Archief van het Aartsbisdom Mechelen-Brussel

The first steps towards the formation of an archbishop's archive date from after the founding of the Archdiocese of Mechelen in 1559. The oldest pieces date from before the founding of the archdiocese (the so-called Cameracensia and Leodiensia ). The archive was originally in the Archbishop's residence in Brussels. In the first half of the 18th century it was transferred to the Archbishop's Palace on the Wollemarkt in Mechelen. During the French Revolution a number of documents were seized by the government. In the 19th century, the documents relating to East Flemish parishes that belonged to the Archdiocese of Mechelen in the *Ancien Régime* were transferred to the Diocese of Ghent. A second transfer took place after 1962. Then the archives of the old Diocese of Antwerp (1559-1801) and the archives of Antwerp parishes from the period 1801-1961 moved to the new Diocese of Antwerp. In the interbellum period, at the initiative of the then archivist, Canon Jozef Laenen, the archive was transferred from the attics of the Archbishop's Palace to the neighboring Refugie van Sint-Truiden. It remained housed there until. in 1987. the necessity of a different repository became apparent. The archive was then housed in the former library of the Groot Seminarie (the current Diocesan Pastoral Center). Since January 2004, the archive has been housed in the former chapel of the Seminary that was built in 1954-1955 on the initiative of Cardinal Van Roey. 

Reproductions: - Black and white photocopies: € 0.25 (A4); € 0.50 (A3) - Color photocopy: € 1 (A4); € 2 (A3) - € 6 administration costs + shipping costs (applicable rates of bpost) if the copies are sent by post - scans and photos: € 0.50 per recording + € 6 administration costs 

Access to the reading room and consultation of archive documents is free of charge. Upon their first visit to the archive, each reader must show proof of identity (identity card or official document and completes an identification form). When registering, the reader declares that he will take note of and agree with the reading room rules. The reading room rules can be found here: https://www.kerknet.be/aartsbisdom/organisatie/diocesaan-archief