Archives
The vast majority of the archive material at Kulturlagret consists of the government records from the Regional Museum of Västra Götaland, its predecessor the County Museum of Älvsborg, the Museum Organisation of Älvsborg, the Museum Organisation of Northern Älvsborg and the Council of Cultural Heritage in the former County of Älvsborg. The origin of this county-wide museum formation is Vänersborg Museum, which was established in 1885.
The Topographical Archive
In addition to administrative documentation such as protocols, concepts, correspondence, accounts and personnel documents, the government records contain the topographical archives of the museum with dossiers regarding properties in the former County of Älvsborg. The documentation mainly concerns matters of construction, cultural heritage, churches and permits.
Documentation of Buildings
The main material from the museum’s documentation of culturally important buildings is also included in the archives. The first documentation took place in the then extended municipal district of VästraTunhem in 1969 and the work has continued with varying intensity. Currently, parts of the municipality of Dals-Ed in Dalsland are being documented. The documentation includes 60 000 properties and the material encompasses nearly 600.000 photographs. Moreover, material from documentations of bridges, industrial buildings, churches, churchyards etc can also be found in the archives. Altogether the material totals 50 shelf meters.
The Museum Exhibitions
The material from previous exhibitions has been archived since the 1970s. It consists of agreements, concept sketches, interviews, photographs, manuscripts and models. This is a goldmine for researchers in the field of museology as well as for future exhibition producers. The material illustrates the history of exhibition techniques while at the same time offerering an interesting glimpse of societal development.
The Archaeological Records
Important material available in the archive includes copies from the National Heritage Board’s archaeological records with associated maps of the parishes of the former County of Älvsborg. In addition to descriptions of archaeological objects, the records include tracings of ancient monuments, “fornlämningskalker”, where details of registration numbers as well as additional information omitted from the map can be found. Most of this material is now available on the website of the National Heritage Board.
Private Archives
The museum holds approximately 90 private archives. Around 60 of these are personal records and the rest are organizational, establishment-and estate archives. The personal records are connected with Vänersborg and Vänersborg Museum. For instance, all records related to and left by museum directors and curators from 100 years back can be found. Documentation from small businesses and organisations such as several shops, a law firm, an architect firm, a bus company and the volunteer firefighters of Vänersborg is also included in these archives, as are various types of letters.
