Dubrovnik Archive

[1][2][3] Today archive is located in the Sponza palace, and holds materials created by the civil service in the Republic of Ragusa, i.e. notary and secretarial services from the 13th century, and after the fall of the Republic in 1808 documents created by the offices and institutions in the city of Dubrovnik during the French, Habsburg, Yugoslav and Croatian reign.

The archive is important because the Republic of Ragusa had trade and political ties with all of the countries on the Mediterranean Sea and the interior of the southeastern part of the European continent; moreover, the documents and written records from that period represent very valuable historical material for the study of Croatian and Ragusan history, as well as the history of neighboring countries.

Another part of the archived materials consisted of the most important privileges and contracts concluded between the Republic and the neighboring rulers, religious dignitaries and cities with which Dubrovnik held political and trade relations, and was stored in the treasury of the Cathedral of St. Mary.

The existing state archives eventually formed into a separate institution, by various executive decisions of the highest bodies of the Republic of Ragusa.

The archive also contains records of offices and institutions who operated during the nineteenth and twentieth century within the city and its administrative area.