The Stadtarchiv Amberg

The Stadtarchiv Amberg (municipal archive Amberg) constitutes the communal special agency for all queries concerning archives in the city of Amberg. It originated from two roots: royal and imperial charters as well as those of the regional ruler over Amberg, which were to be preserved as well as possible given the privileges bestowed, and the results of the efforts made by the Amberg city council to increase the use of written records within the city administration. The first document preserved, bestowing or rather confirming the rights of Amberg as a city by Count Palatine Rudolf dates to the year 1294. The oldest municipal manuscript with diverse, mainly legal texts goes back to the final third of the fourteenth century. The series of cartularies was started by the Amberg municipal court in 1379, that of the city council's cartularies in 1432. The latter continues with small lacunae into the present and offers excellent insights into the city life as well as into the juridical development in Amberg.

The importance of the municipal archive is attested by its accommodation since 1572/73 on the former estate of the mayor and city chronicler Michael Schwaiger below the equally renovated small council chamber. Over the centuries, heavy, ironbound doors with large renaissance locks protected the important city archivalia, kept under the tutelage of the town clerk. A particular feature in the city of Amberg consists of the city's affiliation with the territories of the electors Palatine between the years of 1329 and 1628, which left its mark on the holdings of the Stadtarchiv Amberg.

Important holdings

As regards the history of the reformation in the principality of the "heroberen Pfalz" (Upper Palatinate), its introduction was made by the council of the city of Amberg in 1538. The direct agreement with the reformers Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon in Wittenberg was of decisive importance. Pertinent information may be found in the correspondence between the city council and the reformers, which is preserved in the city archive.

The written material is of particular importance, since it attests to the history of Amberg's mining industry, to the metallurgical manufacture by means of so-called "Schienhämmern" (a particular hammer to work iron) and to the trade in iron. Outstanding is the "Große Hammereinung" of 1387, one of the earliest trusts in the history of European economics. Among the "archival treasures" of the city archive are the magnificently decorated "Salbuch" (land register) of the Amberg hospital dated to 1578 or the "Schießbücher", which document the results of important shooting contests during the early modern period.

The Stadtarchiv Amberg is one of the most important communal archives in Bavaria due to the completeness of its holdings. So far, the archive has not suffered major losses as the result of fire, flooding or theft.

Collections, Donations, Deposita

Collections (photos, placards, maps and plans, local newspapers, historical documentation) complement the records of the Stadtarchiv. The collections are rounded out by a series of decedents' estates, donations and permanent loans ("Deposita"). Worth mentioning is the estate of the European politician Dr. Heinrich Aigner or that of the company Foto Frey, consisting of c. 3,000 glass panes, as well as the permanent loan by the composer H. E. Erwin Walther and by diverse Amberg associations such as the "Bürgerverein Amberg" (Citizens' Association) or the "TV 1861 Amberg" (Sports Club 1861 Amberg).

• The objects of the Stadtarchiv Amberg available on bavarikon

Exhibitions of the Stadtarchiv Amberg available on bavarikon

• Martin Luther and the Early Reformation in Bavaria. Adherents, Opponents, Sympathisers