Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona

The AHCB is one of the centres that make up the Barcelona Municipal Archives (AMB),whose origins date back to the 13th century, when the royal privilege granted in 1249 by Jaume l established the city’s municipal authority.

Initially, this body met in the old Santa Caterina convent but it moved to Casa de la Ciutat, as City Hall was known, when it was built in the second half of the 14th century.

In 1917, Barcelona City Council decided to split the municipal archives into a historical archive and an administrative archive. The historical archives were moved to Casa de l’Ardiaca, which in 1922 became the headquarters of the Historical Archives of the City of Barcelona.

Over the centuries since it was created, the Archive has served three basic purposes:

1. To collect and preserve documentary, bibliographic and press documents considered to be of interest for the history of Barcelona.
2. To facilitate access to the archives for consultation by researchers and any interested city resident.
3. To disseminate the documentary and historical heritage of the city.