Family archives (FA)
Image caption:
Johann Emanuel Wyss: Armorial for Biel, Burgdorf, Thun. Reference: FA Wyss 108, Plate 4
500 linear metres
13th — 21st century
The Burgerbibliothek of Berne preserves the archives of the former patricians and their families but also rich documentation from other Bernese and Swiss families. Some of the archives date back to the Middle Ages, but most of them date from the 18th and 19th centuries. They include not only genealogies and family trees, bills of sale and invoices but also personal documents such as birth certificates, diaries, letters and wills which give an insight into the social, economic and political life of families and their individual members.
