The National Archives of Hungary (Budapest, 2006)

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL ARCHIVES OF NATIONAL COLLECTION - The Archives of Water Management by Imre Szerényi

BY IMRE SZERÉNYI THE ARCHIVES OF WATER MANAGEMENT T

The Archives started its operation in 1977 as the only sectorial branch archives of country competence. It covers the central and regional organizations, institutions, companies and associations of water management. Its name changed into the Archives of National Environmental Protection and Water Management and went on in 1988 working with greater collection area that involved the documents of central and regional organizations, institutions, companies, associations, national parks, environmental protection inspectorates, people dealing with water management and nature subordinated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water Supply After separating environmental protection and water management, the sectorial guidance of the Archives was done by the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Water Management. The Archives continued to collect documents of environmental protection until the introduction of the Act of Archives in 1995. The number of the employees of the Archives are: six people full time employed, one person as retired, the written material is 5 300 linear metres. The most valuable written material of the Archives is the official documents from the end of the last century, which despite the changes of the organic frames has been increasing still today: There are many licensing plan documents, technical manuals, descriptions, instructions and approval of licensing authority. The newest collection can be listed partly into this file entity, partly into the collections: This is the collection of documents and plans relating to river barrage at Bős-Nagymaros. At present the Archives are subordinated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water Management. The basic inventory of the records held in the Archives was published in 1978, the Fond register in 1981, the first three volumes of the catalogue of the Studies of the National Water Managing Office in 1987 and the volume titled 'Selections about the History of the Hungarian Irrigation' that shows a part of the operation of the National Irrigation Office in 1988. The oldest documents can be found among the ones of individual people and offices and the newest ones can be found among the documents of National Water Managing Office, which was abolished during the reorganization of water management.