Hans Hirsch (from Vienna) helped him with his effort. The scientists planed the task as an interacademic venture to publish writings concerning epigraphy. By now 81 volumes have been published. An individual volume contains usually the inscriptions of a single city, of a German district or an Austrian district. Several of the Academies of Sciences work together to publish the volumes and to push the project further. The German Academies involved are in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Mainz, Göttingen und München. Also the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna is involved. The Reichert-Verlag is the publishing house of the scientific editions.

Deutsche Inschriften Online (DIO) 
The Academies of Sciences in Mainz and Göttingen planed and carried the project "Deutsche Inschriften Online" (English: German Inscriptions Online) out. The project's ambition was to digitalize the volumes DI 66/45/56/58/61 and make them available online. The realisation is based on a database who was developed by the Inscription-offices in Greifswald and Mainz. The venture has an innovative character. It is seeing itself as a broadening of the project "Inschriften Mittelrhein-Hunsrück (IMH)" (English: Inscriptions of the Middlerhine-Hunsrück). The IMH-Project was worked out in 2008. The "Institut für Geschichtliche Landeskunde an der Universität Mainz" (English: Institute for Regional History at the University of Mainz) took part in working out the IMH-Project. The project digitalized the volume "Die Inschriften des Rhein-Hunsrück Kreises I (DI 60)" (English: The Inscriptions of the Rhine-Hunsrück District) edited by epigraphist Eberhard J. Nikitsch. In the meantime the website of the IMH-Project has merged into the DIO-Web portal. In the long run digitalization and making available online of further volumes is scheduled. Also a translation of the DIO-Website into the English language is projected.

Besides the digitalized volumes DIO features an elaborated search interface, news concerning epigraphy and series of articles. The series featured are "Epigraphischer Tipp" (English: Epigraphical Hint) and "Inschrift im Fokus" (English: Focused on Inscription). There are also a glossary and a list of topical weblinks. Additionally the site presents a wide array of photographs and pictures of inscriptions or things alike. By this means the publishers try to interweave different alternatives of presenting information to the public.

Today twelve volumes including more than 4170 items and more than 4000 illustrations and photographs can be retrieved by the user. Currently online available are the volumes DI-19 Göttingen (City), DI-28 Hameln, DI-36 Hannover, DI-42 Einbeck, DI-45 Goslar, DI-56 Braunschweig, DI-58 Hildesheim, DI-60 Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis I, DI-61 Helmstedt, DI-66 Göttingen (District), DI-46 Minden, The Inscriptions of the City of Mainz. First Part: The Inscriptions of the Cathedral and the Museum of Cathedral and Diocese ranging from 800 to 1350.

References

Bibliography 
 Schrade, Torsten: Epigraphik im digitalen Umfeld (=Epigraphy in the Digital Field). (URN: urn:nbn:de:0289-2011051816). In: Skriptum 1 (2011), Nr. 1. ISSN 2192-4457. (Article available under Creative Commons-Licence; the article overviews birth and development of the DIO-Project in German)

Other websites
 The German Inscriptions of Medieval and Early Modern Times (DIO) - Mainpage (German)
 Epigraphical Research- and Documentation-Center Munich
 Inscription-office Bonn
 Inscription-office Greifswald 
 Inscription-office Göttingen
 Inscription-office Mainz
 Inscription-office Vienna 
 Excerpts from the Hessian volumes of the Cenotaph-Project 

History of Germany