The Stadtarchiv Schaffhausen builds bridges between past, present and future and between research, administration and the public, because it secures authentic sources in accordance with its legal mandate and makes them usable as archival material for state and society. By making long-term administrative decisions comprehensible, the city archive enables the transparency of administrative action and the protection of citizens' individual rights, which are part of the essence of the democratic rule of law. Archive material is unique and therefore irreplaceable. The primary tasks of the City Archives are to secure documents of lasting value and to form, preserve and make them generally accessible as records. The archival tradition is formed and indexed in such a way that it is open to different purposes and evaluations.