Archives of the Hungarian Chancellery (1414–1848)

Section "A"

Find registry information (e-Archivum) here.

Between 1529 and 1848 the Hungarian Court Chancellery was operating at the royal court in Vienna and from 1576 to 1612, during the reign of Rudolf Habsburg, in Prague. Concerning internal affairs the Chancellery played the role of the main Hungarian government authority. Its competence included the submission of Hungarian matters to the sovereign, the issue of royal orders and the maintenance of relations with the central court organs. Financial, military and foreign affairs did not fall within the competence of the Chancellery as these were administered by the Court Chamber in Vienna, the Hungarian Chamber and other central government organs.

Besides the records of the Registry, the Archives of the Hungarian Chancellery contains the archival legacy of some chancellery officials; the documents of royal committees and committees of the Estates dealing with Hungarian affairs; some series of records created at the Chancellery which consist of document collections originated elsewhere; and finding aids created in the 20th century concerning family and local history.

The Royal Books (Libri Regii 1527-1918) relies on interest of family researchers as it contains letters patents, deed of gifts, royal confirmations of official and private documents of private individuals and communities.

Language: German, Latin, partly Hungarian.

Finding Aids: Repertory, manuscript lists and indexes, concerning the Royal Books (A 57) and family and local history related finding aids (A 131) and documents of guilds (A 72) computer databases are available.