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Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 13:30:15 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Archives in East Central Europe
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The current issue (Summer 1995) of _Slavic Review_ publishes the "Joint
Report of the AAASS and AHA Task Force on Archives"; an abridged version
of the report appeared in September, 1995 issue of the AHA newsletter,
_Perspectives_. In surveying the archival conditions in Russia, the
report cites problems such as inconsistencies regarding declassification,
a shortage of adequate finding aids, and most of all budgetary problems.
Financial difficulties in Russian archives have negatively affected
staffing, opening hours, and in several cases physical upkeep. Budgetary
shortfalls are also associated with inordinately high prices for access
and copying in many repositories.
The recommendations of the Task Force include, among others, the following:
The charge of the Task Force, and many of its generalizations, refer to Eastern or East Central Europe as well as the Former Soviet Union. I would be interested to hear from members of HABSBURG with research experience in this region as to whether they agree that the conditions described for Russia apply to their countries of interest. Feel free to reply to me or to the list.
Jim Niessen <lijpn@pegasus.acs.ttu.edu>
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 12:23:39 EST
Subject: Re: Archives in East Central Europe
Budapest is a wonderful place to do research. The National Archives is located in the Royal Castle. It is well staffed and within three days you can obtain your material. There is little problem with accessibility since here; you can get documents up to 1945. Duplicating is not a problem either and the cost is reasonable. Also in the Royal Castle, not too far from the National Archives is the New Hungarian Archives. They house material from 1945 on and provide access up to 1965. Here things can be more complicated. For my material I needed the permission of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry. By the way, they have their own archives and if you are lucky they may let you in. The Ministry of Interior also has archives and occasionally allows research access. A new law providing protection for all living individuals has recently made access problematic.
Peter I. Hidas, Montreal
phidas@dawsoncollege.qc.ca
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 14:19:30 EST
Subject: Re: Archives in East Central Europe
Although not as well-staffed as the National Archive in Budapest, the Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen Archive in Miskolc and the Hajdu-Bihar Archive in Debrecen are also excellent facilities for archival research. They house an broad collection of county and municipal records. Documents are obtainable the same day, and it is also possible to replicate for a reasonable charge.
Howard Lupovitch (Columbia University, HL28@Columbia.edu)
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 14:33:40 EST
Subject: Preserving Bosnian manuscripts, archives, etc.
The Bosnian Manuscript Ingathering Project, an international effort to collect facsimiles, images, and copies of the cultural documentation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, has recently established a Web page. Although still under construction, the site already offers both telling documentation of one of the devastating consequences of modern ethnic conflict, and broadcasts a moving appeal for assistance in restoring a Balkan and world cultural resource. To consult the Web page, point Web browser at the followoing address:
<http://www.kakarigi.net/manu/ingather.htm>
The hope page follows below. JB]
FIGHTING THE DESTRUCTION OF MEMORY
A CALL FOR AN INGATHERING OF BOSNIAN MANUSCRIPTS
On 17 May 1992 the Oriental Institute (Orijentalni institut) in Sarajevo, home to one of Europe's most important collection of Islamic and Jewish manuscripts, was attacked by Serb nationalist forces with incendiary grenades. Virtually all of its contents were consumed by the flames.
Losses included 5,263 bound manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew and local alhamijado---or adzamijski---(Serbo-Croat-Bosnian in Arabic script), as well as tens of thousands of Ottoman-era documents.
Other libraries and archives attacked by various nationalist forces include Bosnia's National Library in Sarajevo, which also housed the national archives; the library of the Museum of Herzegovina, the Archives of Herzegovina, and the library of the Roman Catholic Archbishopric in Mostar; the Orthodox monastery in Zitomislic; and numerous other collections throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Now a group of concerned scholars and librarians in the United States and Canada have begun a project to assist the librarians of the Oriental Institute, and other archives and libraries in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in an innovative effort to reassemble at least part of their destroyed collections.
Since it opened in 1950, the Oriental Institute in Sarajevo has encouraged use of its collections by foreign scholars and has maintained exchange relations with other institutions throughout Europe and the Middle East. As a result, a substantial part of the collection was sent or taken abroad in the form of microfilms or photocopies and survives even though the originals are lost.
Several Institute staff members have traveled abroad, surveying collections for copies of Bosnian material. However, given the present difficulty in contacting the outside world from Sarajevo (no postal service, limited telephone links), they need help from colleagues worldwide to identify such materials in the hands of foreign individuals and institutions.
The immediate aim of our project is to compile a database indicating the present locations of copied materials outside Bosnia. The technology to duplicate and store images of documents is readily available; what is needed is information to help track down what remains.
When Sarajevo's Oriental Institute and other cultural institutions in Bosnia are rebuilt, this database will enable our Bosnian colleagues to obtain copies of the copies of the lost manuscripts---thus resurrecting ``virtual'' collections from the ashes and helping to thwart the intentions of those who have sought to destroy them.
Friends and colleagues who possess or know of the whereabouts of any such microfilms or photocopies anywhere in the world are therefore urged to contact Andras Riedlmayer, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge MA 02138 USA. (tel.: 617 495-3372; fax: 617-496-4889; E-mail: riedlmay@fas.harvard.edu).
There will soon be a link here to an an interactive form that will enable you to send us information about copies in your possession or in collections you know about. Please stay tuned.
[And the site opens a small archive of documentation on the cultural destruction of Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The titles of those documents follow:]
Ongoing international projects for rebuilding Bosnian archives and libraries.
List 1 List 2 List 3 List 4 List 5
Site in the Netherlands (Re: Activities in Europe; see Documents elsewhere for a more complete list of Bosnia-related web sites)
Site at Caltech (Including Culture page) IGC Balkans gopher (Including War Crimes Tribunal) Site at George Mason University (Including "The Bosnian Virtual Field Trip") Bosnia Task Force (General)
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 19:23:54 EST
Subject: Re: Archives in East Central Europe
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I can confirm the reports of Peter Hidas and Howard Lupovitch regarding
the ease of research in Hungarian state archives. (Please note that the
central state archives, Magyar Orszagos Leveltar, are at the opposite end
of the _Castle District_, i.e. the hill in Buda overlooking the Danube,
from the _Royal Castle_).
Conditions are not so good in the Hungarian Catholic diocesan archives. The largest, in Esztergom and Eger, enjoy good facilities and are described in published guides; many others lack professional staff, adequate finding aids, or even in some cases a coherent arrangement. Intellectual access is most difficult of all in those Catholic archives in Transylvania that escaped state confiscation.
Conditions in the Romanian state archives are mixed, but closer to Russian conditions. Many internal finding aids are of good quality, but the published material is far spottier and archivists tend to withhold information that hasn't been published. Furthermore, all access to the state archives must go through headquarters (Directia Generala Archivelor Statului) in Bucharest.
I'm unaware of any computers in Romanian archives. The New Hungarian Archives (now formally united with the old Hungarian Archives) spoke of a database to medieval documents on a LAN, but the main research room in the "old" archives could not connect to it. A colleague tells me there is a central database of record series in Czech and Slovak state archives that can be accessed in Prague; something similar is reported in Warsaw, but appears to be less accessible.
Jim Niessen <lijpn@pegasus.acs.ttu.edu>
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 20:41:53 EST
Subject: Czech Archives
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The Archive of the National Museum in Prague (which I am now told has
closed temporarily for renovations and possible relocation) is located on
the Castle Hill at Pohorelec. The collection hours are/were Monday -
Thursday 8:30 - 3:30 with a one hour closing for lunch (although readers
are sometimes given the option of being locked in while the staff goes to
lunch. Those who are not from Prague are also allowed in on Fridays (they
let me use the collection on Fridays as I was commuting from Bratislava
for two and three day visits), but you need to ask in advance. The
internal finding aids were quite good for the collections I was using
(turn of the century political figures) and seemed to be just as thorough
for the rest of the collection. Most importantly, the staff is very, very
helpful and knows the collection well. Many of the less frequently used
collections are stored off site (and out of the city) so can take up to a
week to be available. Computers were not available and copying is. A
number of the record groups I used this winter were beginning to
deteriorate, especially newsprint, mostly due to moisture damage. Last,
but not least, space in the current (former?) reading room is at a premium
on busy days -- there were seats for only 8 readers. Only twice did this
become a problem, but then, I was there mostly in January, February and
March.
Mills Kelly tkelly@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu Department of History tel: 202-994-6230 George Washington University fax: 202-994-6231
Date: Sun, 17 Sep 1995 12:53:43 EST
Subject: Re: Czech Archives
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I would like to second everything Dr. Kelly says about the Archives of
the National Museum, Prague, on Pohorelec. The staff has, in my personal
experience, always been helpful, the late Ales Chalupa has been succeeded
by Dr. Cechura who generally seems to be carrying on in the fine tradition
already established.
When I was last there in late July, I was told that the archivists now expect they will still be in Pohorelec during the autumn, but frankly things are so uncertain that it's hard to advise prospective researchers on what they will find when they begin their efforts. For that reason, here are the latest contacts that I was given by the archivists:
Narodni Muzeum (National Museum)
Vaclavske nam. 68
115 79 Praha 1
Czech Republic
tel.: 24230485
fax: 24226488
e-mail: ais@nm.anet.cz
The National Museum administers the ANM, and has other collections and a library/reading room on Wenceslas Square. I was told that the e-mail address goes to one or two e-mail persons, who then deliver messages to their intended recipients, so it's not a direct link to the ANM, but the next closest thing.
Archiv NM
Pohorelec 8
118 00 Praha 1 -- Hradcany
tel: 537403
24510886
I would strongly urge anyone thinking of researching in Prague, including the ANM, to check as thoroughly in advance as possible about the situation of location, moving to new sites, and so on. In my experience, there are practically no problems now regarding access for other than purely technical reasons.
Hugh Agnew
History Department
The George Washington University
agnew@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 21:24:29 EST
Subject: Hungarian archival database
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Thanks to Janos Bogardi for his recent announcement regarding the
Hungarians' online archival database. Further comments by him or by
others who have used the database would be welcome. The access
instructions he gives will work if you have telnet access; the screen
display is superior if you are working from a VMS system. It would be
better still if you have Hungarian fonts, which I don't. The commands in
the BRS search system are in English, but the labels and coding for the
fields in each record, as below, are not.
The database for documents before 1526 ("Mohacs elotti oklevelek"), DIPL, is said to contain records for 316,619 documents. A search for the term GYULAFEHERVAR (a town in Transylvania), for instance, yields a record that starts like this:
[date of issuance] [serial number]
Keltez s: 15231014 Sorsz m: L 0831 Jelzet: 036817
Fennm. forma: P Nyelve: L [language: Latin]
R gi jelzet: 0203 KOLOZS C 100 [old number] Megjegyz s: PROTOCOLLUM T RED^K [note: protocol fragment]
Kiad adatai: [issuing body]
A: 26
B: KONVENT
C: KOLOZSMONOSTORI
Kedvezm nyezett adatai: [correspondent]
A: 33
B: MAG N
D: GESZTR GYI L SZL FEL VERONIKA
Szem lyek adatai: [persons mentioned]
A: 50
B: KANONOK [Canon]
C: GYULAFEH^RV RI [of Gyulafehervar]
D: SANDRINUS
The database is essentially a reference for places, institutions, and especially persons named; documents' contents are not otherwise described. For this, one should refer to published regestae and other sources.
Jim Niessen <lijpn@pegasus.acs.ttu.edu>
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 23:30:30 EST
Subject: Re: Hungarian archival database
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Is there a data base for after 1526? (especially the 19th and 20th
century?)
Howard Lupovitch
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