Holdings

The Archivinformationssystem (archive information system) accessible via the Internet will enable you to do research in the holdings of the Austrian State Archives.
An extensive help function and instructions in brief within the archive information system facilitate navigation in the database.

Gaining a first overview

The "Archivplan" (archive map) view will show you a tree structure which helps you do searches in all archive departments from top to bottom, from department level to the level of holdings ("Bestände") and sub-holdings (“Teilbestände") to series ("Serien").

The higher structural levels (Abteilung, Bestand, Teilbestand, Serie – department, holding, sub-holding, and if applicable, series) will provide you with a brief text on the history of the unit which produced the records (administrative history), the history of archival processing, a brief description of contents etc. To get there, double click on the entry in the "Archivplan" tree structure to move to a detailed view ("Detailansicht").

Quick search

"Einfache Suche" (simple search) denotes a full-text search of the key fields in the database. Words or parts of words can be strung together, which produces results fast.
It may be worthwhile restricting the search to a certain part in the plan of record groups in the "Archivplan" view (highlight the part you want to search and click on the "Einschränken" Restrict button). Depending on the search range you can then search the entire State Archives, or within the section selected or the most recent search result. It is also possible to do a search within specified timeframes.

A useful hint: Consider trying the plural form of the word search for or alternative words. The instructions in brief will inform you about the use of wildcards ("Joker").

Detailed search

The function "Erweiterte Suche" (extended search) is a full-text search for precise research. For detailed information, please refer to the help function ("Hilfe").

Printing and saving search results

Search results can be shown, saved and printed as PDF files (click on the PDF button).

Ordering records and other units

At present, the archive information system cannot yet be used for ordering records and other units directly.