Archives in Germany

• All following pages are in German, but most of the text is addresses and literature citations; most of the common German terms are listed and translated below
  
• All cited phone numbers are representing the "within Germany" form, dialing from abroad requires to drop the leading 0 and adding the national area code for Germany (probably 0049) (Example: 01234-456789 -> +49-1234-456789)
  
• All cited locations, administration districts and countries are representing the German spelling
  

• Bundesland -> land of the Federal Republic of Germany
  
• Regierungsbezirk -> primary administrative division of a "Bundesland" - something like a district
  
• Landkreis -> administrative division of a "Regierungsbezirk" - something like a county
  
• kreisfreie Stadt -> town with the administrative rank of a "Landkreis"
  
• Hauptstaatsarchiv, Landeshauptarchiv -> archives corresponding to the area of a "Bundesland"
  
• Staatsarchiv, Landesarchiv -> archives corresponding to the area of a "Regierungsbezirk"
  
• Kreisarchiv -> archives corresponding to the area of a Landkreis
  
• Stadtarchiv -> town archives
  
• Universitätsarchiv -> university archives
  
• Bistum -> diocese, bishopric
  
• Diözese -> diocese
  
• Diözesanarchiv -> archives of a diocese
  
• Tel: -> phone
  
• Öffnungszeiten -> opening hours
  
• Mo, Di, Mi, Do, Fr -> Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
  
• Veröffentlichungen -> publications
  
• siehe auch -> see also
  
• zurück zu -> back to
  

The archives are sorted by "Bundesländer" and their administrative subdivisions and by the area of responsiblity. Within the "Landkreise" the "Kreisarchiv" (if known or existent) is listed first, the other archives are listed alphabetically by their location. If the corresponding administrative subdivision for a location isn't known, it can be determined through using GEOserv (by Arthur Teschler, Gießen, Germany). Furthermore is the assignment of a location to a "Landkreis" often shown in a road atlas

If the searched location isn't listed (yet), it is recommended to direct the inquiry to the corresponding "Kreisarchiv", which should be able to forward it. Many municipalities and also smaller towns have deposited their archives material in the "Kreisarchiv". Furthermore are in town archives of smaller town often only part time or honorary archivists occupied, so that a response to an inquiry can require up to some months.

• Federal Archives, and other archives of the German federal administration

• Baden-Württemberg (Baden-Wurtemberg)
  
• Bayern (Bavaria)
  
• Berlin
  
• Brandenburg
  
• Bremen
  
• Hamburg
  
• Hessen (Hesse)
  
• Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)
  
• Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony)
  
• Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine Westphalia)
  
• Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
  
• Saarland
  
• Sachsen (Saxony)
  
• Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt)
  
• Schleswig-Holstein
  
• Thüringen (Thuringia)

  Auxiliary Index:
  

• Alphabetical Index of Nobility Archives
  

• Archives of the Catholic Church
  
• Archives of the Evangelic Church
  
• Archives of the Evang. Brüder-Unität - Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine
  

• Bayern (ehemaliges Königreich) [Bavaria (former Kingdom)]
  
• Preußen (ehemaliges Königreich) [Prussia (former Kingdom)]
  
• Sachsen (ehemaliges Königreich) [Saxonia (former Kingdom)]
  
• Württemberg (ehemaliges Königreich) [Wurtemberg (former Kingdom)]
  
• Deutsches Reich (since 1918) / Deutschland
  

• Astronomy and Science Archives (by Wolfgang R. Dick, Bonn, Germany)
  

• Archive in Deutschland von der Archivschule Marburg

accesses since August 17th, 1997 00:00 a.m.