Archives introduce themselves - The Joint Archive of Steinburg District and the City of Itzehoe

Historic City Hall, Photographer Kleese van Dam, Gemeinsames Archiv | Kleese van Dam |

The Steinburg district and its district seat, Itzehoe, are located on the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, approximately 60 kilometers north of Hamburg. This modern administrative region evolved from the Steinburg district, which was first mentioned in a document in 1307. The town of Itzehoe on the Stör River is a medieval settlement that was strategically located at the intersection of three trade routes and, thanks to the “Lübschen Rechte” granted to the new town, was attractive to merchants seeking to settle there.

The Joint Archive consists of two independent and separate archives: the Steinburg District Archive and the Itzehoe City Archive. They were housed together in a single location in 1983 and have been under full-time professional management since that time.

Shelving System in the Archive, Photographer Kleese van Dam, Gemeinsames Archiv |

The Itzehoe City Archives can be traced back to 1525, as evidenced by a mention in a document. The collection was first organized in the mid-18th century. The history of the district archive is much more recent. It began in 1958. Thanks to the active collecting efforts of the volunteer archivist, the archive’s collection includes, among other things, valuable documents from villages, parishes, and administrative districts, some of which date back to the 16th century. In 1984, the two archives—now under full-time management—were housed in the old town hall of Itzehoe. In 2026, the archive will move to new premises.

A selection from the holdings of the Joint Archives:

The holdings of the Itzehoe City Archives date back to the 13th century. Among the oldest documents in the City Archives are the city’s founding charter from 1238 and the economically significant charter granting staple rights from 1260. The administrative records of the city of Itzehoe have been preserved from the 17th century to the present day.
The historical record of the municipal administration of what is now the Steinburg district is more complex. It begins with the administrative unit known as the Steinburg Office. In 1307, “Steinburg”—located in what is now the municipality of Steinburg—served as the seat of the bailiff; later, under Danish rule, the area was administered from Glückstadt and Itzehoe. The district division established by the Prussian administration in 1867 remains in effect today, with only a few boundary changes. The records of the Steinburg district administration in the archive collection begin in 1945. The documents from 1867 through the end of World War II, like those from other districts of that period, are held in the Schleswig-Holstein State Archives.
From the administrative offices and municipalities of the Steinburg district, the archive preserves extensive collections relating to, among other things, water management, village schools, guilds, and associations.
The archive’s holdings also include a reference library on regional history comprising approximately 14,000 individual titles, which is constantly being expanded. One area of focus is literature by and about writers from the district. In this context, in addition to the collection of laws, the well-stocked genealogical section and the extensive collection of 19th-century schoolbooks from the defunct village schools are worth mentioning.
The image collection includes historical prints, watercolors, engravings, drawings, slides, and photographs. Particularly noteworthy here are the 600 rolls of film negatives by the Itzehoe photographer Zachger from the period 1940 to 1970, as well as the more than 20,000 glass plates and negatives from the Martens family of photographers in Krempe, which cover the period from 1890 to 1975. Also worth mentioning is Wolfgang Thomsen’s collection of approximately 18,000 postcards featuring views from the district.

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The contemporary history collection includes posters, advertising brochures, ration cards, autograph books, newspaper clippings, school notebooks, letters from the war, … in short, everything that cannot be classified under other archival holdings but is worth preserving.

For decades, the Joint Archive has been digitizing its holdings. Digitized materials accessible to the public can be found on the website. A digital reading room will soon provide access to additional historical documents and images.

Collection overview of the Joint Archive of the Steinburg District and the City of Itzehoe on the Archivportal-D

Contact:

Joint Archive of the Steinburg District and the City of Itzehoe

Feldschmiedekamp 6

25524 Itzehoe

Tel.: +49 4821 603242

Website