About the city archive

The history of the Erlangen City Archive 1885-2020

Today, the Erlangen City Archive is the central competence center for the history of Erlangen, the official memory of the city. It extensively documents life in the city through the acquisition, storage and evaluation of official documents, collections, estates and more. Through publications, exhibitions and lectures, as well as the right of everyone to conduct independent research in the archive's reading room, the public has the opportunity to share in the many treasures in the archive.

But it was a long road to the creation of this memory of the city. Until the last quarter of the 19th century, there was no actual archive in Erlangen. The documents of the public authorities were stored in the private offices of the respective officials, for example in the offices of the bailiff as the highest state representative. In the 19th century, the municipal records were then stored in the town hall.

The beginnings as an "ancient collection" (1885-1921)

The Erlangen City Archive began with the desire to preserve the city's own cultural past by creating a collection of archive and museum material relating to the city and local history. Established in 1885 by a city council resolution, this collection of "ancient or historical objects" was initially only kept part-time in the Oberrealschule (now Ohm-Gymnasium) in the Egloffsteinschen Palais and supervised by the head of the school. In these early days, the archive replenished its holdings mainly through donations and its own purchases.

The Egloffstein Palace (1938/39)

By 1910, several hundred objects - documents, printed matter, pictures, plans, seals and stamps, coins, medals and beer tokens - had arrived in the archive, which had since moved to the former town hall on the market square (Palais Stutterheim). There was not yet a regulated takeover of documents from the municipal administration. The focus was on the antiquarian and museum purpose of the institution, for example as part of an exhibition to mark the centenary of Erlangen's affiliation to Bavaria in 1910.

The Palais Stutterheim (around 1920)

From 1909, the institution had a permanently assigned supervisor in the person of senior teacher Gustav Pauli. With the collection of war memoirs and writings during the First World War, the archive took on the task of documenting contemporary history for the first time.

The archive takes shape (1921-1945)

After the end of the First World War, the municipal archive increasingly began to develop its potential. In 1921, the former teacher and journalist Ludwig Göhring took over the management of the institution for the first time as a full-time archivist. In 1923, the archive, together with the museum and public library, moved into the former Old Town Hall on Martin-Luther-Platz, which was designed as a "people's (education) house".

The 2nd floor of the Old Town Hall with the planned archive rooms (1921)

During Göhring's time in office, the holdings of the city archive expanded considerably. In addition to typical collection items such as coins, medals and seals, files, printed matter and books were now also added to the building. With the creation of repertories, the keeping of a town chronicle, the establishment of a town history library, the decision on the cassation and destruction of documents no longer required and the publication of local and town history publications, the archive was already taking on tasks that went far beyond the simple collecting activities of the founding years.

The Old Town Hall converted into the "Volkshaus" (1921)

Under the part-time supervision of the chemistry teacher and local historian Dr. Ernst Deuerlein, the archive focused on genealogical and family research and the creation of an extensive genealogical card index during the Third Reich. Deuerlein also carried out intensive collecting activities, which added valuable, mainly contemporary historical material to the holdings. On the other hand, the numerous anti-Semitic statements and publications by the city archivist at the time must be viewed critically. At the beginning of the Second World War, as part of air-raid protection measures, holdings that were considered to be particularly important were removed for reasons of air-raid protection and became very disorganized. However, there were no war-related losses.

Consolidation and expansion (1945-1984)

Shortly after the end of the war, the Spruchkammer moved into the Old Town Hall, which meant that the city archive initially had to return to the Palais Stutterheim on the market square. Johannes Bischoff, who succeeded Ernst Deuerlein, who had been dismissed by the US military government and was now once again the full-time archive director, organized the return of the relocated archive material, its reorganization and indexing as well as the acquisition of further new holdings. Bischoff was also very active as the town archivist, giving guided tours of the town, advising on the protection of historical monuments and giving lectures and publications on local history. Since 1955, for example, the archive has played a key role in the publication of "Erlanger Bausteine zur fränkischen Heimatforschung" (Erlangen Building Blocks for Franconian Local History Research), which was founded by the local history association.

City archivist Johannes Bischoff in the archive magazine (1951)

During this time, the archive continued to play an increasingly important role in the city's records management. Following the dissolution of the main municipal registry and the introduction of clerk filing systems, it quickly took over large quantities of files into its own holdings in the first half of the 1960s. From then on, it also fulfilled the function of a support office for the file clerks and their records management. The incorporation of further towns since 1967 - Kosbach, Tennenlohe, Eltersdorf, Frauenaurach, Großdechsendorf, Hüttendorf, Kriegenbrunn - led to a further increase in the holdings through the takeover of the respective municipal archives.

Shortly after the end of the war, the municipal archive was barely able to cope with these new tasks in its cramped premises, and even the creation of several external storage facilities did not offer a long-term solution. To remedy the acute lack of space, the first purpose-built archive building was constructed in 1959 in the rear courtyard of the Old Town Hall. However, it was still necessary to use several external storerooms.

The new archive building in the rear courtyard of the Old Town Hall (1959)

Users in the new archive building (1961)

The long road to the "museum corner" (1984-2019)

In the longer term, the city archive again suffered from cramped and disparate spatial conditions. In 1984, structural defects forced the move out of the functional building, which was demolished in 1987. The move to the former fire equipment storehouse, which was converted into administrative offices in Cedernstraße 1 for this purpose in 1985/86, could only provide limited relief; it was still not possible to bring all of the archive's holdings together in one building. Instead, several external storerooms remained in use, in which conditions were questionable in terms of conservation.

The administrative rooms of the city archive in the building at Cedernstraße 1 (2007)

Despite these difficult circumstances and relatively low staffing levels, the archive developed a wide range of activities and demonstrated a high work output. Between 1977 and 1997, the holdings doubled to almost 4,000 linear meters of shelving; in addition, the conversion to a digital archive database took place in 1997/98. Among other things, the archive took over the management of the city chronicle, the photographic documentation of the cityscape and has been training city guides since 1998. In addition to all these activities, the archive naturally continued to perform the tasks of document acquisition, indexing and user support.

Since the mid-1990s, the city archive has been making a name for itself through increased public relations work and publication activities. Particularly noteworthy is the "Erlanger Stadtlexikon", published in 2002 to mark the 1000th anniversary of Erlangen's first mention, which remains the definitive standard work on the city and its history to this day. Another important project was the organization of the Bavarian Archive Day in 2007 together with the Erlangen University Archive and the Siemens MedArchive.

At the same time, a decisive development began: Since the 1970s, there had been repeated, but ultimately always rejected, plans to construct a new archive building (including as part of a "city history center" in conjunction with the city museum). Through increased public relations work in the 1990s, the city archive was able to draw increasing attention to the critical structural situation in the archive and the external storerooms. A unique opportunity finally arose in 2000 with the donation of an area with industrial buildings from the early 20th century to the city of Erlangen by the Siemens company.

Initially intended for the establishment of an industrial museum and therefore still referred to today as the "Museumswinkel", the Erlangen City Council decided in 2006 to house the city archive in the so-called D-Block, an industrial building erected in 1911. On December 15, 2009, the foundation stone was laid for the new building, which was inaugurated on October 21, 2011. The city of Erlangen invested a total of almost six million euros in the conversion.

Laying of the foundation stone for the archive building in the Museumswinkel (2009)

The construction of the new city archive in the Museumswinkel (2010)

The remaining external stacks of the city archive 2011-2019

On February 29, 2012, the city archive began serving users in the new archive building. By 2019, the remaining external storerooms were gradually closed and the archive materials stored there were transferred to the new building. This completed the move into the Museumwinkel almost ten years after it was built, and the memory of the city of Erlangen has finally moved into a suitable home.

Outlook: The modern memory of the city of Erlangen

Thanks to the move to the Museumswinkel, the Erlangen City Archive now has a modern, visually appealing and excellently equipped archive building which, for the first time in the history of the archive, can accommodate all of the previously scattered holdings. As part of the move, the archive records were also recorded, appropriately packed and secured wherever possible. In conjunction with the new premises, it is now possible to store the previously inadequately stored archive materials in an appropriate manner in terms of conservation. Spacious rooms are also available for users and events. The staffing of the archive has also been significantly improved in the years since the move, with 17 employees now working in the building.

The move to the Museumswinkel marks an outstanding milestone in the history of the Erlangen City Archive. At the same time, however, this is only the starting point for new ventures into the city's memory. Current research focuses include the history of the city of Erlangen during the First World War, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the Second World War, Nazi crimes in Erlangen, the history of Erlangen's Jews and the "contemporary witness interviews" with important personalities in the city's life.

Digitization with all its consequences continues to be a considerable challenge, not least with regard to the long-term archiving of the City of Erlangen's now almost completely electronic records management. The promotion of professionally trained junior staff is also of great importance: since 2009, the city archive has been training FAMIs (specialist employees for media and information services) on its own initiative.

Through all these activities, the Erlangen City Archive aims to continue to fulfill its task of preserving, indexing and researching the history of the city and making it accessible to the public: as the memory of the city.

The new Erlangen City Archive on the day of its opening (2011)

The city archive is Erlangen's official memory.

As the central institution of the city administration, the city archive continuously takes over official documents for permanent storage. In addition, it acquires club and company archives, family estates and Erlangensien of all kinds through purchases and donations. It also has a diverse collection of books, newspapers, coins, medals, postcards, photographs and much more. Through these activities, the city archive can significantly shape the tradition of the past and present for future generations. The current collection comprises 5.5 kilometers of shelves or around 55 million pages.

The main tasks of the City Archive include the permanent storage and indexing of its holdings, the management and supplementation of the archival collections and documentation (in particular the city chronicle and the contemporary history collection), the provision of documents and information for archive users, research into the history of Erlangen, participation in the preservation of historical monuments and historical and political public relations work.

Together with the local history association, the city archive publishes the "Erlanger Bausteine", the only periodical scientific publication on Erlangen's city and regional history, and was involved, for example, in the exhibitions and publications on the 300th anniversary of the new town of Erlangen in 1986, the 250th anniversary of the Friedrich Alexander University in 1993 and the 1000th anniversary of the city of Erlangen in 2002. The city archive's own series of publications should also be emphasized.

In addition to the research work carried out by the city archive itself, it also supports local history and scientific research and provides information on city, university, economic and regional history as well as personal and family research on request. It is also available to other cultural institutions as a cooperation partner for exhibitions and the like and as an advisor in matters of records management and preservation.

As an office within the city administration, the city archive is also a training location for the profession of "Media and Information Services Specialist (FaMI)".

By participating in the administrative reform currently being carried out in the city administration (digitization of correspondence, permanent storage of EDP data records), the city archive has an influence not least on the design and transmission of future official records. By taking over selected holdings, the city archive determines in the present what future generations will learn about the past and can thus participate in the development of the future.

The diverse tasks of the City Archive form the basis of the internal organizational structure. In addition to the office and administration, there are two staff units with clearly defined special tasks in the areas of "Digital long-term archiving" and "Public relations, science & research". The core archival tasks are bundled in corresponding specialist groups. The heads of the specialist groups are highlighted in grey in the organization chart.