Historical Archives Ptuj

Located at the Dominican Monastery at Ptuj and founded in 1955, the Historical Archives of Ptuj collects and keeps records of the archives of organisations and institutions of local and regional interest. In year 2008 a resounding exhibition National consciousness was awakened in Ptuj in 1908 was displayed.

History

The huge complex of buildings - more than 2000 m2 on the ground floor and as many in the floor and in the basement, former Dominican monastery - is now the premises of Historical Archives of Ptuj, which is located in the western part of the monastery, of Regional Museum Ptuj and housing. It has a very rich history. The monastery was built in the years 1230 to 1231 by Dominicans, who owned the place until the reforms of the emperor Joseph II. in 1785. The complex was assigned to various purposes until 1920s, when the museum society gradually moved in. One year before the foundation of the present archives in 1955 it already functioned as independent institution within museum. In 1966 the archives became member of the Archival Society of Slovenia. Historical Archives of Ptuj occupy today an area of 887 m2 of depots and office premises.

Programme / Mission

Archive performs expert tasks related to public and private documents and archives. The archives consist of the material issued by state bodies, local self-governing communities and bearers of public authority and public services, active in the area of administrative units of Ptuj and Ormož. Research is conducted regularly also in the archives of Graz, Vienna and Varaždin.

Venues, branches

Its remit includes the state administrative units (territorial divisions other than municipalities used in state governance) of Ormož and Ptuj.

A lecturing room for 25 people and a space for occasional exhibitons is available in the main unit.

Collections

Historical Archives of Ptuj house around 2,800 linear metres of archival and documentary material. The archives consist of: documents dating from 1338 to 1867; manuscripts dating from 1440 to 1965; the Museum Society Collection dating from 1605 to 1961; records of the Lords of Ptuj Castle since 1431; records of the Minorite Monastery in Ptuj dating from the 14th century; records of the Municipalities of Ptuj and Ormož and of their predecessors dating from the 14th century to 1945; records of the District Board of Ptuj and the District Courts of Ptuj and Ormož since the 19th century; records of schools since the second half of the 19th century, of savings and loan banks since 1900, and of societies since 1918; records of the district people's committees and various town, local and municipal people's committees, political organisations and some businesses from the period since 1945.

Publications

Published guides include Vodnik po fondih in zbirkah, Zgodovinski arhiv Ptuj ('Guide to Records and Collections, Historical Archives in Ptuj', 1985). The most recent issue of the Guide was published in 2009.

Published inventories of records include Mestni odbor Osvobodilne fronte Ptuj 1945-1983 ('Town Committee of the Liberation Front of Ptuj 1945-1983') by N Jurkovič; Okrajni premogovniki Ptuj 1947-1959 ('The District Coal Mines of Ptuj 1947-1959, 1983') by B Oblak; Varia 1634-1983 (1984) by N Jurkovič; and Kreditne zadruge ormoškega področja 1906-1948 ('Loan Co-operatives of the Ormo Area 1906-1948', 1986) by B Oblak.

Exhibition catalogues include Vino in trta skozi čas ('Vine and Wine Through Time', 1991); Prvi med enakimi! Funkcija mestnega sodnika in župana skozi stoletja ('First among equals! The function of the judge and mayor of the city through the centuries', 2006); Nacionalna zavest se je prebudila na Ptuju leta 1908 (National consciousness was awakened in Ptuj in 1908, 2008).

Articles on archival work are published in the local newspaper in order to expand the circle of visitors.

International cooperation

In the late 1990s the Historical Archives of Ptuj organised an International Colloquia on the Working Community of Middle European Archival Societies and an International Symposium on Municipal Documents from the 14th and 16th centuries.

Education

Historical Archives of Ptuj carry out staff training of public artificial persons who work with documentary material. In the process of professional training the worker obtains knowledge in the field of legislation, management of documentary material in physical and digital form, in the field of informatics and in the field of archival science.

Exhibitons

An exhibition on Janez Puh was organised in co-operation with Austrian archives.

External sources

Historical Archives of Ptuj website