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Introduction to the Historical Archives of Midden-Groningen

The municipal Historical Archives of Midden-Groningen serve as the memory of Midden-Groningen. Anyone who wants to learn about the history of their own family, neighbourhood, village or region can visit our reading-room. We keep about 3000 meters of archives and historical sources concerning the municipality of Midden-Groningen in our depot in Hoogezand.

By managing, making available and presenting our 'paper heritage' for the general public, the Archives try to enhance the cultural identity of Midden-Groningen and relationships between the (former) residents of the town.

We keep government archives, but also archives of private persons, companies, institutions and associations. Moreover we have a library, a journal collection and a comprehensive collection of images and picture postcards. Our collections, including part of our genealogical sources, are partly available online and searchable.

Research in the original sources in our reading-room is free of charge. You can visit us when by appointment only. We do have a monthly consultation hour which you will find in our agenda on our homepage.

Reading-room

In our reading-room you can do your own research. Access to our reading-room is free of charge. 

Where to visit us

The Historical Archives of Midden-Groningen are currently situated in Hoogezand: 

Gorecht-Oost 157, 9603AE Hoogezand

The archives

Where can I find my document?

From juli 12 2021 all archives are stored in Hoogezand.

Archive overview

You can find an overview of the separate archives and collections in our archive-viewer. Part of the archives do not have an inventory ID or placing-list ID. Depending on the physical state and size of the archive it may or may not be consulted. Part of the resources is available on this website. In some cases files are not available for public viewing.

Genealogy

Do your ancestors have their roots in one of the former towns or villages that are now part of Midden-Groningen and are you looking for data for your family-tree? The Historical Archives hold a range of sources for you to do your family research.

Online resources

We are in the process of digitalizing our resources, but this obviously takes time. At the moment you can only search online in the certificates of civil status and population registers (including family-cards) of former Hoogezand, Sappemeer, Windeweer and Hoogezand-Sappemeer.

The public records of the Registry Office and other genealogical resources of the former towns and villages of Midden-Groningen (except the population registers of Hoogezand and Sappemeer and the family-cards of former Sappemeer) are available on the website AlleGroningers

Images

The Historical Archives hold thousands of images, i.e. photos, picture postcards etc. A large number can be found in the image-gallery on this website. Besides our own images, there are also galleries of third parties available on our website. The original images, except for digital scans, are available in Hoogezand.

Library

The library of the Historical Archives of Midden-Groningen comprises a variety of books, magazines, journals and other publications about the history of our municipality. At the moment our online database only contains the library of former Hoogezand-Sappemeer. From july 12 2021 all sources are available in our reading-room in Hoogezand. Books and other publications are not lendable: these can only be consulted in the reading-room.

Journals and periodicals

We keep a number of journals. A number of them have now been digitalized and are available online in our periodical-viewer. We are expanding our digital collection and more journals will soon be available for online research. Thanks to our cooperation with the Museum 40-45 in Harkstede, a number of war-journals are now available for viewing.

Council minutes

Council minutes and council decisions are important resources. Council minutes of former Hoogezand-Sappemeer, Menterwolde and Slochteren can be searched and viewed online. Currently, most of the documents concern the period of 2000 up to and including 2006. Document dating from after 2006 are available through the Council information system. Our aim is to ultimately have a completely digitalized council minute collection. Original documents are available in Hoogezand.

Building-permits

Almost all municipalities that have merged into Midden-Groningen have a series of building-permits (since 1 October 2010 called environmental licences). As a consequence of the Housing Act of 1901 the series start at the beginning of the 20th century. From that time on building without a permit was prohibited. Unfortunately, some series were destroyed in the past; therefore not all permits are available anymore.

All building-permits are situated in Hoogezand.

If you have any questions, please contact us.