[Section Fonds administratifs] Civil Registry and population

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Belgium

Holding institution:: Archives of the City of Brussels

Holding institution (official language):: Archives de la Ville de Bruxelles

Postal address:: Huidevettersstraat 65 / Rue des Tanneurs 65, 1000 Bruxelles

Phone number:: +32 2 279 53 20

Web address:: http://archives.bruxelles.be

Email:: archives@brucity.be

Reference number:: ArCity-Brussels-[Section Fonds administratifs] État civil et population

Title:: [Section Fonds administratifs] Civil Registry and population

Title (official language):: [Section Fonds administratifs] État civil et population

Creator/accumulator:: Ville de Bruxelles; Stad Brussel; City of Brussels

Date(s):: 1795/1954

Date note:: year IV - 1954

Extent:: 75 linear metres (records of the Civil Registry, since 1796); 202 linear metres (registers of the population censuses, since 1795)

Scope and content:: In this fonds we point out the registers of population censuses of the city of Brussels, in particular for the years 1816, 1829, 1835 and 1842. On the occasion of these censuses, information was gathered on the religious convictions of citizens – apart from the usual data (street, house number, name and first name, profession, place of birth, age, marital status etc.) one of the columns therefore also mentions the “communion religieuse”.

Administrative/biographical history:: The municipality is one of the levels of government with which citizens most often come into contact. Its tasks and competences were first established by the decree of 14 December 1789, and by the order of 19 Frimaire year IV [1795-96]. After Belgian independence, the legal framework was provided by the Gemeentewet of 1836 and later the ‘Nieuwe Gemeentewet’ (1988). Since 2002, the organic law regarding municipalities is a competence of the Regions. Until 1980, municipalities were supervised by the provincial and central authorities. Today, there is a division of powers between the federal and regional governments. A municipality is led by a mayor, who is also the head of the local police. He/she is assisted by a college of aldermen, selected from the municipal council. Currently, there are 589 municipalities in Belgium. Before the large-scale fusions in the 1970s – in other words, for a large part of Belgian history – there were 2359 municipalities. The municipality had/has, among others, competences regarding the management of its assets, institutions and staff; municipal revenue and expenditure; Civil Registry; health and safety in public places; urban planning and environment; public works; militia; education; elections etc. This is reflected in the sources held in municipal and city archives. Important general sources include the (sometimes published) minutes of meetings and records of the municipal council and college of aldermen (often indexed by subject). We also refer to all kinds of administrative reports and general correspondence. The series of sources of the Civil Registry (e.g. birth, marriage and death certificates, population registers, registers of arrival and departure) are crucial for historical research on individuals. Relevant for this guide are notably the alien registers (since 1933), and the alien files preserved in some larger cities. Of major importance are also the accounts, correspondence and other material regarding the recognised religions. They contain information on their operation, budgets, assets but also the appointment of ministers, donations to religious communities, various conflicts etc. Building permits and files regarding environmental permits contain information and usually blueprints of buildings. Lastly, in many municipal and city archives there are specific series of sources regarding policy during the First and Second World War. We mention e.g. the various anti-Jewish ordinances, documents regarding the spoliation of the Jews, the so-called Jodenregister (register of Jews), correspondence related to the implementation of the anti-Jewish policies etc. (J. Art & E. Vanhaute (ed.), Inleiding tot de lokale geschiedenis van de 19de en de 20ste eeuw, Gent, Mens & Cultuur, 2003; P. van den Eeckhout, “De gemeenten en de lokale openbare instellingen”, in P. van den Eeckhout & G. Vanthemsche (ed.), Bronnen voor de studie van het hedendaagse België 19e – 21e eeuw. Tweede herziene en uitgebreide uitgave, Brussel, Koninklijke Commissie voor Geschiedenis / Commission Royale d’Histoire, 2009, pp. 31-92.)

Access points: locations:: Brussels

Subject terms:: Census; Census records; Vital records

Access, restrictions:: The registers can be consulted freely in the reading room.

Finding aids:: The descriptions of the registers can be found in the Pallas database of the ASB-AVB. Alphabetical indexes for these registers are available.

Yerusha Network member:: State Archives of Belgium

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