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 Gottingen) 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, Dusseldorf, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Mainz, Gottingen und Munchen. 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 Gottingen 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-Hunsruck (IMH)" (English: Inscriptions of the Middlerhine-Hunsruck). The IMH-Project was worked out in 2008. The "Institut fur Geschichtliche Landeskunde an der Universitat 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-Hunsruck Kreises I (DI 60)" (English: The Inscriptions of the Rhine-Hunsruck 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 Gottingen (City), DI-28 Hameln, DI-36 Hannover, DI-42 Einbeck, DI-45 Goslar, DI-56 Braunschweig, DI-58 Hildesheim, DI-60 Rhein-Hunsruck-Kreis I, DI-61 Helmstedt, DI-66 Gottingen (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 Gottingen
Inscription-office Mainz
Inscription-office Vienna
Excerpts from the Hessian volumes of the Cenotaph-Project
History of Germany