The recent financial turmoil and its serious economic consequences constituted a major challenge for central banks and banking supervisors around the world. Against this background, the Bundesbank is organising a workshop that aims to scrutinise how the role of central banks has evolved since the 19th century, with a particular focus on how financial crises such as those of 1873, 1907 and 1929 to 1933 have shaped the tasks and responsibilities of major central banks, as well as on how successful such changes have been.