The Österreichisches Staatsarchiv

With its rich archival heritage from more than 1,000 years of Austrian history, the Österreichisches Staatsarchiv (Austrian State Archive) preserves, indexes and safeguards valuable cultural assets of pan-European significance.

The Österreichisches Staatsarchiv comprises four archives:

• the Allgemeines Verwaltungsarchiv/Finanz- und Hofkammerarchiv (General Administrative Archive/Financial and Court Chamber Archive)
• the Archiv der Republik (Republic Archive)
• the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv (House, Court and State Archive)
• the Kriegsarchiv (War Archive)

The Allgemeine Verwaltungsarchiv/Finanz- und Hofkammmerarchiv (AVAFHKA) bears witness to a complex history and structure: a conglomerate that grew from its beginnings out of the central administration’s various archives over centuries to its current extent. The core of the Allgemeine Verwaltungsarchiv was formed by the Archiv des Inneren und der Justiz (Interior and Justice Archive); later on, the Unterrichtsarchiv (Education Archive), the Archiv des Handelsministeriums (Ministry of Trade Archive), the Adelsarchiv (Nobility Archive) – actually the Gratialregistratur des Innenministeriums (Ministry of the Interior Record Office for Acts of Imperial Grace) – part of the Verkehrsarchiv (Transport Archive), several family archives, a large number of estates and collections as well as the “audiovisual collection” were added. The merger with the Finanz- und Hofkammerarchiv (Financial and Chamber Archive) in 2006 marked the end of this development for the time being.

The Archiv der Republik is the only department of the Österreichisches Staatsarchiv primarily responsible for sorting, evaluating, mapping, taking over and storing, securing, preserving and maintaining as well as indexing the contemporary file holdings of the Austrian federal administration. One essential element is the preservation of the legal security of the state (state documents, legislative documents, etc.) due to the unique character of archival records. According to the legal basis, this includes the analogue and digital records of the highest authorities (presidential chancellery, supreme courts), all ministries, their subordinate offices throughout Austria as well as all federal offices in the states.

The Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv is the only Österreichisches Staatsarchiv department housed in a historic archive building on Vienna’s Minoritenplatz. The end of the Habsburg monarchy in 1918 marks the end of its archival holdings. The oldest document, a charter by Emperor Louis the Pious, dates from 816.

The holdings of records on the "house", "court", "state" and "Empire" are supplemented by numerous ruler and family archives and private bequests of writings as well as various collections, including an important, very extensive collection of documents. Other collections include seal castings and stamps, manuscripts as well as plans and maps. In total, 130,000 account books and file boxes, 75,000 documents, 15,000 maps and plans and about 3,000 manuscripts are kept on 16,000 linear metres.

The Kriegsarchiv comprises about 180,000 file boxes and 60,000 account books on about 50 kilometres of shelves and can claim to be by far the most important military archive in Central Europe. Its map collection of over 600,000 maps and plans is the largest in Austria. In addition, there is a collection of about 400,000 images.
The history of an orderly military archives system began during the Habsburg monarchy in 1711, when Emperor Joseph I ordered the creation of an archivist post at the Court War Council, the supreme central authority for the Habsburg war system. The Kriegsarchiv is now a "historical archive". With few exceptions, the official records kept here end with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918. In the Kriegsarchiv’s collections, on the other hand, the year 1918 does not represent a real caesura.

• The objects of the "Österreichisches Staatsarchiv" available on bavarikon

Exhibitions with the participation of the "Österreichiches Staatsarchiv" on bavarikon

• Regensburg and its Jewish Community in the Middle Ages