The State Archives of Serbia (), аre the

national archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, located in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. Тhey house and protect documents and other archival materials produced by state bodies and organizations of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

before 1918 (before Serbia became part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

) and documents produced during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(when Serbia was federal subject of the

Communist Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

and

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

), as well as document since restoration of country's independence in 2006.Official Site of The National Archives of Serbia
Делатност Архива Србије (''Activities of the Archive of Serbia'')
Documents dating from the period when Serbia was part of Yugoslavia and issued by the state bodies and organizations of Yugoslavia from are kept in the Archives of Yugoslavia.

History

The first proposal to establish the national archives came in 1846, but the ''Law on the State Archives'' was only adopted on . The Archives began operation in 1900, and the founding members of the National Archives were: J. N. Ivković, Dr. M. Gavrilović, M. Rančić, and M. K. Borisavljević. Their first official name was the State Archives of the Kingdom of Serbia. Historian and diplomat Mihailo Gavrilović was the president of archives in the period 1900-1910. Gavrilović was chiefly responsible for early development and organisation of the archives. In this period the archives were located in residence of General

Sava Grujić Sava Grujić ( sr-Cyrl, Сава Грујић, ; 25 November 1840 – 3 November 1913) was a Serbian politician, statesman, general, army officer, and author, serving five times as Prime Minister of Serbia#Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918), Prime ...

. The name of the Archives was changed several times. Between 1918 and 1945 they were called State Archives (during this time they were the State Archives of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). Between 1945 and 1948 the name was the State Archives of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. Between 1948 and 1969 it was the State Archives of the People's Republic of Serbia (the separate Archives of Yugoslavia were established in 1950). In 1969, the Archives were renamed the Archives of SerbiaOfficial Site of The National Archives of Serbia
Историјат (''History'')
and in 2021 they changed name to the State Archives of Serbia. Archive of Serbia founders

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, a part of archive material was moved to

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

and

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

, but another part remained in Belgrade. During the retreat of the Serbian Army, some of the archives were destroyed, some lost, but much was preserved in a train car in the

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

Train Station. After the war, the archives became the State Archive of the newly formed

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its collo ...

(Yugoslavia). The current building of the archives was built in 1928. During the

, some of the archive material was confiscated by the Nazi German authorities. In 1941 total of 519 boxes from the period of

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

were taken, and in 1942 total of 579 crates full of documents and 88

acts The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a two-par ...

were transported to Vienna. German Army occupied the building in two periods, so much of the archive was moved to the Faculty of Technology and the

Belgrade University Library The University Library ''Svetozar Marković'' () is the main library in the University of Belgrade system, named after Svetozar Marković, a Serbian political activist in the 19th century. It is located on Bulevar kralja Aleksandra, King Alexande ...

and the most valuable items were placed in the National Bank's safes. After the war, the Archive became the State Archive of the newly formed

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, until 1 January 1948 when the separate Archives of Yugoslavia were formed. Serbia today operates an extensive network of archives that cover the whole of the country's territory. Although the State Archives building in Belgrade was heavily damaged during

, the archives still hold a large amount of information that dates back to early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

times.

Archives and collections

Within its 972 archives and 51 collections, the State Archives of Serbia house 10 kilometers of historical records.Official Site of The National Archives of Serbia
Фондови и збирке (''Archives and Collections'')
When taking the time of origin into account, the archival materials are divided into two segments – the old and new period. The old period comprises the archival materials until the end of 1918, while the new period comprises the materials from World War II onward. The oldest historical records stored in the State Archives of Serbia, which originate from Serbia, are the records of the ''Principal Office'' (Office of the

Prince of Serbia This is an archontological list of Serbian monarchs, containing monarchs of the medieval principalities, to heads of state of modern Serbia. The Serbian monarchy dates back to the Early Middle Ages. The Serbian royal titles used include Kny ...

) (documents from 1815-1839). Besides that, the State Archives of Serbia also preserve private and family records and collections, as well as collections of statesmen, politicians, scientists, writers, cultural and public workers, and other important figures of Serbia. Majority of old archival materials in the State Archives of Serbia date from the 19th century, but there are some which are even older. One historical record of great importance is the record of the ''Privileged Serbian municipality in

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

'' (documents from 1696 onward). The oldest document preserved in the Archive is the ''

Visoki Dečani The Visoki Dečani Monastery is a medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located near Deçan, Kosovo. It was founded in the first half of the 14th century by Stefan Dečanski, List of Serbian monarchs, King of Serbia. Dečani is by far t ...

founding charter'' from 1330.Tourist organization of Belgrade
Arhiv Srbije
Other notable documents are also kept in the Archive, including: documents issues by

Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović (; ; – ), known by the sobriquet Karađorđe (; ), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 ...

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia () was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agre ...

, Law on Proclamation of

, tanners guild law proclaimed by

Arsenije III Crnojević Arsenije III Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Арсеније III Црнојевић; 1633 – 27 October 1706) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1674 to his death in 1706. In 1689, during the Habsburg-Ottoman War (1683–1699), he s ...

and others.

Building of the State Archives of Serbia

The building which houses the State Archives of Serbia was erected in 1928 according to a project by Nikolai Krasnov. He emigrated from Russian Empire and worked for the Ministry of Architecture in the

. It is a one floor monumental building, in the shape of the letter "T", which is set upside down.Official Site of The National Archives of Serbia
Архитектура зграде (''Building Architecture'')
The building is located at 2 Karnegijeva Street.

References

External links

The National Archives of Serbia official site
{{authority control

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Historiography of Serbia Palilula, Belgrade

History

Archives and collections

Building of the State Archives of Serbia

See also

References

External links