Archives of the City of Bern

The oldest manuscript dates from 1146. Legend has it that the City of Bern did not even exist at that time. From those legendary days until the present, all the significant documents of the municipal administration have been preserved in the Archives of the City of Bern. They include printed material, maps, plans, illustrations and photographs. The Archives of the City of Bern were created in 1803 when the Canton and City were legally separated. The central archive of the municipality of Bern records everything with a close bearing on the city itself from the age of the old City State until 1798. However, the bulk of these documents date from the years after 1832 when the Bern patricians finally passed into history. The material includes the records of the municipal and local councils, administrative reports and local authority accounts. Other items include the archive of the former town of Bümpliz and private bequests.