Here is what we had only 2 weeks ago, on my Dad's birthday:
Spring is definitely on its way. Already, daylight starts considerably earlier and finishes much later than only a few weeks ago. I do hope there won't be another cold and snowy period until November or so.
I have realized I've not yet told you of the very interesting guided tour my parents and I took in January: we went to the Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, which is much more than just an archive for my hometown's documents.
This description from their website sums it up nicely:
In 1995 the Department Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg moved into the former arsenal barracks in the town centre. Today about 680 State agencies from the governmental district Stuttgart transfer their files to the Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg. Ludwigsburg also stores 500 000 files from the time of the Third Reich and the time after World War II, which have been created by the Heimatspruchkammer in the course of denazification. These files are a unique source for researchers.
Records specifically worth mentioning are those of the police headquarters, of the administration and artistic performances of the State Theatre of Stuttgart, and all the birth registers of the women's hospital (Landesfrauenklinik). Ludwigsburg also holds records of Ulm, Esslingen, Heilbronn and other former free imperial towns, of the Teutonic Order and of the domain of the Prince-Provost of Ellwangen. Of special interest are the records of the courts of justice, of the district government and Oberämter.
Our group of visitors were lead by a most enthusiastic guide. Even for someone not that interested in local history, the buildings alone were worth seeing. The main building used to be barracks, which makes for some unusual architectonical features that were kept. Another important building, interconnected with the first one, used to be the arsenal, i.e. a place of military storage.
Because of the group, I did not take my camera with me (I knew it would have been impossible to get pictures without people, since there were so many of us and space very limited), but when I saw the original staircase and columns in the arsenal, I hung back a moment and took at least a few pictures with my mobile phone:
We were shown some fascinating documents, the oldest one being a hand-written deed from the 1200s (of course it was hand-written; Gutenberg's invention of the press was still two centuries away). There were also some more recent pieces to look at, such as the diary of an aristocratic lady from the 1800s, who meticulously listed every day the meals that were served in her household, the price for all the groceries and all the social engagments she had.
Our guide showed us emigration documents of a handful of the hundreds of thousands of emigrants who left Württmberg in search of a better life during the 1800s. Back then, if you were to emigrate legally, you had to resign your citizen's rights formally, and the king had to "release" you from being his subject. A governmental department set up for that purpose checked your background - did you have a criminal record, was a punishment still pending, or were you in debt with someone? If all was clear, you were free to go. If you knew not all was well, you left the country in a clandestine manner. That way, if things would go wrong in your new place (the US or Russia, mainly), you could sneak back in after a few years, and the authorities would be none the wiser.
We saw and learned so much more - it was a two-hour tour, and not a second of boredom. This visit offered a rare glimpse into a past world.
But these archives are by no means only for the past: The department is responsible for the agencies, law courts and other state institutions that have their seat in our governmental district as well as the regional agencies of the Federal Republic in the governmental district. Ludwigsburg is the Archives for all the documents in the Land classified as strictly confidential and also holds all the IT-based documents of the whole Land in its digital Archives. [Description taken from their website.]
Archives always sound so dusty and yet they are actually so fascinating. How nice that people are prepared to put the effort into spreading this knowledge. I have spent quite a lot of time in archives, researching, and do enjoy them. We went on a guided tour of Tallinn town hall once, and it was interesting, although of course it would have meant so much more if I had known Tallinn well.
ReplyDeleteI must say the snowy scene looks particularly beautiful and worth a walk even if cold. But overcast skies just get me down.
Hopefully, that snow two weeks ago will have been the last until next winter! It was cold yesterday, but sunny and dry, and so I was out for about 3 hours, feeling all the better for it.
DeleteI also find the whole logistics and organizing so interesting about places like the archive. For instance, the most important documents are stored in special metal boxes in an area close to the doors, so that they can be easily rescued in the case of a fire.
Hello Meike,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds incredibly fascinating to us. Such a wealth of archive information is held here and we had never realised this before now. It must indeed be a honeypot for researchers.
The snow photograph looks just like one for the top if a chocolate box. We gave had very little snow here in Budapest which is unusual. You look as if you have had our share!
Hello Jane and Lance,
DeleteIt was as pretty as it looks in the picture, but did not last very long (which I am glad about).
The archives are truly fascinating. I don't know I would want to work there all the time; I need a lot more contact with people on a daily base, but I do like the whole concept of an archive.
Absolutely fascinating. Some of the things you mentioned and someone on the virtual tour (which is not particularly user-friendly I thought) were amazing. I liked the fact that the contrast in building and facilities between the old and the new was shown. Although I have the wrong sort of mind for the purpose in a way I would have loved to spend lots of time in such places researching and reading. I'd get so sidetracked though....
ReplyDeleteAfter you've mentioned it, Graham, I had a look at the virtual tour, too. You are right, it is not user-friendly and could have been done a lot better.
DeleteThe lady who was our guide showed us some of the inquiries that arrive on her desk every day. Some people just want to know about their family history, while others come with the full scientific approach to a highly specialized subject. Finding what they are looking for sounds like a challenge I would enjoy, if this was my job.
I would have loved that guided tour, right up my alley, I am sure.
ReplyDeleteBelated birthday wishes for your Dad! Wish him the best from me!
And I really love that view from your window, that snowy scene could be a post card, really pretty.
Yes, you would have loved it, Kay! The aesthetics alone were worth seeing - for instance, there were piles of old account books from companies that used to exist in Ludwigsburg and have long gone. They were beautifully bound in cardboard and covered in patterned paper, and the accounts were kept in the most beautiful, neat handwriting.
DeleteI read a news item the other day in which someone reflected on the nature of today's documentary evidence - mostly on computer hard drives. In ten, twenty, fifty years time it is likely that a huge amount of this material will be lost as new technological developments supersede the old. There will be no cupboards or biscuit tins containing today's materials which could so easily fall into a dark technological void.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, Neil. CDs, DVDs, BluRay discs etc. are nowhere near as durable as most people think. Good job that many still keep papers and photos and other documents in a more tangible form.
DeleteWhat a beautiful photo of the snowiest day I've seen on your blog, I think. I would love to go on a tour of archives! Paul and I did a lot of research in the Hungarian archives and various similar places. It was something we both enjoyed. The last of my German ancestors left in about 1864 or 5 from the Grand Duchy of Baden. I did not know about the papers he might have needed to leave, but I have seen his naturalization papers in Ohio when he became a citizen. He had to renounce all previous allegiances, in particular those to the Grand Duke of Baden. He and his wife and their relatives came from a very small place called Michelsfeld near Anglebachtal.........My earlier German ancestors left in the first half of the 1700s from near Trier and I don't know what they might have needed in the way of documents. I think it was less formal then and they were rather fleeing religious persecution as well as poverty.
ReplyDeleteAnd I forgot to wish your father a happy birthday! And so I do it now.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kristi!
DeleteHow interesting to learn about your ancestors. Some of my family have left Germany in the 1930s, and their children and grandchildren are, as far as we know, still in the Boston area. When my maternal grandmother was still alive, she and one of the aunts in Boston kept in touch, and I remember Aunt Liese visiting my Oma when I was maybe in my early teens.
But from the younger generation, nobody made the effort to stay in touch, which is actually a shame, I think.