Regrettably, the number of original historical photographs preserved is relatively small, as many fell victim to a fire that raged through the OeNB’s head office in Vienna in 1979 and also destroyed the Governing Board’s library, where the picture archives were stored at that time.
Particularly large gaps in the archives are recorded for portraits of former governors, presidents, directors and other high-ranking staff of the Austrian central bank. In addition, many of the photographs of buildings, interior views and events from the central bank’s history are reproductions, primarily based on works belonging to the Austrian National Library’s inventory.
A large number of the picture archives’ original photos from the pre-fire period were obtained from private individuals, special collections or OeNB branch offices. The archives also include some original photographs which – for whatever reason – were not stored in the Governing Board’s library at the time of the fire and were therefore not damaged or destroyed.
The picture archives, which are growing continuously, also encompass more recent photographs, e.g. more than 1,000 photographs from the 1970s and 1980s that were taken to illustrate the OeNB’s staff magazine.These photos include portraits of new staff members as well as documentation of business processes, events and other special occasions from these two decades.