Archives départementales du Territoire de Belfort
- Departmental Archives of the Belfort Territory
Address
Phone
History
The history of the Archives départementales du Territoire de Belfort is closely linked to that of its département. In the 19th century, the town of Belfort was the administrative centre of an arrondissement in the Haut-Rhin département. For this reason, most of the documents produced were transferred in 1868 to the Archives départementales du Haut-Rhin (A.D.H.R.) in Colmar.
The Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 put an end to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 and changed the destiny of Belfort. Belfort and 105 surrounding communes escaped annexation to the German Reich and remained French, becoming ‘the remaining French part of the Haut-Rhin’.
Administrative departments, including the Departmental Archives, were set up and moved to Belfort, in the sub-prefecture building on Grande Rue. They were placed under the authority of a ‘provisional administrator acting as prefect’.
In 1903, the department took up residence in the basement of the new prefecture building, built for the administration in the heart of the new district. It already held 700 linear metres of documents.
On 11 March 1922, after a long period of prevarication over the possibility of reintegrating the 106 communes into the Haut-Rhin department, which had been French again since 1918, the Territoire de Belfort was officially created. The provisional administrator, Mr Maisonobe (former curator of the Lozère departmental archives) was appointed prefect of the department.
The Departmental Archives were not yet autonomous, as they remained under the supervision of the curator of the Haute-Saône Archives from 1923 to 1945. The department tried to organise itself and began publishing its first inventories.
After the Second World War, the management of the Archives de France decided to create full-time posts. A sub-archivist was appointed in Belfort in 1946, followed in 1956 by the first curator, the director. In 1968, Vauban Tower 46 was refurbished, enabling the department to be extended. In 1982, the current building came into use, with storage capacity increased to 14 linear kilometres of documents.
Opening Times
Tuesday-Friday: 8:30 - 12:00 and 13:30-17:00
Conditions of Access
Access to the reading room is free of charge.
On your first visit, you must register with a valid official identity document bearing a photograph. Free registration is valid for one year and must be renewed each year.
You must leave your outdoor clothing, umbrellas and bulky personal effects in the cloakroom and in the lockers provided. You are allowed to keep loose sheets of A4 paper, a pencil, an eraser, a magnifying glass, your laptop/tablet and camera. You are not allowed to eat, drink, use your mobile phone to make a phone call or smoke.
In principle, public documents may be disclosed immediately, but there are a number of exceptions relating to privacy, justice and security (Code du patrimoine, art. L213-1 and L 213-2). Different deadlines apply depending on the nature of the archives: you will find them in the sheet below, as well as on the @docs application on the France Archives portal.
You can access documents for which the communicability deadline has not yet been reached after processing a request for exemption. Documents of private origin may be consulted in accordance with the laws and regulations in force for public archives, unless the depositor has established special rules. Access to certain documents may be restricted due to their physical condition. Documents that have been microfilmed or digitised for their protection may only be disclosed in this form. Any exception to these rules must be explicitly authorised by the management.
Accessibility
The Archives building is accessible to people with reduced mobility. It is advisable to telephone in advance to let us know you are coming.
Reproduction Services
You may make digital or photographic reproductions in the reading room (with the permission of the reading room supervisor), either on your own or with the help of a third party (company, individual, association).
Subject to the technical possibilities of the photography and digitisation workshop, the Archives départementales can produce digital images.
These files are made available in digital form and are subject to the rates in place.
For further information, please consult the regulations for the Archives departementales reading room.
Conditions: https://archives.territoiredebelfort.fr/page/conditions-de-reproduction-et-de-reutilisation
Copies
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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum holds copies of Holocaust-relevant archives from Archives départementales du Territoire de Belfort
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USHMM holds copies of Holocaust-relevant archives from the Archives départementales du Territoire de Belfort grouped under "Selected records of the Departmental Archives of the Belfort Territory." Detailed finding aids of the copies made by USHMM are available via the USHMM collection description.