Arhiv Republike Srpske

The Archives of the City of Banja Luka were established by the Decision of the People's Committee of the City of Banja Luka, number 4735 dated 20 April, 1953.

According to the approval of the Executive Council of the National Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, no. 1719-14 dated 30 May, 1956, the Archives of the City of Banja Luka became County Archives, authorized for the areas of the municipalities of Banja Luka and Prijedor. The establisher's rights were taken over by the People's Committee of the County Banja Luka (Decision no. 2170 dated 29 June, 1956) with the consent of the People's Committee of the County Prijedor (Decision no. 1291 dated 15 February, 1956).

During 1958, in the Local Community Office Nova Topola, an archival warehouse was established, in which the records collected on the territory of the County Bosanska Gradiska were deposited. Gradually, it became the Archival Collecting Center Bosanska Gradiska.

In a few years the Archives was developed into a respective institution whose depots had 250 archive groups and 9 archival collections of great importance for studying of social, political, economic, cultural and other conditions in the territory of northwest Bosnia.

The professional analysis of the collected records from the period 1878-1918, 1919-1941 and 1941-1945 was initiated. The majority of the records written in Turkish, German and Serbian language was stored in the building where the Archives had been placed - "Banska uprava Vrbaske Banovine" (i.e. the People's Committee of Banja Luka County). Unclassified records were taken over in the state they were found, without record on takeover. An Organized take over of the records started in 1961.

The development of the archival service, a great inflow of documentation and increasing awareness of the need to perform of archival activity throughout the whole territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1963 resulted in the establishment of the regional institution called the Archives of Bosanska Krajina with Head Office in Banja Luka.

The territorial and actual jurisdiction of the Bosnian Krajina archive covered the regions of Banjaluka and Bihać.

The Archives of Bosanska Krajina was still growing and new collective centers were formed in Prijedor (1 April, 1963), Jajce (1 February, 1964) and Bihac (15 April, 1964).

The collective centers accepted a great number of archive groups of the abolished county, municipality and community People's Committees.

On 1 January 1967, the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina took over from the counties the establisher's rights and financing of the activities of the Archives of Bosanska Krajina.

The great earthquake that struck Banja Luka on 27 October 1969 impeded the development of the archival service. Only by the middle of 1973 was a partial solution for the problem of record storage was found. The Archives together with the Museum of Bosanska Krajina were moved to the partly rebuilt "Carska kuca".

As of 1 January, 1974, after constitutional and territorial changes, responsibility for financing the Archives was taken over by 23 municipalities (Banja Luka, Bihac, Bosanska Dubica, Bosanska Gradiska, Bosansko Grahovo, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Novi, Bosanski Petrovac, Cazin, Celinac, Drvar, Jajce, Kljuc, Kotor Varos, Laktasi, Mrkonjic Grad, Prijedor, Prnjavor, Sanski Most, Skender Vakuf, Srbac, Sipovo and Velika Kladusa). These municipalities took over the establisher's rights from the Republic in 1976.

In 1981, the Archival Collecting Center in Bihac was abolished. The Historical Archives Bihac took over the responsibility for the protection of the records on the territories of the municipalities Bihac, Bosansko Grahovo, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Petrovac, Cazin and Velika Kladusa.

During 1983 the Archival Collecting Centers in Prijedor and Jajce were abolished.

The armed conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) had numerous negative consequences for archival activity. Until the middle of 1993 on the territory of the Republic of Srpska, the Archives of Bosanska Krajina with Head Office in Banja Luka, Regional Archives in Doboj and Regional Archives in Srbinje/Foca were active.

By the Act on Ministries ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska" no. 19/93), the Archives of the Republic of Srpska with Head Office in Banja Luka was established and had a status of an independent republic administrative organization.

It is consisted of the Archives of Bosanska Krajina in Banja Luka, Regional Archives Office in Doboj (established on 16 February 1954) and Regional Archives in Srbinje/Foca (established on 1 January 1976).

By the Article 40 of the Act on Ministries ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska" no. 19/93) the legal status of the Archives was changed again. Today it is a republic administrative organisation within the Ministry of Education and Culture, with real and territorial authority over the whole territory of the Republic of Srpska.

By the Article 40 of the Act on Ministries ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska" no. 70/02) and the Article 37 of the Act on Archival Activity ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska" no. 35/99 and 9/00), the Archives carry out their activities across the whole territory of the Republic of Srpska.

On the basis of the provision of the paragraph 2 Article 64 of the Act on Cultural Values ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska" no. 2/95), the Archives has a status of a central institution for the protection of cultural values.

In the Archives of the Republic of Srpska, as a basic organsational unit, the following was formed:

1) Section for classification and analysis of the records

2) Section for supervision of the Registry Offices, legal and general affairs.

The Section for classification and analysis of the records is organised as follows:

• Department for classification and analysis of the records

  • Operations of depots and technical and technological protection of the records

  • Information and documentation operations

  • Operations of classification and analysis of the records

  • Operations providing services to users and information diffusion

  • Library operations

• Department for the research work and presentation of the records

  • Operations of presentation of the records and publishing activity

  • Scientific and research operations

  • Operations of cultural, educational and information activity.

Within the Department for classification and analysis of the records, five regional units organised on the basis of the territorial principle are active:

• Regional unit in Doboj (Vukosavlje, Derventa, Doboj, Modrica, Pelagicevo, Petrovo, Srpsko Orasje, Srpski Brod, Teslic and Samac)

• Regional unit in Zvornik (Bijeljina, Vlasenica, Zvornik, Lopare, Milici, Osmaci, Srebrenica, Ugljevik and Sekovici)

• Regional unit in Foca (Visegrad, Kalinovik, Rudo, Srbinje, Srpsko Gorazde and Cajnice)

• Regional unit in Istocno Sarajevo (Bratunac, Pale, Rogatica, Sokolac, Srpska Ilidza, Stari Grad Srpsko Sarajevo, Srpsko Novo Sarajevo, Trnovo, and Han Pijesak)

• Regional unit in Trebinje (Berkovici, Bileca, Gacko, Ljubinje, Nevesinje, Srpski Mostar and Trebinje)

Section for supervision of the Registry Offices, legal and general affairs is organized as follows:

• Department for protection of the records outside the Archives

• Operations of Registry Offices supervision

• Operations of giving expert help to the possessors of the Registry Office material

• Department of legal and general affairs

• General, legal and personnel affairs

• Financial and accountancy affairs

The main buidling is located in Banja Luka. There are branches of the Archives located in Zvornik, Trebinje, Foča and Doboj.

The Archives possesses 2682,10 m² of the business premises as follows:

1) Head Office in Banja Luka 1522,10 m²

• Depots for filing and keeping of the records 729,90 m²

• Offices 392,40 m²

• Library 92,00 m²

• Reading-room 25 m²

• Hall for meetings, lectures and exibitions 40 m²

• Side-rooms 334,80 40 m²

2) Regional unit in Doboj with total 379 m² as follows:

• Depots for filing and keeping of the records 262 m²

• Offices 78 m²

• Side-rooms 39 m²

3) Regional unit in Zvornik with total 50 m² as follows:

• Depots for filing and keeping of the records 22,75 m²

• Side-rooms 9,75 m²

4) Regional unit in Foca with total 467 m² as follows:

• Depots for filing and keeping of the records 400 m²

• Offices 44 m²

• Library 20 m²

• Side-rooms 3 m²

5) Regional unit in Trebinje with total 264 m² as follows:

• Depots for filing and keeping of the records 135,90 m²

• Offices 35,40 m²

• Side-rooms 92,70 m²

For a list of the 'Archive Groups' covered by the Archives of the Republic of Srpska, see:

http://www.arhivrs.org/Doc.aspx?subcat=14&cat=3&id=15&lang=eng

Published article detailing fonds and collections in the Archives:

1. Stojnić, Bojan, "Arhivski fondovi i zbirke u Arhivu Republike Srpske", Prvi kongres arhivista Bosne i Hercegovine - Zbornik radova, Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine [i] Arhivističko udruženje Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo 2006, pg. 53–57.

Further sources related to the Archives' collections, see:

http://www.arhivrs.org/Doc.aspx?subcat=28&cat=3&id=46&lang=eng