Nepal Research Center

The Nepal Research Center (NRC) was a continuation of the research project Nepal-Himalaya, which was established in 1960 in Kathmandu with the aid of the Thyssen-Foundation and the German Research Foundation. It was operated by the German Oriental Society (DMG) from 1974 until 31 March 2014.

The project's aim was to explore the high mountain region of Nepal and its inhabitants. The NRC harbored and supported the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project (NGMPP), established in 1970. Here, German Sanskrit scholars and Tibetologists worked side by side with experts from Nepal to microfilm manuscripts from public and private collections, contributing to the preservation of valuable materials. As stipulated by contract, the original films are located in the National Archives of Nepal,  while a copy of the collection is held by the Berlin State Library on behalf of the DMG.

Since the outset of the project, more than 70,000 manuscripts comprising nearly 3 million pages have been microfilmed.

The new regulations for using the microfilm depot can be found here (in German only).