Háromnyelvű levéltárismertető : The National Archives of Hungary : Das Ungarische Staatsarchiv : Les Archives Nationales de Hongrie

nearly 30 years until his death. Right after his appointment, he made a study trip to Western Europe where he studied the organisation and work of archives of several countries. On his return he reorganised the Archives on the basis of his observations. This was the time when, beside the processing and preservation of the archival material, scientific research as a routine task gained Increasing significance and the academic staff of the Archives published high standard historical works. The construction of a new building of archives, which still serves as the central building of the institution, started in 1913 on the Castle Hill of Buda. However, as a consequence of World War I, the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the revolution of 1918, the new building was opened only in 1923. The four-storey, U-shaped, neo-Romanesque palace, designed specifically for archival purposes, was one of the most up-to-date archival buildings of Europe at the time. Following the occupation of the new building, the archival records of the ministries established in 1867 were transferred here. Consequently, the extent of the material preserved in the Archives, including all records of Hungary's central government organs from the foundation of the state, increased to 19000 linear meters by the middle of the 1930s. After the war, In 1922, the institution was placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Religion and Public Education in order 'to strengthen its scholarly character'. The Act of 1922 declared that the Archives was an 'academic institution' the functions of which included: 1. expert accession, preservation, arrangement, scientific dissemination and publication of archive material, as well as the support of use and research thereof, 2. expert consultancy for state agencies, 3. consultancy in nobility matters, 4. creation of authentic copies of records. The same Act ordered the central state organs to transfer their records older than 32 years to the Archives. The next year, in 1923, the first issue of the official journal of the National Archives (The Archival Bulletin) appeared. This is still the most important scientific publication of the Archives. The institution has established extensive international contacts. Based on a shared history and a common intellectual property, the most fruitful cooperation was developed with the Österreichisches Staatsarchiv confirmed by the Baden (bei Wien) Agreement on Archives signed in 1926. World War II brought grave trials for the Archives. The building suffered several artillery hits, repository ceilings went down and fires