District Office of Žilina

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Štátny archív v Žiline so sídlom v Bytči

Scope and content:: The fonds contains a fragment of the documents of the political governance of the Žilina district, such as part of the agenda of the district office as the court including civil disputes, especially those concerning debts. Jews are mentioned in these files.

Archival history:: After the dissolution of the District Office in Žilina, the documents were deposited in the seat of the Trenčín Region. After a territorial reorganisation they were transferred to the State Regional Archives in Nitra, and finally, they were taken over by the State Regional Archives in Bytča.

Administrative/biographical history:: District offices (Szolgabírói hivatal) were established in 1849, first, as temporary offices of public administration. A reorganisation took place in 1850, the next one in 1853. The District Office was the lowest political-administrative unit in the Trenčín Region, and at the same time the first instance court. The seat was in Žilina. It was headed by the chief officer who was assisted by one or two officers, with other staff in the office. The judicial agenda was withdrawn and handed over to district courts in 1871. The Office supervised compliance with the law, kept the agenda of taxes, fees, military affairs, elections, being also the industrial supervision of the first instance. The area of the district of Považská Bystrica was divided into fourteen notarial districts. After the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic, the structure of the Office remained unchanged, only the territorial jurisdiction was partially altered.

System of arrangement:: The fonds is arranged according to the original system of arrangement. However, not many files have been preserved; from the post-1860 period only books have been preserved.

Finding aids:: Fojtík, J.: Slúžnovský úrad v Žiline 1856 – 1922. Inventár, 1959, 15 str.