Transferred holdings

Some of the records from the former Bernese state territories are no longer stored in the State Archive in Bern. Here you will find which holdings are currently held in which archives.

Most of the archival materials relating to the Bernese administration of the canton of Vaud (1536-1798) were transferred to Lausanne between 1798 and 1866 and are currently in the Canton of Vaud archives. Nevertheless, a considerable volume of archival materials from the time that Bern governed Vaud remain in the State Archive in Bern. For further details, please consult the online publication «Guide des sources historiques du Pays de Vaud à l’époque bernoise».

Most of the holdings relating to the period when Bern governed the Unteraargau, covering 1415 to 1798, were transferred to Aarau between 1804 and 1843 and are now held in the Canton of Aargau archives. However, there are still some holdings in the State Archive of the Canton of Bern.

The archive of the Bern Central Administration relating to the districts of Delémont, Franches-Montagnes and Porrentruy (1815-1978), a joint bequest from the Canton of Bern and the Canton of Jura, can be found in the State Archive of the Canton of Bern. The Canton of Jura archives hold the documents for the district administration prefecture (Regierungsstatthalteramt), land registry (Grundbuchamt), district court (Richteramt), etc.).

The documents from the central Bern administration on the Laufental (1815-1993) can be found in the State Archive of the Canton of Bern. The documents from the Laufen District Administration can be found in the archives of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft.

The holdings of the former Prince Bishopric (Fürstbistum) of Basel, which were held in the State Archive of the Canton of Bern until 1963, are today preserved in Porrentruy by the Archive of the former Prince-Bishopric of Basel Foundation.