Image credit: De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543), Univ. of Liège/J. Donvil; manuscript(1520-41) & 2nd Ed (1566), Jagiellonian Library. Via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain) .
#onthisday in 1616, the Vatican banned Copernicus’s "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium". 🚫Though it laid the groundwork for modern astronomy, both Catholic and Protestant leaders initially rejected the idea that the Earth orbits the Sun!
Don't let your newspaper archives stay buried in microfilm!
While their irregular structure is more complex than a book, we've published a 4-step guide to help you digitise and transcribe historical newspapers with precision.
Half a million stories, research projects, and historical breakthroughs. 🌍 We are officially celebrating 500,000 Transkribus users!
Thank you for being part of our journey! 🎉
AI is evolving, but is it sustainable? We explore the Transkribus 2026 roadmap, from responsible LLM integration to strengthening our cooperative model. Read the full interview with our Board Members here:
If you would like to present your research findings on the topic of "Not all AI is created equal", we would love to hear from you. Submit your proposal for #TUC2026 and join the conversation in Passau!
tuc.transkribus.org/call-for-pap...
Is all AI created equal?
We enjoyed this breakdown by Per Hundevad Andersen testing general AI against specialised Transkribus models for 19th-century Danish Gothic script.
👉Read here : blog.slaegtsbibliotek.dk/2026/02/04/t...
Some hit the slopes, we're climbing through the archives. 📖 Explore over a century of mountaineering heritage with the fully searchable Zeitschrift des Alpenvereins on Transkribus Sites.
The Call for Papers for #TUC2026 at the University of Passau is already open! We invite submissions on the role of specialised vs. general-purpose AI in research. Present your insights to the global Transkribus community.
View formats and submit here: tuc.transkribus.org/call-for-pap...
✍️ Workshop HTR
Learn the basics of @transkribus.bsky.social and turn digitised manuscripts into searchable text (with @meemoo-be.bsky.social & GhentCDH). Participants may work with their own collection material (optional)!
📅 17 March 2026 | Ghent | free
🔗 Register here: meemoo.be/nl/vormingen...
Transcribing an entire library?
The National Library of Norway has already processed 25% of their scanned documents using Transkribus and the NorHand model.
This massive effort will make centuries of cultural heritage searchable and widely accessible.
👉 blog.transkribus.org/en/the-norha...
📢 Save the Date: TUC 2026 @ University of Passau
From 21–23 September 2026, we’re bringing the Transkribus User Conference to the beautiful University of Passau!
Learn more and stay updated here: tuc.transkribus.org
Missed our live session on Table Models? You can now catch the full recording on YouTube!
👉Watch the recording here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYkG...
Working with difficult layouts? Today's Field Models webinar will show you how to automate the tagging and recognition of marginalia, headers or signatures.
Sign-up is still open! 👉https://www.transkribus.org/event/field-models-january-2026
We were thrilled to see the relaunch of the digital archive of the Arbeiter-Zeitung (Workers' Newspaper) by Medienhaus Wien last autumn!
Transkribus helped to turn 215,000 pages into a fully searchable digital resource.
Visit the archive at www.arbeiter-zeitung.at
Don’t miss our free Table Models webinar today! You will learn how to transform historical tables into searchable, structured text.
Register here: www.transkribus.org/event/table-...
Ready to improve your transcription results?
Our latest webinar recording is now available to watch on YouTube! Find out how to train custom AI models that can recognise unique historical handwritings.
Digital tools are now essential for modern historical research.
At the University of Helsinki, Ville-Pekka Kääriäinen is leading the way by teaching students how to use Transkribus to process historical documents.
Read more about integrating AI into the curriculum:
Image: Frontispiece, Antonio de Nebrija’s Introductiones latinae (c. 1550). Biblioteca Gonzalo de Berceo, via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).
#onthisday in 1492, Antonio de Nebrija is said to have presented the first grammar of a modern European language, Spanish, to Queen Isabella I.
This work remains a fascinating example of early language standardisation!
Struggling with complex document structures?
Join our free webinars on Table Models (20 Jan) and Field Models (27 Jan) and learn how to train Transkribus AI to recognise the specific layout of your documents.
Sign up here: www.transkribus.org/events
Image: Royal Fireworks and Illuminations at Whitehall (1749). Via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Throughout history, New Year hasn’t always been celebrated on 31 December. Depending on the time and place, it has often marked the spring or autumn equinox, or even 25 December.
However you celebrate the turning of the year today, we wish you a great start to the next one! 🎇
Images:
John Bull's new Cakes and Gingerbread (1799). British Museum, via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Recipe Book (17th-18th c.). Wellcome Collection, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Gingerbread has a long history, from ancient Egypt and China, where spiced honeybreads were used in ceremonies and daily life, to medieval Europe, where spiced cakes became popular among the wealthy.
Want to give history a taste? Try baking a 17th-century recipe yourself 👇
Images:
Joseph Mohr Autograph (1820/25). Melody: F.X. Gruber. Courtesy of Stille Nacht Gesellschaft, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Historical St. Nikolaus Church, Oberndorf. Courtesy of Stille Nacht Museum Oberndorf, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0-migrated)
#onthisday in 1818, "Silent Night", written by Franz Xaver Gruber, was first performed at St. Nicholas' Church in Oberndorf, Austria.
It has since become one of the most recorded Christmas songs in history and has been translated into around 300 languages. 🎄🎶
Latin connects centuries of European history, but diverse scripts make manuscripts hard to read.
Here are five AI models that can be used with Transkribus to create accurate, digital versions of Latin documents!
👉 blog.transkribus.org/en/how-to-re...
About to keynote my first conference in Japan! Speaking about @transkribus.bsky.social and all things cooperative tech governance, and the importance of community driven tech - and community walled gardens in this AI moment.
"Without volunteers, nothing works for us."
The German Archives for Diaries (DTA) is on a mission to preserve the thoughts of "ordinary people." As Markus Schaber notes, diaries offer the social and emotional context that state archives often miss.
👉 blog.transkribus.org/en/german-ar...
