Photos, plans, film and sound recordings held by the Federal Archives
The Swiss Federal Archives mainly hold paper-based documents. However, the fonds also contain numerous audio-visual records and digital data carriers that have only recently found their way into the archives. The Federal Archives hold photos, films, videos, sound material and plans in both analogue and digital format.
Generally speaking, audio-visual records can be found in any of the fonds held by the Federal Archives. However, they are not always expressly listed as such in the various directories. In some cases, the type of media is stated in the titles of the series and dossiers. To carry out a targeted search, the German or French words for photo, sound, film or video should be used. The German words are “Foto”, “Ton”, “Film” or “Video” and the French words are “photographie”, “son”, “film” or “vidéo”.
Note: persons who publish audio-visual records held by the Federal Archives or who wish to use them for commercial purposes require a permit.
Photos and photo collections
The photos held by the Swiss Federal Archives are largely a part of the business dossiers created by the administration and therefore not registered as such. The few photographic collections held by the Federal Archives such as those dating from the years of the Second World War, on national defence, development cooperation or homeless people around 1852/1853 are listed separately.
Plans and maps
The Swiss Federal Archives do not maintain a separate collection of plans. The plans are contained in the fonds of the federal authorities that produced them. Plans and map material must therefore be searched for in the documents of the respective authority or in the respective subject area. The areas relating to the army and transport offer the best chances of successful searching.
Film and television
From the Swiss Weekly Newsreel of the 1920s to propaganda films produced by the Army Film Service and TV programmes that were objected to by the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television: the Swiss Federal Archives contain noteworthy documents from nearly 100 years of film and television production in Switzerland.Weekly Newsreel
Sound recordings
Although the number of sound recordings held by the Swiss Federal Archives is by no means large, there are nonetheless a few real gems among them. The audio material is usually preserved on tape cassettes, tape reels, CDs or records. The debates of the Swiss parliament recorded from 1982 onwards represent the largest collection.
Swiss Federal Archives
Archivstrasse 24
CH - 3003 Bern