History
The origins of Montpellier's Archives date back to the 13th century. It is linked to the emergence of two institutions: the Commune Clôture, an administration responsible for building, maintaining and defending the city's fortifications (1196), and the Consulate, a municipal administration run by "consuls" from 1204.
The archivists' first work was aimed at preserving documents useful to the smooth running of the institutions. Long kept in the Maison consulaire, then within the Town Hall, Montpellier's archives were moved in 1886 to the Tour des Pins on boulevard Henri-IV. In 2000, the Montpellier Archives moved to the current médiathèque centrale Émile Zola.
The Montpellier Archives bring together the holdings of the City and Metropolis. Bringing together numerous physical or digitized works and documents, they constitute the memory of the territory.
Within the "magasin", nearly 14 km of archives are preserved. Some treasures date back to medieval times, sometimes sealed with lead or wax. The oldest document dates back to 1148, and refers to the donation of lepers from the Pont de Castelnau to the Hôpital Saint-Lazare.
Archives bear witness to Montpellier's administrative, cultural, economic, academic and religious activities, and some are particularly prestigious! Some documents are particularly prestigious!
Small Thalamus
Among the treasures is the Petit Thalamus. This manuscript traces the history of Montpellier from 1204 to 1604: customs, statutes and urban establishments, consular lists, annals in Occitan and then in French...
To make it easier to understand, the digital edition includes a translation, legal, philological and historical notes, as well as an index of names and places.
Did you know? From the Revolution to the First World War, it was compulsory to have a passport to travel within the country! Known as an interior passport, this document was issued for any journey of more than 30 km from home.
The Montpellier Archives possess a heritage that is unique in France: a complete collection of interior passports for the period 1791-1914. These documents are also digitized and freely available online. They contain invaluable information for historical or genealogical research: identity, age, profession, place of birth, address, destination...
Metropolitan Archives
Since 1965, an intercommunal archive service has been set up within the District, the Agglomération and then the Métropole. It brings together documents produced and received by the intercommunal body over the years. They are freely available for consultation, with a few regulatory exceptions. They include paper files, photographs, plans, posters and models that tell the story of the territory's transformations and the cooperation between communes.
Archives reading room
The Archives reading room is available free of charge by appointment, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10am to 4:30pm. On site, a team of archivists and documentalists is on hand to guide and inform users. The service is open to all: genealogists, jurists, historians, sociologists, town planners, architects or the simply curious.
Please note: for conservation reasons, certain works and documents can only be consulted by certain categories of specialists: historians, researchers...
Many items are also digitized, to facilitate access to information. An online database allows you to consult the notices describing each archive, and gives access to digital documents.
Historical bulletin
Since 1982, the archives department has published Le Bulletin Historique de la Ville de Montpellier once a year. It consists of scientific or historical articles, often produced by experts and researchers.
The Bulletin also evokes the department's latest news: events, figures, actions...
Events
Exhibitions, meetings, conferences... The Montpellier Archives department regularly organizes events to promote the city's documentary holdings and history.
Some examples of events: Journées Internationales des Archives, Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, Commémorations nationales, Collectes, Trésors d'archives de la ville de Montpellier... Virtual exhibitions are also available.