Metadata: Old Main Archive, A Files
Collection
- Country:
- Switzerland
- Holding institution:
- State Archive of Zurich
- Holding institution (official language):
- Staatsarchiv Zürich
- Postal address:
- Winterthurerstrasse 170, CH-8057 Zürich
- Phone number:
- +41 43 258 50 00
- Email:
- staatsarchivzh@ji.zh.ch
- Reference number:
- A
- Title:
- Old Main Archive, A Files
- Title (official language):
- Altes Hauptarchiv, A Akten
- Creator/accumulator:
- Administration of Zurich
- Date(s):
- 1383/1781
- Language:
- German
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
In the Old Main Archive of the State Archive of Zurich, the A Files contains several files that are of interest from a Jewish perspective. The sub-division City and County 1290 - 19th century contains three such files.
One, dating from 1781, reports of a lawsuit brought by the optician Christian Menninger of Strassburg against the baptised Jew Nehemias Ditsheim, also an optician, who was staying in Zurich, concerning the validity of a signed bond.
A document from 1536 reports on a dispute between Katharina Rüssi [Reyssin], widow of Thoman Schweicklin of Winterthur, and the Jew Isaak Schay, who lived in Engen. Katharina explained that she was engaged in a legal dispute with her daughter Magdalena Schweicklin and her husband Andreas [Trümer] of Zurich over several pieces that she had long since sold to pay her husband's debts. She had sold various gems to the Jew Schey, to whom her husband owed three or four florins. During the court proceedings in Winterthur, she had been granted the right to acquire customers. Issak Schey declared on oath to have bought a studded belt from the plaintiff and her husband, that he had bought several rings with precious stones and mentioned other objects; he no longer knew the purchased price.
There is also a file from 1592, which contains the rejection of an appeal in a matter of debt by Schultheiss and both councils of Winterthur.
The sub-division Federal also contains a relevant file. It is a document from 1383 which reports how the bailiff and the city of Schaffhausen informed the mayor as well as the Council of the City of Zurich that in an unspecified matter involving the Jew (S)meling and his wife they would do everything possible to help them.
There is also a collection of documents concerning the Weinfelden dominion, including a document from 1654 which shows a Jewish connection.
[A 1.40, Nr. 11 - A 1.40; Nr. 19; A 155.1, Nr. 98; A 155.1, Nr. 177; A 252.1, Nr. 5 a; A 337.1]
- Archival history:
- The collection was probably part of the State Archive since its foundation.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The State Archive of Zurich is the archive of the Swiss Canton of Zurich and its legal predecessors, in particular the City State of Zurich. The historical holdings of the State Archive date back to the year 853 - the founding charter of the Fraumünster is the oldest surviving document - and have a significance that extends far beyond the canton. The continuity of tradition is considered remarkable, thanks to the absence of major catastrophes and wars. For example, the series of governmental minutes (Small Council and Grand Council), with few gaps, dates back to the early 14th century. The more recent holdings of the Canton of Zurich (since 1831) form the bulk of the archive holdings in terms of quantity, comprising some 30 kilometres of files and documents, to which a few terabytes of electronic data material are added.
- Access points: locations:
- Winterthur
- Zurich
- Subject terms:
- Legal matters
- Finding aids:
- An online finding aid is available, although the information is often rudimentary.
- Links to finding aids:
- https://suche.staatsarchiv.djiktzh.ch/volltextsuche.aspx
- Yerusha Network member:
- Jewish Museum Hohenems
- Author of the description:
- Severin Holzknecht; Jewish Museum of Hohenems; 2020
