The Zeeuws Archief is a knowledge centre for historica land genealogical research in Zeeland. The public record office has an extensive collection consisting of archives, drawings, maps, prints and photos on all possible subjects from the province of Zeeland. The archive has specific information about the municipalities of Middelburg, Veere, Vlissingen, Terneuzen, Schouwen-Duiveland and Kapelle. The Zeeuws Archief formally functions as the National Archive in Zeeland and as the municipal archive for the municipalities of Middelburg, Veere, Vlissingen, Terneuzen, Schouwen-Duiveland and Kapelle.[citation needed]
Study room and library of the Zeeuws Archief, photo: Johan Francke, June 4, 2024
The Zeeuws Archief manages archives and collections from national, provincial and private institutions with the province of Zeeland or its predecessors as its area of operation and from municipal authorities and private institutions in the municipalities of Middelburg, Veere and Kapelle and predecessors; a total of approximately 34 kilometres.
The archives include that of the Middelburgse Commercie Compagnie and that of the shipyard Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde, which both are included on the Unesco World Heritage List for documents.[1] Another important archive is that of the Deltadienst (Delta Service) in which the Delta Plan and Delta Works are recorded. In addition to the physical storage location for archive documents, the Zeeuws Archief has also had an e-depot since 2015, in which the ‘digital born’ archives of the provincial government institutions are stored. The Zeeuws Archief is working intensively on digitizing frequently consulted archive documents, such as those of the Stichting Herbouw Middelburg (Foundation for Reconstruction of Middelburg), the Audit Chamber archives and those of the Municipal Works department Middelburg. Between 2018 and 2023, the digitized archive increased from 8.39 to 37.32 Gigabytes. Approximately 2.8 million web pages are visited annually. That is a multiple of the physical visitors. Each year, between 1,500 and 2,000 visitors come to the Middelburg branch, who together request approximately eight- to ten thousand archive documents. In 2007 the Zeeland Archives conclude a service agreement with the Waterschap Zeeuwse Eilanden (Water Board Zeeland Isles), now Waterschap Scheldestromen (Water Board Scheldt streams) and its legal predecessors as far as the Zeeland islands are concerned, were managed by the Zeeland Archives and made available in the study room. The archives of the former Waterschap Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Water Board Flemish-Zeeland) are managed and made available in het Water Board office in Terneuzen.[citation needed]
Parchment Act from 1189, the oldest archive piece of the collection. In 1189 the bishop of Utrecht (Traiectum) gave the inhabitants of Hoogelande permission to build a chapel.[2]Parchment Act from 1189 about the foundation of the chapel of Hoogelande, ZA, 27, inv.nr. 2.
Illustrated diary of wine merchant Hendrik Brouwer (1769-1837)[3]Page out of the family genealogy that Hendrik Brouwer wrote, ZA, 1753, inv.nr. 1.
Parchment Act of Maximilian of Burgundy from 1551, in which he donates a gilded cup to the city of Veere. The cup is still in use to drink wine when the reigning Dutch monarch visits Veere.[4]Parchment Act of Maximilian of Burgundy about the donation of a cup to Veere]
Entrance of the old city brewery ‘Drye Tonnekens’, and nowadays of the Zeeuws Archief, photo: Johan Francke, June 4, 2024
The office functions of the Zeeuws Archief are housed in the monumental Van de Perrehuis, an eighteenth-century city palace in the centre of Middelburg, built on the cellars of a commandery of the Teutonic Order. For public functions, the building has been expanded with an ultramodern wing, which houses the reception, depots, study room and archive café. The Genealogisch Centrum Zeeland (Genealogical Centre Zeeland) and the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies (RIAS)[5] are also located in an adjacent building, internally connected to the Zeeuws Archief.
The Zeeuws Archief was founded in 2000 through a merger between three archive services: the National Archives in Zeeland, the Municipal Archives of Middelburg and the Municipal Archives of Veere. The Zeeland Archives has been open to public since January 4, 2000.
The Joint Arrangement Zeeland Archives is an independent administrative body and is an initiative of the National Archives Service (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science), the Municipality of Middleburg and the Municipality of Veere. The Zeeuws Archief consists of three departments: Staff, Information &cKnowledge and Management & Exploration. The Zeeuws Archief is supported by the Friends of the Zeeuws Archief Foundation.[citation needed]
The Friends of the Zeeuws Archief Foundation financially contributes to acquisition of archives, exhibitions, and publications or restoration of archives and the organization of the Friends’ Lecture. The Friends’ Lecture, held by a well-known Dutch writer, draws attention to the importance of archives and is held every year on the first Saturday of November as the closing event of the Open Day of the Zeeland Archives.[citation needed]
^Zeeuws Archief, entrance 27 Onze Lieve Vrouwe Abdij te Middelburg, 1189-1578, inv.nr. 2, 1189, presumably before September, Baldwinus, bishop of Traiectum, authorizes the parishoners of Westmunstre, who live at Hogeland to found a church there…’
^Zeeuws Archief, entrance 1753 Family Brouwer, 1654-1854, inv.nr. 1, Geneology of the family Brouwer, written in a journal…
^Zeeuws Archief, entrance 2000 Stad Veere, inv.nr. 2074. Act of donation of a gild cup by Maximilian of Burgundy, Lord of Veere to the city of Veere, Februari 1, 1551
^The ancestors of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt originally came from Tholen, one of the Zeeland Isles
