The Historical Archive of the City of Cologne (German: Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln) is the municipal archive of Cologne, Germany. It ranks among the largest communal archives in Europe.
A municipal archive has existed in Cologne since the Middle Ages. The oldest inventory of charters in the archive is dated 1408/1409. The oldest document kept in the archive is a charter dated 922 AD.
The archive contains official records and private documents from all ages of Cologne history, as well as an extensive library of manuscripts. While the adjective "historical" in its name might suggest a closed, complete archive with a focus on older history, the archive is also the official government repository responsible for collecting recent municipal records.
The six-story archive building collapsed on 3 March 2009, along with two neighboring apartment buildings. Two residents of neighboring buildings were found dead. All archive staff and visiting archive users survived, as they were able to escape following a warning by construction workers. The actual degree of damage to the historical treasures kept in the building is still unknown. A substantial proportion of the written records of the city's history is believed to have been destroyed.
Read more about Historical Archive Of The City Of Cologne: Legal Basis, Holdings, List of Directors, Bibliography
Famous quotes containing the words historical, archive, city and/or cologne:
“Among the virtues and vices that make up the British character, we have one vice, at least, that Americans ought to view with sympathy. For they appear to be the only people who share it with us. I mean our worship of the antique. I do not refer to beauty or even historical association. I refer to age, to a quantity of years.”
—William Golding (b. 1911)
“To a historian libraries are food, shelter, and even muse. They are of two kinds: the library of published material, books, pamphlets, periodicals, and the archive of unpublished papers and documents.”
—Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)
“A suburb is an attempt to get out of reach of the city without having the city be out of reach.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Ever notice how these European trains always smell of eau de cologne and hard boiled eggs?”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)