Our archive is a regional archive. It is composed of a wide variety of archival materials. Manuscripts, letters and other manuscripts complement the printed materials (such as newspapers or newspaper clippings) that we keep. The collection focuses on companies, localities and people connected with the region. The regional dialect and dialect authors also play a role.

The oldest archival documents in storage date back to the 18th century. It is a court file on Klein Wulferstedt. Large volumes exist on the Rieckensdorf family as well as on the shaft in Wefensleben and the Hadmersleben brewery.

The written estates of the following persons are kept in the Börde Museum: Albert Hansen; Heinz Nowak; Karl Schlimme; Otto Maushake; Willy Streich; Otto Jacob; Rudolf Pfeil and Hugo Hölzer. The Findbuch (PDF) should give you an impression of our holdings. Are you looking for something specific? Please contact us. We will also be happy to advise you on how to archive your private documents.

Photo archive

The photo archive of the Börde Museum consists mainly of donations and bequests, and to a lesser extent of the museum's own products. In total, there are about 30,000 objects.

The chronological classification roughly reflects the history of photography: the oldest photographs date back to the 1860s. Even though photography started a little earlier, it gradually became mass-produced during this period. Technical processes were consolidated or optimized and handling became easier. From the late 19th century, photographs reach up to the present day. The media are wide-ranging: the collection includes slides, glass plates, roll films, negatives in various sizes, and of course positives, i.e. commercially available prints as well as digital media.

Motivically, the big denominator is of course the Börde: the photographs show the Börde and/or were taken there. There are many rural and village photographs, but also more specialized holdings such as the documentation of archaeological excavations, or plants in the Börde by the former director of the Börde Museum Heinz Nowak.

Another noteworthy part of the collection is a donation of about 12,000 photographs from the Wanzleben editorial office of the Volksstimme from 1981. Partly unpublished, the motifs show a broad cross-section of Börde life in the GDR of the 1950s-70s. The photographers include Hartmut Beyer (Eilsleben) and Heinz Oppermann (Bahrendorf). Also worth mentioning are the approximately 1,000 photographs by Fritz Giesecke, whose photographic estate is located in the photo archive.

Digitization of the photo archive is in progress as long as the medium permits. So far, about 16,500 photographs have been digitized and are thus easier to view than the various media would allow by hand.