Dubrovnik Archive or State Archive in Dubrovnik or Dubrovnik State Archive ( hr, Dubrovački arhiv, Državni arhiv u Dubrovniku) is the national archive in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Today archive is located in the Sponza palace, and holds materials created by the civil service in the

Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

, i.e. notary and secretarial services from the 13th century, and after the fall of the Republic in 1808 documents created by the offices and institutions in the city of Dubrovnik during the French, Habsburg, Yugoslav and Croatian reign. The archive is important because the Republic of Ragusa had trade and political ties with all of the countries on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and the interior of the southeastern part of the

European continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

; moreover, the documents and written records from that period represent very valuable historical material for the study of Croatian and Ragusan history, as well as the history of neighboring countries.

History

Dubrovnik archive was created as a result of notary and secretarial services in the 13th century, with archived materials located in various locales, such as the offices of the civil services,

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

s and the offices outside the city walls. Since the mid-fifteenth century materials were stored in the ornate cabinets in

Rector's Palace George Rector 878-1947was a restaurateur, raconteur and food authority who wrote several cookbooks in the 1920s and '30s. He appeared on radio on the Columbia Broadcasting System in ''Dine with George Rector'' The bulk of the archived documents result from the operation of the offices of the city government, whose organization was completed during the 15th century. The existing state archives eventually formed into a separate institution, by various executive decisions of the highest bodies of the Republic of Ragusa. The term ''archive'' was first attested in 1599, and by 1760 archived documents from all locations was assembled in the

Archive today

Today's collection comprises 300 thematic units (''fondovi'') and collections, with more than 2.7 million pages of written documents, deeds and contracts. The oldest documents are the Bull of

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII ( la, Benedictus VIII; c. 980 – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieva ...

from 1022, and documents on founding the Benedictine Monastery on the island of

Lokrum Lokrum (, it, Lacroma) is an island in the Adriatic Sea from the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It stretches from northwest to southeast and receives regular ferry service from the Old City port. Austrian archduke (and short-lived Emperor of M ...

in 1023 – both however preserved in much later copies. Major thematic units are those dating from the era of the Republic and French administration. The archive also contains records of offices and institutions who operated during the nineteenth and twentieth century within the city and its administrative area. In addition, the archive contains books from Dubrovnik and the island of

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after ...

up until 1860, the Collection of geographical maps as well as private family archives. Today, the Archive stores material from the

Dubrovnik-Neretva County The Dubrovnik-Neretva County (; hr, Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija, ) is the southernmost county of Croatia, located in south Dalmatia. The county seat is Dubrovnik and other large towns are Korčula, Metković, Opuzen and Ploče. The Muni ...

, functioning as an external archive service.

References

{{Authority control Archives in Croatia History of Dubrovnik 13th-century establishments in Europe

Archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

History

Archive today

See also

References