Kommunalarchiv (Municipal Archive)

Housed in the town hall in the 19th century as a municipal archive, based on a pertinence arrangement and as part of the town of Wasserburg’s "old archives", today the holdings are indexed with 2,723 individually recorded documents (from 1301 onwards), 1,263 files (from the 15th century onwards) and 1,178 title records of an extensive official book, account book and serial documents (the oldest of which are copies from the 14th century, account books from 1441 onwards).

Similar to the foundation archive, the holdings were digitally combined at a provenance level, the "town council with town court" and on the basis of a division of tasks. In addition, the councillors named as administrators of the official books and invoices were indexed in the serial documents, and references to the sub-holdings’ office affiliations were recorded in title formations and a subject index.

Irregular arrangements can be overcome by digitally merging the holdings without having to physically touch the records.

One example of this: The town court’s surviving Wendelbücher (Wendel books) were initially their own category from 1598 (StadtA WS, I1c708), but were later kept as part of the town chamber account’s verifications (among other inserted books) from 1634 (StadtA WS, I1c250). This example can be used to clearly demonstrate three points that are fundamentally relevant to the indexing of the holdings: Firstly: The council administration cannot always be clearly distinguished from the municipal court’s tasks. Secondly: Non-production of duplicate copies for (different purposes) indicates smaller administrative structures. Thirdly: The digital indexing allows for the comprehensive merging of (formerly lost) holdings (here e.g. using the technical term "Wendel") as well as the classification.

In addition to the town’s external relations (e.g. imperial objects, StadtA WS, I1b328) and the status in the country (e.g. files on the Bavarian Landtags, StadtA WS, I1b340) as well as municipal law (e.g. the town of Wasserburg’s orders and freedoms, StadtA WS, I1c7), other main areas surviving documents are concerned with are:

- Council election/municipal offices (e.g. council book and citizens’ register, StadtA WS, I1c8)
- Markets and trade (e.g. fairs, StadtA WS, I1b33)
- Salt trade (e.g. StadtA WS, I1b49-T1)
- Excise tax/duties (e.g. wine and duties, StadtA WS, I1b468)
- Tax system (e.g. tax book and tax register, StadtA WS, I1c154)
- Medical system (e.g. dealing with the plague, StadtA WS, I1b82)
- Construction (e.g. construction of the railings on the bridge, StadtA WS, I1a7)
- Guild system (e.g. supervision of the council over grocers, StadtA WS, I1b88)
- Citizens (e.g. citizens’ records and business concessions, StadtA WS, I1b96)
- Administration of justice (e.g. purchased, exchanged, donated and loaned goods, StadtA WS, I1a1)
- Property and land taxes (e.g. Duke Stephan sells the Burgerfeld area and the valley to the town, but reserves the arable land there with a tithe, StadtA WS, I1a386)
- Town accounting (e.g. town chamber accounts, StadtA WS, I1c29)

The part collections of the collection "Kommunalarchiv (Municipal Archive)" available on bavarikon

>> This collection is part of the collection "Holding I. Old archive’s “Kommunalarchiv” and “Stiftungsarchiv” (archives of the council or magistrate administration with church and foundation administration 14th-19th century)" of the Stadtarchiv Wasserburg am Inn (Wasserburg am Inn Municipal Archive).