Love letter archive

This special archive was founded by philologist Eva Lia Wyss in Zurich during the late 90s and is the only one of its kind in german-speaking countries. It archives a multitude of love letters of our society from the 18th century to the present, showcasing authentic emotions and everyday culture.
The letters uniquely show how private correspondence has changed through the years, especially because love letters exist in all layers of society. They offer a perspective on not only how an individual shifts their style of writing, but entire generations, age groups and genders as well. It comes as no surprise that the love letter evolved from slips of papers to letters, from telegram to postcard and from e-mail to SMS.

Since 2013 the physical love letter archive has been housed in the closed stacks of the University library Koblenz. The Technical University of Darmstadt and the University- and regional library Darmstadt have supported the digitalisation since 2014.

Love letter donations are welcome anytime. Not just letters are accepted, but entire correspondences between couples in all stages of their relationship as well.