Translations:Overzicht professionele bewaarplaatsen/6/en

City and municipal level: city and municipal archives

Most cities and municipalities in Belgium have their own archive service that is publicly accessible. They preserve their city’s or municipality’s government archive. The size and professionalism of these archives vary from municipality to municipality, but most also see it as their duty to accept private archives. The FelixArchief in Antwerp is a fine example, stating: ‘The archives that form the memory of the city should reflect the societal activities of its inhabitants over a continuous period as accurately as possible. Preserving only government archives would give an incomplete picture of the historical-social development of the city. Private archives are therefore valuable and supplementary sources for the city’s history.’