Information

As defined by the provisions of the FEDERAL LAW OF ARCHIVES, PART I, OF FEDERAL LAW GAZETTE NO. 162/1999, the Bank History Archives administer the archive material of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and put it at the public’s disposal for scientific, legal and other justified interests.

To this end the curators of the Bank History Archives collect, examine and classify all the archive material of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank informing about the history of the Austrian central bank and its integration into general political and economic trends. The archives do not provide information about so-called "accountable assets," e.g. old notes and stocks, coins, (printing) plates and similar items, for which the Archives of Art and the Numismatic Collection of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, respectively, are responsible.

The archive material is identified and classified according to scientific archiving criteria and then entered in electronic records and registers. The structure of the entries and the search functions enable users to find and use the material easily.

As a rule the material is archived in the original form unless it is only available as a copy or in electronic form. Some documents have to be recorded of another medium (such as microfilm), e.g. to preserve them.

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank has been building up the Bank History Archives since the spring of 1999.

The archive material of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank is released for public use under the provision of the FEDERAL LAW OF ARCHIVES, PART I, OF FEDERAL LAW GAZETTE NO. 162/1999.

Applicants who want to use the archive material have to comply with the REGULATIONS FOR USE issued by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank.

Those wishing to use the Bank History Archives have to complete and sign an Application for Use (see REGULATIONS FOR USE) before access is granted. In this form applicants have to state their personal data (name, address, profession, nationality) and application details (theme, client etc.). They also have to agree to comply with the provisions of the Regulations for Use. Furthermore, users must have a specific reason to inspect the records of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, namely:

• scientific purposes
• journalistic purposes or
• justified personal interests 

You can find the Bank History Archives at Rotenhausgasse 4, 1090 Vienna.

As there are no fixed opening hours, visitors are requested to contact a staff member from Monday to Thursday from 09:00 a.m. to 03:30 p.m., Friday from 09:00 a.m. to 03:00 p.m., to make an appointment.

Two curators staff the Bank History Archives:

Oesterreichische Nationalbank / Documentation Management and Communication Services / Bank History Archives
Rotenhausgasse 4
A-1090 Vienna / AUSTRIA