Burgenländisches Landesarchiv State Archives of Burgenland

Overview

The Burgenländisches Landesarchiv (State Archives of Burgenland) is the official provincial archive of the Austrian federal state of Burgenland. Located in Eisenstadt, the state capital, it forms part of the Department 7 (Culture, Science and Archive) of the Burgenland Provincial Government and belongs to the main division of the Landesarchiv and Landesbibliothek (State Archive and State Library).

History and Founding

The archive was informally established in 1922, shortly after Burgenland was constituted as an Austrian federal state following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. Formal founding occurred on October 15, 1938, when Burgenland was dissolved by the Nazi regime and divided between the Reichsgaue Niederdonau and Steiermark. During this period, a branch archive (Filialarchiv Eisenstadt) was established under the Reichsgauarchiv Niederdonau. From 1938 to 1994, the archive was housed in the Leinnerhaus. On October 1, 1945, following the end of World War II and the re-establishment of Austria and Burgenland as independent entities, the Landesarchiv and Landesbibliothek became an independent division of the provincial government. The current archive is located in a 1970 extension of the Landhaus (Provincial Government building) in Eisenstadt.

Collections and Holdings

The archive holds records and documents relating to the activities of the Office of the Burgenland Provincial Government, as well as deeds, administrative files, maps, plans, microfilms, and photographs covering all eras of Burgenland's history. Holdings include approximately 45,000 maps and plans, a manuscript collection, a collection of guild archives, a Central Jewish Archive (Jüdisches Zentralarchiv) containing records of former Jewish communities in the region, and private archives including company and school records. Administrative files of the Burgenland parliament and provincial government since 1921 are also preserved, with a gap for the period 1938–1945 (materials from that period are held by the archives of Lower Austria and Styria).

Access and Usage

The main reading room at Mattersburg is open Monday through Thursday, 08:00–16:00, and Friday, 08:00–12:00. Advance appointment by email or phone is required. The archive provides information on regional and local history, archival science, genealogy, heraldry, and archival protection.