City archive
Tasks
The City Archive takes over the records from the offices and facilities of the Chemnitz City Administration that are no longer required on an ongoing basis,
- secures these documents,
- discards unimportant documents,
- preserves documents worthy of archiving,
- organises and lists the documents,
- thus forming the "memory of the city".
It also collects and preserves written evidence that is important for the reconstruction of the town's history and supplements the official records, such as
- Documents from associations,
- bequests and documents from private individuals,
- visual and audio media, plans, leaflets and posters.
The municipal archive maintains an extensive reference library and a large collection of regional newspapers and magazines.
The archive is open to all,
- who are researching the history of the town,
- who are interested in the history of the town,
- who conduct family history research,
- who need evidence for social and legal purposes.
The organisation conducts, initiates and promotes research into the history of the town and works together with associations and institutions.
Information on reading room operations and processing enquiries
For operational reasons, there will probably be restrictions on reading room operations (Aue 16 and Reichstraße 1a) and the associated processing of enquiries at the City Archive until the end of April 2026.
In order to be able to coordinate your request in the best possible way, we ask you to submit requests for appointments and file inspections exclusively to stadtarchiv(at)stadt-chemnitz.de or bauaktenarchiv(at)stadt-chemnitz.de, depending on the type of inspection.
Use and enquiries
Who can use the holdings of the city archive?
The archives of the City of Chemnitz are used in accordance with the Archive Act of the Free State of Saxony and the archive statutes of the City of Chemnitz. Use is possible subject to personal and data protection, the protection of the rights of those affected or third parties and the state of preservation of the documents. Pre-registration is requested. An application for use must be submitted for the current calendar year.
What are the costs for the user?
The services of the municipal archive are generally subject to a fee. Details are regulated by the current version of the archive fee regulations.
Is it possible to contact the city archive in writing?
Anyone who is unable to visit the city archive in person can of course also contact the archive in writing. This applies, for example, to enquiries about school and specialist work. The processing of written requests - except for social matters and simple information requests - is generally subject to a fee.