The Austrian State Archives
The are one of the leading "historical memories" in Europe. By preserving valuable cultural heritage and storing important government documents, the State Archives fulfil two key functions which are indispensable in every democratic society: They ensure transparency and an understanding of past events.
Whoever has an interest in patents of nobility, state treaties, diplomatic correspondence or strategic aspects of the campaigns of Prince Eugene will strike gold in the State Archives, as much as railroad lovers and connoisseurs of the art history of the Vienna Ringstrasse boulevard. The archive holdings date from the 9th century to the present. Documents of outstanding eminence include:
- Martin Luther’s 95 theses
- a copy of the Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV
- contract deeds of the Westphalian Peace
- a certified copy of the Austrian State Treaty
- a number of documents that were relevant for the work of the Committee of Historians on compensation payments for forced labour and Arianization.
The Austrian State Archives formed in the years 1945-1947 by a merger of the Court Chamber Archives, the War Archives, the Dynastic, Court and State Archives, the General Administrative Archives, the Financial Archives, and the Archives for Transport and Traffic under the direction of a Division. In 1947, the Court Chamber Archives and the Financial Archives were re-organised to become the Finance and Court Chamber Archives. In 1984, finally, the Archives of the Republic were established.
The Austrian State Archives’ tasks include:
- Storage, preservation, restoration and systematic classification of archival material using finding aids
- Safekeeping of files and documentation material originating from the supreme Federal authorities of the Republic of Austria
- Arranging of acquired archival material
- Presentation of archival material for research, media or private requests within the scope of the statutory provisions on use, and provision of professional advice to users
- ublication activities
- Contributing to the arrangement of scientific meetings and exhibitions.
The Austrian State Archives administer some 80,000 documents, more than 1,200,000 archived items (fascicles, boxes, folders, files, etc.) and more than 7,500 running metres of ledgers and indexes. This includes over 450,000 geographical maps and technical drawings, as well as over 340,000 picture documents. Add some 650,000 volumes of scientific literature in the library, subscriptions to 137 publication series and 23 exchange periodicals.
Each year, some 2,500 to 3,000 users frequent the Austrian State Archives 20,000 to 23,000 times on average, more than one third of which from abroad (Europe and overseas). Some 10,000 to 15,000 enquiries are processed each year on a range of different research matters, more than one half of which from abroad, as well as enquiries from government authorities.
Nottendorfer Gasse 2
Phone: +43 1 795 40-504