Visiting Austrian archives is straightforward once you know that the system rewards preparation. You do not walk in, say a surname and receive a box. You find reference numbers, order in advance or on site, book a seat and use a visitor pass. This post summarises what the Austrian State Archives and the Vienna City and Provincial Archives publish about visiting, so you can plan a trip with realistic expectations. Rules and hours change, so treat everything here as a checklist to verify on the archives’ own pages.
The Austrian State Archives
The Austrian State Archives work from two locations in Vienna. The central archives building at Nottendorfer Gasse 2 in the third district houses the central reading room, which serves four of the five departments, including the Kriegsarchiv. A smaller site at Minoritenplatz 1 in the old city holds the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv reading room. The published opening hours differ by site and day, with the central reading room open longest on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and closing early on Fridays at the time we checked, so look at the current page before you plan.
How the process works
- Find the records. Use the archive information system to identify the department, the holding and the exact reference number, called the signature.
- Order. You can order by email if you can give exact reference numbers, at least three working days before your visit, and you can order a limited number of boxes, fascicles or registers per day. On site, you fill in an order form for each archival unit, and the State Archives say material is available 48 hours after an order and held for seven days.
- Book a seat. The Central Archives page says a seat must be pre-booked online for each day of your visit.
- Register. You fill in a user form once per calendar year, and you must obtain a visitor pass from the cash desk before records are handed to you.
- Read and request copies. Material is handed over at the issue desk, and copying and scanning services are available according to the archive’s rules.
The archives’ own instructions for a personal visit explain the order of steps, and the general page on using the archives sets out the reading room rules. A point worth knowing: the Central Archives’ email order page says that digitised material is no longer available for consultation in the reading room, so check whether your record has been scanned before you plan to see the original.
What the rules do not allow
Mentioning a topic or a person’s name does not cause any material to be prepared. Orders need reference numbers. Bulk orders spread over several days are not accepted. And on site there are limits on what you may bring in, so expect to leave coats and bags in lockers. A researcher who wrote about the Kriegsarchiv described a locker room in front of the reading room and said only a laptop, pens, pencils and paper were allowed in. That account is older, so confirm the current rules.
| Rule or step | What the archive says |
|---|---|
| Reference numbers | Required for email orders; find them in the archive information system |
| Notice for email orders | At least three working days in advance |
| Order limits | A maximum per day of boxes or individual items |
| Seat | Must be pre-booked for the central reading room |
| User form | Once per calendar year, with a visitor pass from the cash desk |
| Ready time on site | 48 hours after ordering, held for seven days |
When you cannot visit
The State Archives answer written inquiries as far as they can and inform you about holdings that may contain relevant material. They also carry out specific research for a fee, if their regular workload allows. See the inquiries page for the forms. A separate form exists for person-related research in the Kriegsarchiv for the period 1740 to 1918. Our post on military records explains what the Kriegsarchiv holds and how to use its online name registers before you write.
The Vienna City and Provincial Archives
The city archive, known as MA 8, is at Guglgasse 14, Gasometer D, in the eleventh district, with access via Gasometer A. The city’s page explains that archival records are primarily meant to be used in the reading room and that people who cannot come may send a written request. A listing for the archive says the reading room is used by appointment. The archive only researches people who lived in Vienna or topics clearly related to Vienna, and a request must be limited to a specific topic and period, since general history enquiries are not answered. See the city’s information page and a university guide to Vienna’s archives.
A professional researcher who works in Vienna notes that the city archive is in a converted gasholder, a short metro ride from the main State Archives building. That makes it possible to combine the two on a single trip, as our Vienna itinerary suggests. Personal data rules apply, and the archive notes that records concerning people are available for research subject to data protection law, so some files are restricted for a period.
Provincial and diocesan archives
Provincial archives in Graz, Linz, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, Bregenz, St. Pölten and Eisenstadt have their own rules, as do diocesan archives. Many publish the same kinds of requirements: advance contact, reference numbers where possible and identification on arrival. Our guide to state and provincial archives lists them. Write ahead, state your question and ask about opening hours and access conditions. A reply by email can save a wasted journey.
A short preparation checklist
- Collect reference numbers from the online finding aids
- Order by email for the first days of your visit, if the archive allows it
- Book your seat and note the confirmation
- Bring photo identification and a list of what you want to see
- Learn the German terms for the record types you expect
- Write down the rules about copying and cameras as published for your date
Invented example: Imagine an invented researcher, Marta, who finds a reference number for a Kriegsarchiv file in the online system. She emails the order four working days before her trip, books a seat for her first two mornings and arrives with her passport. At the cash desk she buys a visitor pass, signs the annual user form and collects the file at the issue desk. A second file she wanted had no reference number, so she writes it down as a question for the staff at the advisory desk. The visit works because she prepared. This is a made-up case.
Where to go next
Read the trip planning guide for the overall approach and writing to archives and parishes for email templates. The Austrian genealogy guide shows which archive holds which records.
Hours, fees, rules and online systems change often. Confirm each point on the archive’s own site before you travel.
