Reading room

In our reading room you can conduct your own research. Acces to our reading room with excellent facilities is free. You can find us at Alexander Numankade 199. Are you planning a visit? Don't forget to bring valid identification. When you visit, you can register at the reception desk. In our reading room you can use free WiFi and computers. Our team of experts are there to provide information and help. Copies of documents can be provided on payment of a copy fee. Research contributions can be made by our correspondents at € 18,25 per 15 minutes.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Wednesday from 9 to 17.00 hrs, Thursday 9 to 21 hrs. 
You can order documents until 16:00.

Send us an email: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.. We will reply as soon as possible and always within three office days.
 


Genealogy

Did your ancestors originate from the city or the province of Utrecht and are you looking for data for your family tree? Het Utrechts Archief holds a range of resources for you to carry out your family research. Resources can be accessed in our reading rooms, but many personal details and data are already available online:         

 

  • Registry of births, deaths and marriages 1811-1960
    Data concerning one’s Utrecht ancestors can be found in the registers of births, deaths and marriages (‘burgerlijke stand’) for the years 1811 to 1960. These registers also contain information concerning addresses of residence, the profession of the bridegoom and declarer of a marriage, and the names, ages and professions of witnesses. Note that, due to privacy laws, not all data are publicly available.    
  • Municipal register of the city of Utrecht, 1900-1912
    In cases of uncertainty or information gaps concerning Utrecht ancestry, the municipal register (‘bevolkingsregister’) may be helpful. Not only does this register provide addresses of residence, but it also provides information on people and institutions moving when and where. The Utrecht city register for 1900-1912 can be searched online, and those for 1850-1899 and 1913-1936 can be consulted in our reading room.  
  • Registers of baptisms, marriages and funerals 1579-1811
    When your research has taken you back to 1811 or earlier, the consultation of entries of baptisms, marriages and funerals in the online collection is the most important further tool, allowing you to regress to as early as 1579.    

Each of these sources can be accessed using the direct search entry for persons (‘personen’), which allows searching for more than one individual at the same time. A survey of all Dutch major archives is available at www.archieven.nl. On the website WieWasWie you can search for your ancestors in Dutch birth, marriage and death certificates. The website is available in English.

 


Exhibitions and activities

Exhibitions are shown in the Utrecht city centre location near the Dom church and tower: Hamburgerstraat 28. Here you will find several interesting exhibitions that are about the history of Utrecht. Every six months there is a new exhibition. Entrance to our exhibitions is free. 


Find out more about our current exhibition City on paper. Utrecht in drawings 1900-2000. 


 

About Het Utrechts Archief

Het Utrechts Archief keeps some 30 kms of archives and historical sources concerning the city and the province, the oldest of which date back to the ninth century. Moreover, much of our archive is increasingly maintained in the form of scans or some other digital format; our servers currently contain over 3 million files. We employ some fifty staff and eighty volunteers and hosts.

 


Digital archive management & open data

Communication with and between government bodies is increasingly conducted digitally, affecting methods of sustainable management and conservation of archive material. Het Utrechts Archief is part of a national effort towards the development of a tool of digital archive management: the e-Depot. Robust agreements are required concerning the archiver and his methods, substantial and technical supervision and examination must take place, safety, quality and authenticity guaranteed. Hence the e-Depot implies policy decisions, processes and procedures. 

 

In accordance with government policy, Het Utrechts Archief aims at an open approach to reuse of data. Open data is accessible and reusable for any interested party. Open data allow, for instance, the development of new applications or the execution of largescale statistical analysis. Since 2016 Het Utrechts Archief makes available designated open data sets for anyone’s consultation and use. Current sets of open data comprise registers of baptisms, marriages and funerals, the Utrecht Province Registry Office’s and statements of succession. Further sets will be added in the near future.