Assembled by the Bavarian collector Josef Peter Rindfleisch during the 1980s and 1990s, the collection comprises travel diaries, manuscripts, paper documents, and rolled palm-leaf deeds, including some of the oldest surviving legal documents from the Kathmandu Valley. These materials document Nepal's political, legal, social, and cultural history across the Malla, Śāha, and Rāṇā periods (13th–20th CE).

In accordance with the wishes of Josef Peter Rindfleisch and his family, the collection has been documented, conserved, digitized, and catalogued at Heidelberg University in preparation for its repatriation to Nepal. The original documents will be preserved by the National Archives of Nepal, while their digital reproductions and accompanying metadata remain openly accessible via the Heidelberg University Library platform.

The collection is organised into three sections:

• Travel Diaries, Manuscripts, and Literary Works (26 items), comprising 14 handwritten volumes documenting official journeys, correspondence, and historical writings, together with works on law, elephant training, āyurveda, and related subjects.
• Paper Documents (317 items), including royal edicts, official orders, land grants, contracts, and petitions from the Śāha and Rāṇā periods (1800–1950).
• Palm-Leaf Documents (465 items), Nepalese rolled palm-leaf deeds preserving records of land transactions, loans, property transfers, and other legal agreements from the Malla period (13th–18th centuries).

Cataloguing and Conservation

During 2022–2023, the palm-leaf documents were stabilized through gentle humidification, cleaning, and repair with Japanese tissue and cellulose adhesive; several bound volumes were additionally treated for mould damage. The collection was subsequently digitized in its entirety: palm-leaf documents were scanned while unrolled during the conservation process, while paper materials were imaged at the Heidelberg University Library.

The cataloguing, conservation, and documentation of the collection were carried out through the collaborative efforts of the following individuals:

• Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Axel Michaels
• Cataloguing Team: Dr. Manik Bajracharya, Pabitra Bajracharya, Prof. Dr. Simon Cubelic, Dr. Rajan Khatiwoda, Rajendra Shakya, Sanjay Shakya, and Dr. Ramhari Timalsina
• Conservators: Marc Barnard, Kumiko Matsuoka, Naoko Takagi, and the conservation experts at the Heidelberg University Library
• Digitization and conservation assistance: Lara Basile, Pradip Ghimire, Chaaru Jain, Bastian Jantke, and Julia Shrestha

Further information can also be found under Documenta Nepalica on the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences website.