16.10.2023

Archives introduce themselves - The KIT Archives

By Klaus Nippert

As the archive of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the KIT Archives preserves the historical records of the university as well as the large-scale research facility of KIT. This twofold mission resulted from the 2009 merger of the Karlsruhe Research Center, founded in 1956 as a nuclear research center, with the University of Karlsruhe (TH), founded in 1825 as a polytechnic school, to form KIT. Under the new name "KIT Archives", the Karlsruhe University Archive, which has existed since 1985, took over responsibility for the archival holdings of Karlsruhe Research Center, which was founded in 1956 and the records of which were previously held by the Karlsruhe General State Archive. KIT currently has about 22,000 students, almost 10,000 employees, and an annual budget of about 1.1 billion euros.

Unveiling ceremony of the war memorial in the Ehrenhof at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 1925
KIT Archives, 27067/2 - Unveiling ceremony of the war memorial in the Ehrenhof at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in October 1925 |

KIT Archives houses approximately 1500 shelf meters of records which are divided into close to 190 holdings. In addition to the records of the administration and the central organs, there are documents from faculties, institutes and other organizational units. About 80 bequests provide insight into the work of scientists from the first half of the 19th century onwards. Collections of written material, especially on individuals, teaching and student life, supplement the documents created by the administration. Digitized collections of photographs (approx. 30,000 units), films, medals and plaques as well as scientific objects round off the institutional records.

A large part of the records can be searched via the German Digital Library and the Archive Portal-D as well as via our own online finding aids.

View of the reactor hall of Research Reactor 2 (FR 2) at the Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe, December 1964
KIT Archives, 28028/04200 - View of the reactor hall of Research Reactor 2 (FR 2) at the Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe, December 1964 |

A digital highlight is the presentation of about 20,000 historic photographs from the Nuclear Research Center and later Karlsruhe Research Center in the German Digital Library and in Archivportal-D.

Go to the holdings of KIT Archives in Archivportal-D.



Contact:

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, KIT-Archiv

Kaiserstr. 12

76131 Karlsruhe

Phone: +49 721 608-45443

E-Mail: info [at] archiv.kit.edu