Inquiries
This menu item on the website of the Austrian State Archives provides information on further services offered by our institution.
The Register of Archives is a statutorily prescribed tool seeking to give you an overview of the entire Austrian archive community. A detailed Collection of links (in German) structured according to subject matters may supply you with useful addresses on the World Wide Web. Please also refer to the headings "Tips for researchers" in the individual departments, wherever available.
Response to inquiries in writing
To the extent that this is possible, the departments of the Austrian State Archives will respond to inquiries made in writing. They will inform you of the holdings in which material is or could be available regarding the matter on hand.
General guidance concerning “the type, scope, state and usability of the archival units required“ (Benutzungsordnung Punkt IX, 3) is free of charge.
Although ours is the age of digitalisation and online database, archival records are normally used by personal access (Bundesarchivgesetz § 9 [5]).
Research subject to a charge by employees of the Austrian State Archives
In addition to providing archive- and record-related basic information, the departments of the Austrian State Archives also do specific research for content in their holdings if their regular workload allows for this.
Research work of this kind mainly concerns person-related research (family research) and covers related archival records (personal files, personnel files or person-related current records).
For searches to be targeted, basic data concerning the person or subject matter on hand are required.
Research work by employees of the Austrian State Archives are subject to a charge. The handling fee amounts to 45 Euro per half hour begun.
Your request for research should be sent to the Austrian State Archives by post, fax or email or may be handed in personally in the reading room; the archive department in charge will then process it.
For communicating the basis information which you already have at your disposal, please use the following application forms:
- Application for research (PDF, 82 KB), general form, for all departments of the Austrian State Archives.
- Application for person-related research in the Kriegsarchiv (PDF, 87 KB), specially addressed to the department "Kriegsarchiv"and pertaining to the period from 1740 to 1918.
You will then receive an "Offer to do research" including a cost estimate based on the expected time to be expended.
Please note that you are obliged to pay the charge even if the outcome of your research commission is negative or does not live up to your expectations.
Research by third parties
For further extensive research you are not able or willing to do on your own, you may want to use the services of free-lance genealogists or historians. They can do research in Vienna's archives and libraries on your behalf for a fee.
Guided tours through the Austrian State Archives
Guided tours are a significant part of public relations at the Austrian State Archives; they are the perfect way of "looking behind the scenes" in various locations.
A tour offers insights into the history of the institution and its locations, into research work, the stacks area which is not normally accessible, and the restoration workshop.
Moreover, there are special tours focusing on specific themes. Guided tours are subject to a charge (per person: 5 euro; Groups of less than 10 persons: 50 euro) and require at least 14 days advance notice.
Please contact:
Austrian State Archives
Nottendorfer Gasse 2
1030 Vienna
Phone: +43 1 795 40-640115
Email: oesta@oesta.gv.at
Collection of links
This menu items offers a selection of useful links to other websites focusing on archival sciences and historical studies.
We are interested in extending our collection of links; information on useful Internet addresses is welcome.
For work with Internet resources, see Eder, Franz X. et al. (ed.): Geschichte online. Einführung in das wissenschaftliche Arbeiten. Vienna/Cologne/Weimar 2006.