Archiwum Państwowe w Częstochowie

The State Archive in Częstochowa came into existence according to the Decree of the Minister of Education from July 21th 1950, as the Częstochowa County Branch of the Katowice State Archive. It started work in March 1951, and was localized in the building of the former Town Archive at Krakowska street. In 1951 the archive was renamed The State Archive in Częstochowa and in 1956 it obtained a new statute and was again renamed the Częstochowa Local Branch of the Katowice State Archive. In 1976, according to the reform of state administration, the archive became the Częstochowa Voivodship State Archive, and in 1983, according to the Act on National Archival Records and Archives, it was renamed the Częstochowa State Archive. In the years 1989-1994 the Częstochowa archive was once again a branch of the Katowice archive. 

The State Archive in Częstochowa possesses 877 collections and archival founds, which makes 183667 units and 2310 running meters (as for December 31, 2011). For the most part, the documents are concerning the city of Częstochowa, as well as Częstochowa, Kłobuck and Lubliniec districts. In XIX century these territories belonged to Russia and Germany, so the significant part of the holdings consists of documents in Russian and German. There are some archival materials from the 17th and 18th century, for example the register book of the Mstów parish (1615-1637) and the Blacksmith Guild Book from Mrzygłód (1648-1937). The major part of holdings dates from the XIX and XX century. The collections deserving special attention are the records of the city of Częstochowa (1759-1948) and of the regional administration (Starostwo Powiatowe w Częstochowie, 1919-1939). The State Archive gathers state, self – government, and judicial documents, notarial files, birth, marriage, death records, documents from financial institutions, social and co-operative organizations, associations and parties, factories, public utilities. The Archive also stores photographs, postcards, posters and seals collections. Some of the aforementioned documents are recorded on microfilms.  

The access is regulated by Instruction No. 4 of the Head Office of State Archives in Poland, dated February 1, 2013.