Council of Europe Archives, Document repository at Palace of Europe in Strasbourg, France
The Council of Europe Archives is a document repository at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg holding official records, treaties, audiovisual materials, and electronic documents about European governance since 1949. The collection spans millions of pages organized by subject matter and historical periods.
The Archives were established in 1949 alongside the Council of Europe itself to document its work. In 1960, it received materials from the Treaty of Brussels Organisation, shifting oversight of social and cultural activities under Council management.
The collection displays designs for the European Flag and ratification documents of international human rights treaties. These materials show how Europe recorded its shared values in written form.
Researchers can access materials through the Webcat database, with documents released according to one-year, ten-year, and thirty-year declassification schedules. A visit typically requires advance registration and identification for entry.
The Archives implemented a mass deacidification program in 2001 to protect paper documents while launching comprehensive digitization efforts. This process gave many historical documents a second life in digital form.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
