PREFACE

In this very special year 2000 the archives of seven European cities of culture wish to give you this opportunity of strenghtening your sense of identity. We believe the material presented here will establish new ties to other parts of the European scene, as well as to consolidate the links with your own cultural heritage.

We have taken the opportunity of the status of our own cities as capitals of culture 2000 to show - by presenting a microscopic part of our collections - that archives are culture, that archives are relevant, that archives matter. The exciting, sad, beautiful, solemn, ugly, funny, horrendous, enigmatic, stupid, they are all here, there is hardly an adjective that cannot be illustrated by original archive material. The most important of them perhaps is "NEW": The archives remain one of the sectors of society where the possibility for new experiences are limitless! (Some will find this a paradox).

We also want to focus on local archival material, mainly from the municipalities, but also from private companies and organizations. It is our experience that these archives are closer to life, and more relevant to the general public than archives from the national level, even though the latter are far better known.

When we started this work, the participants did not know each other. With a few exceptions we had never even met. It was the status of our cities as capitals of culture that brought us together. Through this process we have established a friendship and a mutual understanding that we expect to continue. We have gained insight into a wider range of the European heritage. We hope through our efforts here that our readers may also share this insight.

The presentation is given in two forms, the internet site you are now visiting and a beautiful book with all the presentations and pictures. You can order the book from this site.

This project was made possible by a generous contribution from the European Commission - Raphaël Programme, and also generous financial support from the organisations Bergen 2000. Bologna 2000, Helsinki 2000, Krakow 2000, Reykjavik 2000, Santiago 2000, University of Santiago de Compostela., and of course also by the archives institutions we respectively belong to. Last, but not at all least, we must praise the patience and understanding of our families. Our most heartfelt thanks to all!

EDITORS OF THE PRESENTATIONS

	Bergen ARNE SKIVENES City Archivist, Bergen Byarkiv General editor and project chairman	Introduction Authors Photographers Translations Acknowledgements Abbreviations
	Bologna LUCIA MARANI Head archivist, Archivio Storico Municipale di Bologna
	Cracow MAGDALENA MAROSZ Deputy Director, Archiwum Państwowe w Krakowie Internet editor
	Helsinki JUHANI LOMU City Archivist, Helsingin kaupunginarkisto
	Prague VACLAV LEDVINKA Director, Archiv hlavniho mesta Prahy
	Reykjavik SVANHILDUR BOGADOTTIR City Archivist, Borgarskjalasafn Reykjavikur Marketing
	Santiago de Compostela MARIA JOSE JUSTO MARTIN Director, Arquivo Histórico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela Book editor
	Project secretary MARIANNE KNUTSEN Bergen Byarkiv