State Archives (Belgium)
Each repository has its own reading room, where the public can consult paper or digital archives in compliance with the rules and laws regarding the privacy of certain data.
The pieces of archive are stored for long-term conservation in specially equipped stacks that comply with the highest standards for temperature, air humidity, fire and flooding safety.
The State Archives also takes part in various other events (for instance: Open Monument Day) announced on the website of the institution, its Facebook page or via its Newsletter.
It is indeed impossible to fulfill the tasks enumerated above (acquisition, conservation, intellectual control and making archives accessible to the public), if they do not continuously rely on scientific research.
A significant part of the scientific activities of the State Archives takes place in close collaboration with universities.
Other types of documents can also be consulted on the website of the State Archives: proceedings of the Council of Ministers (1918-1979), the statistical yearbook of Belgium (and of Belgian Congo) from 1870, over 38,000 seal moulds, etc.
This general and permanent repository was destined for the main archives of the Austrian Netherlands and formed a first yet timid centralization attempt by the public authorities.
The law of 7 Messidor of Year II [25 June 1794] leads to the creation of a central archives repository for the whole republic.
By virtue of the Royal Decree of 17 December 1851, the state archives in the provinces are placed under the direction of the National Archivist of the Kingdom.
When Belgium became independent, state archives services were established in each chef-lieu of the following provinces: Bruges (1834), Namur (1849), Arlon (1851), Hasselt (1869), Antwerp (1896) and Tournai (from 1834 to 1895).
The State Archives repositories in Leuven (2001), Anderlecht (2002) and Louvain-la-Neuve (2009) were established following the splitting of the province of Brabant.
In 1773, count Jean-Baptiste Goswin de Wynants (1726-1796) is appointed as first director general of the Archives of the Netherlands in Brussels.
The National Archivist resided in Brussels, where the main archives service remained after the retreat of the Austrians and the arrival of the French.
This measure, in force after a transition period, is aimed to meet the expectations of the citizens who wish to carry out research about more recent history or genealogy.
