The State of Vorarlberg on the Internet

In 1897, the proposal to transfer important documents on the history of Vorarlberg to Innsbruck came under discussion. However, this was opposed not only by historians undertaking research of the region but also by top politicians led by state-governor Adolf Rhomberg. It was felt that, in the future, Vorarlberg should possess its own regional archives to act as a "memory of the state".

Consequently, 1898 marked the foundation of an institute for this purpose which is to be seen in connection with attempts to separate the administration of Vorarlberg from Tyrol. The first regional archivist was Viktor Kleiner who showed a keen interest in collecting as much data as possible. Records were moved to the Old Provincial Government Building situated on Kirchstraße in Bregenz which was extended to accommodate stacks on 1933 and a modern deep storage unit in 2003.

From 1904 to 1977 the archives also served as the main library for the state.