Collections

The DBV archive

In 1999 the DBV celebrated its centenary.
Shortly before the celebration a professional archivist laboriously sifted through and catalogued the disorganised archives of the association’s history with the result that the countless files and card indexes were turned into an indexed, reconstructed association archive that was used to prepare the exhibition and more besides.
The archive runs to some seventy metres of shelf space covering the foundation year of 1899 right up to the present day, and is constantly being added to.
The archive is of supreme importance not merely for the association’s own purposes but will certainly be of sociological significance in the future.

Documentation
Researchers’ eyes will light up when they browse through the alphabetically organised documentation folders on individual castles, manors and towns.
In the course of a hundred years the EBI has collected countless ‘treasures’: old newspaper cuttings, castle questionnaires from the early 1920s, old photos and much more.
Thanks to the attentions of DBV members and many others this collection continues to grow and two rooms are currently filled from floor to ceiling with cabinets full of suspension files. We welcome any information, any documentation sent in. It is important to provide evidence of the origin of the information and a date if possible. Photos, too, should contain a reference to the photographer and the date the photo was taken.