he Princely Fürstenberg Archive is the private archive of the House of Fürstenberg and one of the largest noble archives in Germany. It preserves the records of the princely administrations and business operations, as well as the personal estates of the princely family members. Until 1806, the year of the mediatisation of the Principality of Fürstenberg, it also served as the archive for the Fürstenberg territories in Swabia.
The Fürstenberg Archive is housed in one of the earliest independent archive buildings in Germany. It was constructed between 1756 and 1763, at a time when it was still common for archives to be stored in makeshift spaces, such as town hall cellars, castle vaults, or church towers. It has remained almost unchanged in its original form and function to this day. As an example of an early purpose-built archive, it stands as a unique historical monument.
Another notable aspect of the Fürstenberg Archive is that, as early as 1862, it was expanded by Prince Karl Egon III. into a research institution and made available to the public with an interest in history. This has not changed to this day. The Fürstenberg Archive is managed on a full-time basis and is therefore one of the most accessible noble archives in Germany.
Dr. Jörg Martin, Archivist and Management, j.martin@fuerstenberg-gv.de
Ricarda Szalay, Archivist, r.szalay@fuerstenberg-gv.de
Opening hours: Monday–Thursday 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM; Friday 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Additional appointments by arrangement. Please register in advance to prepare for your visit.
The Princely Fürstenberg Archive contains the records of the princely administrations and business operations, as well as the personal estates of the princely family members. Until 1806, the year of the mediatisation of the Principality of Fürstenberg, it also served as the archive for the Fürstenberg territories in Swabia.
Principaliora (Record Group OA)
OA 1: Titles of Acquisition (Acquisitions of the House)
OA 2: Divisions
OA 3: Expectations
OA 4: Declarations of Majority
OA 5: Wills
OA 6: Charitable Foundations
OA 7: Contracts
OA 8: Alliances and Marital Alliances
OA 9: Privileges
OA 10: Family Contracts
OA 11: Primogeniture
OA 12: Oaths of Family Pacts
OA 13: Regional Laws
OA 14: Feudalia Passiva (House of Fürstenberg as Feudal Recipient) (Finding Aid, PDF)
OA 15: Guardianships
OA 16: Guardianships over Foreign Children
OA 17: Possession Claims
OA 18: Oaths of Allegiance
OA 19: Family Lawsuits
OA 20: Revenues
OA 21: Disposals
Archives of the Families Inherited by the Fürstenbergs and Acquired Lordships:
OA 22: Archive of the Counts of Werdenberg
OA 23: Archive of the Counts of Sulz
OA 24: Archive of the Barons and Counts of Zimmern
OA 25 a: Archive of the Counts of Lupfen
OA 25 b: Archive of the Imperial Marshals of Pappenheim
OA 25 c: Archive of the Imperial Marshals of Pappenheim-Lupfen
OA 26: Archive of the Lords of Gundelfingen
OA 27: Archive of the Counts of Helfenstein
OA 27 a: Archive of the Barons of Reischach of Schlatt under Krähen
Note: The Archive of the Lords of Schellenberg is in the “Jurisdictionalia” collection; additional archival material from the aforementioned provenance is in the “Aliena” collection.
OA 28: Claims of Foreign Lordships
OA 29: Selecta
Illustria (Record Group OB)
The actual family archive with documents related to the princely individuals. Organized chronologically by person. At the end of the collection, there are genealogical collections of the Fürstenbergs as well as topographical descriptions of the principality from the late 18th and early 19th centuries
Seniority Fiefs
A comprehensive collection about the fiefs granted by the house, including the fief protocol books of the House of Fürstenberg, which date back to the early 15th century, as well as the later acquired lordships of Heiligenberg and Hohenhewen-Stühlingen. The collection also includes descriptions of the fiefs and the fief reversals from the vassals. Documents and records concerning approximately 250 individual fiefs of the house in the southwestern German region.
Ecclesiastica
Archival records of the Fürstenberg lordship over parishes, monasteries, hospitals, and leper houses. Additionally, the monastery archives of Amtenhausen, Bächen, Betenbrunn, Engen (Dominican Sisters of St. Wolfgang), Friedenweiler, Grünwald, Neudingen, Riedern, Rippoldsau, Tannheim, Weppach, and Wittichen.
Of the five Fürstenberg Capuchin monasteries in Engen, Haslach, Meßkirch, Neustadt, and Stühlingen, only the monastery chronicles of Engen (digitized version of the Engen monastery chronicle, FFA Donaueschingen, Eccl. 8, Vol. III/1, PDF, 43 MB), Haslach (returned to the possession of the Capuchin Order through Heinrich Hansjakob, currently allegedly in the Central Archive of the German Provincial Order in Altötting, with copies in the Haslach City Archive and in the F.F. Archive Donaueschingen), and Meßkirch (WLB Stuttgart, Cod. Don. 628) have survived.
From the 1750-inventoried monastery archive of Meßkirch (finding aid: FFA, Eccl. 8/II/6), in addition to the monastery chronicle, a few archival records have been transferred to the Princely Fürstenberg Archive (FFA, Eccl. 8/II/6–9), including a mixed book of the Guardian (FFA, Eccl. 8/II/6) and miracle testimonies written for a proposed beatification process for Marco d’Aviano, who stayed in Meßkirch at least temporarily, from the Bavarian and Swabian regions, including from Meßkirch (FFA, Eccl. 8/II/8).
Jurisdictionalia
Exercise of high and low judicial authority, including customs rights, the establishment of prisons, and the erection of gallows or wayside crosses. A significant portion of the collection consists of agreements with neighboring territories regarding judicial rights, including the “compromise files” with neighboring regions (see the “Kompromissbach” in Riedöschingen).
Dicasterialia
Contains archival records related to the government and administrative organization of the Principality from the 17th to the mid-19th century, including business and salary regulations. Additionally, it includes the personnel files of the Fürstenberg envoys and agents in Regensburg, Vienna, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, and Rome, as well as those of the lawyers and procurators, and somewhat unexpectedly, the executioners in Hüfingen, Donaueschingen, Hochemmingen, Möhringen, Blumberg, Löffingen, Finkenhausen, Trochtelfingen, Stühlingen, Engen, Meßkirch, Haslach, Wolfach, and Neufra.
Imperial Knighthood
Imperial Privy Council
Imperial Chamber Court Wetzlar
Court of Rottweil
Regional Court of Swabia
Renovations and Cadasters
Land Records
For currently unknown reasons, four selections from all archives have been integrated into the collection of land records under the heading “General War Tragedies.” These relate to the Peasants’ War, other wars of the 16th century, the Thirty Years’ War, and other wars of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Publica
The collection is divided into two parts:
1. Relations of Fürstenberg with the Emperor, the Empire, and individual Imperial Estates, as well as membership in the Imperial Diet, from the mid-15th century to 1803.
2. Relations of Fürstenberg after the mediatisation with the Grand Duchy of Baden, the Kingdom of Württemberg, and the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, known as “soverignty records,” from 1805 to 1866 (Findbuch, pdf).
Swabian Circle
Swabian College of Counts
Aliena
Contains:
1. Generalia: Genealogical collection by the archivist Müller on noble families of the Baar, the Swabian Jura, and the western Lake Constance area;
b) Specialia: Archival records of non-Fürstenberg provenance, including the estate of Joseph von Laßberg. However, the collection also includes archival records that were taken from other Fürstenberg archival holdings, contrary to their provenance, such as from the archive of the Counts of Helfenstein.
The collection is organized alphabetically by place and family names (inventory; re-recording of fewer categories starting in 2021, including categories such as Bichishausen, Eppishausen, Keppenbach, Schaffhausen, Staufen, Sunthausen, Tennenbach, and Villingen: Findbuch, pdf, Stand August 2024).
Office Visitations
Protocols of the visitations of the Fürstenberg offices and government offices from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Cameralia
Once a very extensive collection, much of which has been transferred to the domain archive. Remaining are the subcollections of mill records, tithe records, and records concerning rents and interest, each from the 17th to the mid-19th century. The mill records contain the enfeoffments of the Fürstenberg millers, but also construction records, for example, for the Fürstenberg paper mill in Unadingen (“Eulenmühle”).
Cameralia mixta
Collection regarding the granting of concessions, such as for inns, trade and manufacturing businesses, and merchants, as well as the collection of tolls and customs duties. A significant subcollection is the “population tables” with population statistics of the principality, to which, from the “Causae subditorum” collection, the serfdom records were also attached.
Forestalia
Collection of older forestry records from the late 16th to the mid-19th century. The forestry maps are part of the general map collection. The records include, in addition to early forestry regulations, an extensive documentation on forest use, such as forest pasturing, hunting, and timber rafting, as well as the construction of wells and fishponds. Subject-related records from the Cameralia and Dicasterialia collections were also included in this collection.
Court Records
Empty category; the documents have been transferred to the administrative archive (see below).
Militaria
Chronologically organized collection, which has only been rudimentarily processed so far, spanning from the 1540s to the Wars of Liberation in 1813/15.
Mines (Findbuch, as of October 2024)
The collection, dating back to the first half of the 16th century, is divided into:
1. Collection Ta: Noble Mines: Silver, Cobalt, Copper, Vitriol, Sulfur, Lead, Tin, and Cement Mines
2. Collection Tb: Base Mines: Iron Ore Mines, Hammer Works, and Furnaces
Der Bestand enthält unter anderem Bergprotokolle und Grubenrechnungen. Die Grubenpläne und -risse befinden sich dagegen im allgemeinen Kartenbestand. Fortsetzung unten im Bestand der Berg- und Hüttenadministration.
There is an extensive literature on Fürstenberg mining, which is documented in a bibliography in the finding aid. Among the rare works are the following three, which are made available here as digitized versions:
a) Mining Songs of the Miners for the Entry of Prince Joseph Wilhelm Ernst zu Fürstenberg into Donaueschingen, 1723 (“Underthänigster Bergmännischer Glücks=Wunsch bey dem Einzug deß … Fürsten und Herrn Herrn Ernesto Josepho von Fürstenberg Stielingen,” Rottweil 1723, PDF, source: F.F. Archive Donaueschingen, OB 19, Vol. 54/1);
b) Description of the “Uniforms” of the Miners at the Entry of Prince Joseph Wilhelm Ernst zu Fürstenberg into Donaueschingen, 1723 (“Beschreibung Des Feyerlichen Einzugs Als Ihro Hochfl. Durchläucht Herr Herr Joseph Ernst … Fürst zu Fürstenberg … Den 31. Octobris 1723 das erste mahl in Dero Hochfürstliche Lande eingeführet,” no place, 1723, PDF, source: F.F. Archive Donaueschingen, OB 19, Vol. 54/1);
c) [Selb]: Tribute and Brief History of Mining in the Kinzigtal, Presented by the Mining Community There, no place, 1805 (PDF, source: F.F. Archive Donaueschingen, Ta 1, Vol. I/10, Copy from the Laßberg Library).
Debt Records
Assets and liabilities of the princely house from the 15th to the 18th century.
Accounts
Annual accounts of the Fürstenberg (rent) offices, higher offices, furnaces, forestry offices, and other funds; private accounts of the princely house from the first half of the 19th century. A significant collection, dating back to the 16th century, that has been little used in research so far.
Causae Subditorum
Documents concerning the relationship between the prince and the subjects, such as in regard to local government, serfdom, or petitions of all kinds. Archival records related to the (self-)administration of the Fürstenberg communities were largely separated out in 1869/70.
Apart from the records, there is a collection of 261 charters, which is separately cataloged. (Findbuch).
Politica
Contrary to the title of the collection, it contains documents related to police administration (such as fire protection, trade licenses, public health, and education).
Criminalia
This collection was mostly destroyed in the 19th century, with only a few remnants remaining. However, a finding aid still provides information on the cases processed. This finding aid and the remaining records have been included in a new Findbuch (PDF, 2023).
General Records
The collection primarily contains the records of the chamber presidents as well as the presidents of the overall administration from the mid-19th century to the present. Some records date back to the 18th century. As a subcollection, it includes the records of the temporarily independent legal department.
Central Administration
The records of the central offices based in Donaueschingen: the general files of the chamber, as well as the archival records of the main treasury, archive, court library, court theater, and F.F. Collections (later “Institute for Art and Science”). Attached are the records of the Fürstenberg Widow and Orphan Fund, from 1827 to 1968.
Court Administration and Secretariats of the Princes
The court administration (“secretariat” of the prince) existed as a separate department under Princes Karl Egon III, Karl Egon IV, and Max Egon II. Accordingly, it includes records from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. More recent records are archived in secretariat collections. As an exception, the court administration collection also contains records, dating back to the 18th century, related to the court theater and the palace park administration.
Construction and Property Administration
Records of the building inspection (later the building office; construction and property administration) from the 19th and 20th centuries regarding the princely buildings and properties in the former territory. The older records are stored in the domain administration collections and, for Donaueschingen only, in the main treasury collection. Also included are the records of the temporarily independent Fürstenberg surveying office, from the imperial era until the 1980s.
Estate Administration
Empty category; the records were likely transferred to the domain administration.
Domain Administration
The largest collection in the F.F. Archive contains records related to the princely buildings and properties in the area of the former Fürstenberg territory, organized alphabetically by location. The collection also includes local documents from the Cameralia collection, so the records date back to the 17th century. Additionally, the collection contains older construction records for the Fürstenberg buildings (with the exception of Donaueschingen: these records are stored in the main treasury collection).
Forest and Hunting Administration
A comprehensive collection from the Donaueschingen Forestry Directorate and the Fürstenberg forestry offices. Of particular significance are the forestry planning works dating back to the 1830s. The valuable collection of maps and plans has been transferred to the general map collection.
Mining and Smelting Administration (Findbuch, pdf, as of October 2024)
The records from the 19th and 20th centuries regarding the Fürstenberg mining enterprises and iron smelting operations, particularly in Bachzimmern, Hammereisenbach, Hausach, Thiergarten (municipality of Beuron), Zizenhausen, and Rißtorf (city of Stockach). Maps and mine sections are part of the general map collection.
Business Operations
Records from the 20th century regarding the business and industrial investments of the princely house, as well as records of the house’s own operations (Donaueschingen and Friedenweiler breweries, wood processing plants in Hüfingen, Donaueschingen power plant, Neustadt paper mill, Black Forest Aircraft Manufacturing Donaueschingen, and Immendingen machinery factory).
Entailment of Pürglitz
Asset Management
Records from the first half of the 20th century, primarily concerning the business and industrial investments of the princely house.
Personnel Files
In addition to the actual personnel records of the administration, which date back to the 17th century, the collection also includes materials related to the Fürstenberg officials and employees, some of which even come from personal estates, such as the papers of Christian Altgraf zu Salm (1906–1973), the long-time supervisor of the Fürstenberg art institutes. A substantial collection, organized alphabetically.
The F.F. Archive holds a large number of land maps. Most of them date from the mid to late 18th century. They were created in connection with the large-scale land surveying project that began around 1750 under Prince Joseph Wilhelm Ernst, the true founder of the Fürstenberg state, and was continued by his successors until the turn of the 18th to the 19th century. The maps are generally related to a single village area and are supplemented by a land register, which records not only the princely properties and rights but also the assets of the church, the community, and the local farmers. Together, the map and the land register provide a detailed picture of the economic conditions shortly before the demise of the Principality of Fürstenberg. The archive also holds a rich collection of mining plans, primarily from the Fürstenberg Kinzigtal, as well as maps and plans of the Fürstenberg forests. Countless plans of Fürstenberg houses and properties are also included.
Back to the overviewMuseum Society Donaueschingen, 1840–1939
Donaueschingen Music Days and Society of Music Lovers, 1912–2010 (Findbuch, pdf, as of November 2024)
In 1921, the first modern music festival was held in Donaueschingen under the patronage of Prince Max Egon II of Fürstenberg, exclusively reserved for the artistic avant-garde. The “Donaueschingen Chamber Music Performances to Promote Contemporary Music” provided a unique platform until 1926 for composers such as Hindemith, Schoenberg, Webern, Jarnach, and Krenek. In 1950, a new beginning was made in collaboration with Südwestfunk, which provided its orchestra and introduced a new program focus. To this day, the Donaueschingen Music Days remain the festival for modern music.
The records of the Donaueschingen Chamber Music Performances – letters, program booklets, accounting documents, photographs, reviews, and critiques – are held as a special collection in the Fürstenberg Archive. Extensive research literature has been dedicated to the collection. Additionally, thanks to a research project by the musicology institute of the University of Regensburg, a register volume is available that opens up the digitized older collection:
Michael Wackerbauer: Die Donaueschinger Musikfeste 1921 bis 1926. Regesten zu den Briefen und Dokumenten im Fürstlich Fürstenbergischen Archiv mit einer historischen Einführung (Regensburger Studien zur Musikgeschichte, Vol. 12), ConBrio, Regensburg 2017, 576 pages, hardcover, color plates, 78 €, ISBN 978-3-940768-73-5.
Women’s Association Donaueschingen, Baden Women’s Association Donaueschingen, and German Red Cross Donaueschingen, 1854–1938
Association of the Nobility in Baden, 1941–1958
Fürstenberger Forestry Association, 2003–2023
Estates
Estates of: Court Apothecary Richard Baur, Court Preacher Franz Becker, Court Chaplain Eduard Berenbach, Chamber President August Dänzer, General of the Wehrmacht Eugen Meindl, Court Physician Wilhelm Rehmann, Gustav Schnetzer, and Karl Wacker.
Photographs and Graphics
The focus of the collection of photographs and graphics is on portraits of the princely family members and the Fürstenberg servants, as well as views of Fürstenberg residences and locations, castles, and buildings. The photograph collection dates back to the beginnings of photography (daguerreotype).
Newspapers
Donaueschinger Wochenblatt 1779–1807; Fürstlich Fürstenbergisches Bezirksblatt 1808–1814; Anzeigeblatt für den See- und Donaukreis 1814–1832; Donaueschinger Wochenblatt 1832–1880; Donaueschinger Tagblatt 1881–1935; Schwarzwälder Tagblatt 1935–1944; Donaubote Donaueschingen (Center Newspaper) 1896–1936; Südkurier 1946–1999; Donaupost 1949–1950; Badische Zeitung, Donaueschingen Edition 1948–1949 and 1951–1995
Heinrich Prince of Fürstenberg and Andreas Wilts (eds.):
Max Egon II. zu Fürstenberg – Prince, Soldier, Patron, 2019, large-format hardcover with dust jacket, 464 pages with 327 predominantly color illustrations. Out of print.
Prince Max Egon II. zu Fürstenberg (1863–1941) – one of the wealthiest men of his time, close friend of Emperor Wilhelm II and Austrian heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand – was a man of influence in the German Empire. In the 1920s, he founded the Donaueschingen Music Days, which remains the most significant festival for contemporary music to this day. Economically, he was involved not only in traditional noble activities such as forestry and agriculture but also ventured into new fields. Under his leadership, the Fürstenberg Brewery was established internationally, and together with the House of Hohenlohe, the “Fürstentrust” was founded. The book traces the biography of a member of European high nobility, reflecting the aristocratic lifestyle before the First World War, as well as the history of nearly an entire century with all its upheavals and crises.
Online: Miscellanea of the F.F. Archive on the History of the Fürstenberg Family
The following older publications from the Princely Archive are still available:
The following are still available from the series “Publications from the Princely Fürstenberg Archive” (1938–1964) (each 4 €):
Available at: j.martin@fuerstenberg-gv.de. Additional shipping costs apply.
Back to the overviewHaldenstraße 3
78166 Donaueschingen
Tel: +49 771 22 96 77 – 560
Montag–Freitag zu den üblichen Bürozeiten. Weitere Termine nach Vereinbarung.
Zur Vorbereitung Ihres Besuchs ist eine Voranmeldung erwünscht.
Dr. Jörg Martin
Archivar und Leitung
j.martin@fuerstenberg-gv.de
Ricarda Szalay
Archivarin
r.szalay@fuerstenberg-gv.de