Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
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Newsjunkie.net is a resource guide for journalists. We show who's behind the news, and provide tools to help navigate the modern business of information.
Use of Data
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The Swiss Federal Archives (German: Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv; French: Archives fédérales suisses; Italian: Archivio federale svizzero) are the national archives of Switzerland. The institution traces its origins to 1798, when archives were established following the creation of the Helvetic Republic. After moving with the seat of government during the early 19th century, the Federal Archive found a permanent home in Bern when the Federal State was constituted in 1848. Johann Jakob Meyer became the first federal archivist in 1849. The official name Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives) was established in 1914. The archives are governed by the Federal Act on Archiving and are classified as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
The Swiss Federal Archives hold the records of the Federal Assembly, the Federal Council, and the Federal Administration from the Helvetic Republic (1798) to the present. As of 2018, holdings comprised over 66,000 linear meters of printed documents and more than 20.7 terabytes of digital material. The collection includes paper files, photographs, sound and film materials, and digital data. Holdings range from the original Helvetic Constitution to Swiss television news reports. Notable collections include:
The Federal Archives hold extensive wartime censorship files relating to Swiss press and broadcasting between 1939 and 1945, making them an important resource for historians of Swiss media. The collection also includes records of the federal administration's interactions with foreign press and documentation of Switzerland's wartime information policy.
The reading rooms are open Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Researchers can search for documents online via the Federal Archives research portal at recherche.bar.admin.ch and order materials before visiting. The permanent staff numbers approximately 57.8 full-time equivalents, with an annual budget of around 19.2 million CHF.