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Katarina Horvat1
ARCHIVIST HISTORIAN AND PROMOTION 
OF ARCHIVAL MATERIALS, CERTIFICATE 
OF DOMICILE (HEIMATRECHT) IN THE 
CITY OF ZAGREB
Abstract
Purpose: To present a positive example from practice in which archival materi-
als and the archive itself were very successfully promoted, and to point out the 
importance of archivist historians in the process of presenting archival materials.
Methodology: An example of presenting archival materials of the State Archives 
in Zagreb is described from planning the event itself to its epilogue. A specific 
event is presented at which citizens became aware of the existence of the archive 
and the materials it preserves.
Results: A large number of citizens became aware of the existence of the archive. 
Connections with the local community were established.
Conclusion: The role of archivist historian is also indispensable in promoting 
archival materials of state archives. Materials that show connections with the 
hometown can be used to arouse local patriotic feelings in the public. This raises 
awareness of the existence and role of archives.
Keywords: historical archives, promotion of archival materials, Certificate of 
Domicile (Heimatrecht, zavičajnost) in the City of Zagreb, right of domicile (Hei-
matrecht, zavičajnosti)
1 dr. sc. Katarina Horvat, archival advisor at the State Archives in Zagreb, e-mail: katarina.horvat@daz.hr. 
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L‘ARCHIVISTA STORICO E LA PROMOZIONE 
DEI MATERIALI D‘ARCHIVIO, IL CERTIFICATO 
DI RESIDENZA (HEIMATRECHT) NELLA CITTÀ 
DI ZAGABRIA
Abstract
Scopo: Presentare un esempio positivo tratto dalla pratica in cui i materiali 
d‘archivio e l‘archivio stesso sono stati promossi con grande successo e sotto-
lineare l‘importanza degli storici archivisti nel processo di presentazione dei 
materiali d‘archivio.
Metodologia: viene descritto un esempio di presentazione dei materiali d‘archi-
vio dell‘Archivio di Stato di Zagabria, dalla pianificazione dell‘evento stesso al 
suo epilogo. Viene presentato un evento specifico in cui i cittadini sono venuti a 
conoscenza dell‘esistenza dell‘archivio e dei materiali che conserva.
Risultati: un gran numero di cittadini è venuto a conoscenza dell‘esistenza 
dell‘archivio. Sono stati stabiliti dei legami con la comunità locale.
Conclusioni: Il ruolo dello storico archivista è indispensabile anche nella pro-
mozione dei materiali d‘archivio degli archivi di Stato. I materiali che mostrano 
legami con la città natale possono essere utilizzati per suscitare sentimenti pa-
triottici locali nel pubblico. Ciò aumenta la consapevolezza dell‘esistenza e del 
ruolo degli archivi.
Parole chiave: archivi storici, promozione dei materiali d‘archivio, certificato di 
domicilio (Heimatrecht, zavičajnost) nella città di Zagabria, diritto di domicilio 
(Heimatrecht, zavičajnosti).
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ARHIVIST – ZGODOVINAR IN PROMOCIJA 
ARHIVSKEGA GRADIVA: POTRDILA O 
DOMOVINSKI PRAVICI (HEIMATRECHT) 
V MESTU ZAGREB
Izvleček
Namen: Predstaviti pozitiven primer iz prakse, v katerem sta bila arhivsko gra-
divo in sam arhiv zelo uspešno promovirana, ter opozoriti na pomen arhivistov 
– zgodovinarjev v procesu predstavljanja arhivskega gradiva.
Metodologija: Opisan je primer predstavljanja arhivskega gradiva Državnega 
arhiva v Zagrebu – od načrtovanja samega dogodka do njegovega epiloga. Pred-
stavljen je konkreten dogodek, na katerem so se prebivalci seznanili z obstojem 
arhiva in gradiv, ki jih ta hrani.
Rezultati: Veliko število prebivalcev se je seznanilo z obstojem arhiva. Vzpostav-
ljene so bile povezave z lokalno skupnostjo.
Zaključki: Vloga arhivista – zgodovinarja je nepogrešljiva tudi pri promociji 
arhivskega gradiva državnih arhivov. Gradivo, ki prikazuje povezave z domačim 
mestom, se lahko uporabi za prebujanje lokalnih domoljubnih čustev v javnosti. 
To povečuje zavedanje o obstoju in vlogi arhivov.
Ključne besede: zgodovinski arhivi, promocija arhivskega gradiva, potrdila o 
domovinski pravici (Heimatrecht, zavičajnost) v mestu Zagreb, pravica do domo-
vinstva (Heimatrecht, zavičajnost).
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1. INTRODUCTION
According to positive Croatian legislation, the promotion of archival material is 
one of the tasks of state archives.2 The State Archives in Zagreb (hereinafter re-
ferred to as SAZG), a historical archive within the state archives responsible for 
the City of Zagreb and Zagreb County (with certain exceptions) and for part of 
Krapina-Zagorje County (SAZG, 2022c), regularly marks the International Ar-
chives Day in June each year with a thematic exhibition (the theme is established 
in advance by the Croatian Archival Society). Other special days are also marked, 
such as the City of Zagreb Day, on 31 May, most often with a special exhibition. 
The Archive also participates in various European and regional projects aimed at 
presenting and facilitating the use of archival material (SAZG. 2022b).
2. GOOD EXAMPLE FROM PRACTICE – CERTIFICATE OF 
DOMICILE (HEIMATRECHT) IN THE CITY OF ZAGREB
During the preparation for the celebration of the City of Zagreb Day at the SAZG 
in 2016, the then director, dr. Živana Heđbeli, came up with the idea of  using one 
of the registers of domiciliaries of the City of Zagreb for the celebration, a large 
book (50 cm high) that would visually fit into a meter and thus create a so-called 
Bookmeter (Knjigomjer) with which a person’s height could be measured, and the 
event would take place under the motto How “big” purger are you? 3 By using 
the word purger (a colloquial term for a person from Zagreb, in some cases espe-
cially for someone who is also originally from Zagreb), the aim was to show the 
connection of the Archives with the city of Zagreb, whose historical materials the 
Archives preserve, and thus with its inhabitants. That is why a play on words was 
used that included size (height) and belonging to Zagreb.
The registers of domiciliaries (imenici zavičajnika) of the City of Zagreb are old of-
ficial records of those residents of Zagreb who had the right of domicile (German 
Heimatrecht, Croatian pravo zavičajnosti) in the City of Zagreb, a special type of 
legal connection with a city or municipality that existed in the legal system of the 
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The registers of domiciliaries presented at this event 
2 Thus, the Act on Archival Materials and Archives, in Article 34, states that among the tasks of state archives, 
they: – organize exhibitions, lectures and other forms of presenting archival materials and archival activities to 
the public (NN 61/2018.).
3 Purger comes from the German Bürger, which means citizen. For more on the meaning of the word purger, see, 
Hrvatska enciklopedija, 2025 or Alić, 2024. 
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were introduced after the enactment of the Law on the regulation of domicile right 
(Heimatrecht) relations in 1880.4 (The condition for domicile right in a municipality 
of the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia was citizenship in the Kingdom of Hungary.) 
The SAZG holds several registers of domiciliaries from the late 19th century to 1947.5
Several employees of the Archives participated in the preparation and implemen-
tation of the event (Heđbeli & Barbaric, 2017). In the process of preparing the 
program, it was also agreed that, along with the register of domiciliaries (i.e., its 
visual representation on the Bookmeter), the certificate of domicile (Heimatrecht) 
in the city of Zagreb, a document that was linked to the registers of domiciliaries, 
would also be displayed. The certificate of domicile is a document that in the 
past (certainly in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th 
century) was used to prove belonging to a city or municipality (Čepulo, 1999; 
Čepulo, 2000). Unlike today’s certificate of citizenship, which proves belonging 
to the state. The certificate of domicile is a certificate of domicile right, received 
by someone who is entered in the register of domiciliaries.
Information about the Law on the regulation of domicile right (Heimatrecht) it-
self, registers of domiciliaries and the certificate of domicile right required a cer-
tain knowledge of history and some historical research. As I had previously con-
ducted research on the mentioned law for the purposes of the exam in the doctoral 
study of modern and contemporary history, I possessed a certain knowledge and 
was thus able to explain legal concepts such as domicile right etc. This knowledge 
had to be used in preparing statements for the media, appearances on television, 
addressing interested citizens, etc.
For the purpose of celebrating the Zagreb City Day, an interactive document in 
PDF format was created, which was in fact a copy of the original certificate of 
4 Not all residents of Zagreb had domicile right (pravo zavičajnosti) of the City of Zagreb. During the Austro-Hun-
garian Monarchy, residents of cities/municipalities in Croatia and Slavonia were divided into several categories 
(municipal residents, domiciliaries, non- domiciliaries, citizens and foreigners). This was regulated by various re-
gulations. Each of the above terms denoted a specific degree of connection with the municipality (or city municipa-
lity). The Law from 1880 was in force until the Law on City Municipalities from 1934, which equated domiciliary 
status with municipal membership.
5 This refers to records of domicile right that are kept in the archival fund HR-DAZG-24 Gradsko poglavarstvo Zag-
reb (Zagreb City Government), series: Politički odsjek (Political Department), which consist of indexes, registers 
and a card file. These records were kept after the enactment of the Act from 1880, and provide data on residents of 
Zagreb with the right of domicile and are created in the period 1880-1947. The materials of the HR-DAZG-4 Grad-
sko poglavarstvo Zagreb, Politički odsjek fund contain older records of domiciliaries from the period 1850-1859. 
The materials of the HR-DAZG-1 Poglavarstvo grada Zagreba (Zagreb City Government) fund, contain book of 
citizens of Zagreb from the period 1733 to 1864.
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domicile in the city of Zagreb from 1897, in which personal data could be entered, 
thus creating an unlimited number of personalized “certificates”.6 In addition to 
the name and surname and other personal data, the interactive certificate also 
included a question about the height of the person for whom the certificate was 
being issued. After the opening of the event on the Zagreb City Day in 2016 and 
its promotion in the media, it turned out that the certificate was the main trump 
card that brought the audience to the Archive. Although in addition to printing 
certificates for visitors there were other contents that the Archive offered at the 
time, it was the certificate that was the biggest lure for the audience.
The event itself was advertised on television, in print media and internet portals, 
as well as on the official website and Facebook page of the Archives (SAZG, 
2022a). On the City of Zagreb Day itself, a feature was filmed for the high-
ly-watched Croatian Television show “Good Morning, Croatia”, which is usual 
for such events. However, no one expected what followed. On the City of Zagreb 
Day, a long line formed in the courtyard of the Archives, in which visitors stood 
and patiently waited to get their copy of the citizenship certificate. Almost all 
employees were involved in the production of certificates, i.e. in taking data from 
visitors, entering them into the certificate and printing the certificate.
As the story about the issuance of the Zagreb certificate spread among the public, 
news about the certificate were on the radio, the print media, and internet por-
tals.7 The intense demand for the certificate, which attracted a large number of 
people to the Archives, continued for the next few days. There was also a high 
demand for the colour copy that was being sold. In one day, the Archives were 
visited by several hundred visitors interested in making a personalized copy of 
the certificate (for themselves or as a gift for someone), which is an extremely 
large number of visitors by the standards of the SAZG. On Zagreb City Day the 
Archives were visited by about 550 people (SAZG, 2017, 19). About 1,500 person-
alized citizenship certificates were issued. 8 The comments of people who came 
to collect the citizenship certificate were interesting, and they often referred to 
local patriotism, i.e. whether they were true Zagreb natives. They often took it not 
6 The interactive PDF document was created by Nikola Mokrović.
7 See, for example, http://m.metro-portal.hr/purgeri-svi-po-zagrebacku-domovnicu-na-dan-grada-zagreba/98316. 
8 See https://www.zagreb.info/vijesti/tisucu-gradana-dobilo-purgersku-domovnicu-drzavni-arhiv-spo-
jio-vise-modela-kulture/60087/. For more information on this and other SAZG‘s events and the history of SAZG, 
see Heđbeli, 2017. 
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only for themselves, but also for their family members and friends. Some stated 
that certain family members were not entitled to it because they were not true Za-
greb natives by origin (!). Visitors wanted their names written on a piece of paper 
that acted as an old document so that they would have an object that would clearly 
symbolize their connection with Zagreb. The certificate was sought for a long 
time after this event, and in the immediate aftermath, the number of inquiries for 
the certificate was very high. 
3. BACKGROUND OF THE WORK – AN ARCHIVIST WHO 
IS ALSO A HISTORIAN
From this project, as well as others not mentioned here, I can conclude that a good 
knowledge of archival material in terms of its evidentiary value is crucial, but 
also knowledge of the historical context is essential in order to bring it closer to 
users. This is where the role of the archivist historian, comes into play. Valorising 
older archival material as a historical source definitely requires some knowledge 
of history. Certainly, the historical education of people who work with historical 
archival material is a value that can be used when selecting and describing mate-
rial that can serve for the promotional purposes of the Archive.
4. THE CONNECTION OF ARCHIVAL MATERIAL WITH 
THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR
In addition to historically contextualizing the selected material, it is necessary to 
find something which can evoke a sense of connection in the public, something 
with which a large number of people can identify. It is precisely the connection 
with the city in which they live that can bring archival material closer to all citi-
zens, not just researchers and historians. In this way it can raise awareness of the 
importance of the preservation of archival materials, and thus the existence of 
archives, among the wider public.
5. CONCLUSION
The promotion of archival material and archives are part of a larger number of 
tasks of state historical archives. In order to bring archival material closer to 
users, archives use various means, often through archival exhibitions or similar 
ways of presenting archival materials. In addition to presenting illustrative and 
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visually attractive archival materials, or pointing out archival material that is 
extremely valuable for various research, it is necessary to bring this material 
closer to all citizens so that they can identify with it and thus become aware of the 
importance of its preservation. This text describes an example of the celebration 
of the Zagreb City Day in 2016, when special records that carry a historical and 
local-patriotic context were selected for the promotion of the State Archives in 
Zagreb and the celebration of this event. The knowledge of archivists and histo-
rians was also used in the implementation of the project. The project was very 
successful thanks to the fact that the selected material and the possibility of its 
personalization found their way to the feelings of a large number of people, most-
ly residents of Zagreb. In this way, a large number of people were made aware of 
the existence of the Archive. Archive was very successfully promoted.
REFERENCES
Alić, M. (2024). A zakaj su Zagrepčani purgeri?. Povijest.hr. Retrieved https://pov-
ijest.hr/hrvatska/a-zakaj-su-zagrepcani-purgeri/ (accessed on 29. 9. 2025).
Čepulo, D. (1999). Pravo hrvatske zavičajnosti i pitanje hrvatskog i ugarskog 
državljanstva 1868-1918: pravni i politički vidovi i poredbena motrišta. 
Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu, 49(6), 795–825. 
Čepulo, D. (2000). Središe i periferija: europske i hrvatske odrednice 
Mažuranićevih reformi ustrojstva vlasti i građanskih prava 1873–1880. 
Zbornik pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu, 50(6), 889–920.
Heđbeli, Ž. & Barbaric, M. (2017). Otvaranje arhiva javnosti na primjeru recentne 
prakse Državnog arhiva u Zagrebu. In S. Babić (ed.), Radovi 5. kongresa hrvat-
skih arhivista ARHIVI U HRVATSKOJ - (RETRO)PERSPEKTIVA (pgs. 517–
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Summary
The promotion of archival material is one of the tasks of historical archives. This 
text describes a successful event of the State Archives in Zagreb, during which 
citizens waited in line to enter the Archives, and whose product was in demand 
even for a long time after the event. The method of presenting archival material 
and archives to the public is described. Material was selected that awakened a 
local patriotic feeling in a part of the public. The role of archivist historians is 
also mentioned as essential for better knowledge of the material and information 
about its origin. By effectively presenting the material to the public, archives can 
draw attention to themselves and make citizens aware of their existence.
Typology: 1.04. professional article
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ADDITION – CERTIFICATE OF DOMICILE IN THE CITY OF 
ZAGREB (DOMOVNICA GLAVNOG GRADA ZAGREBA) FROM 1897.
ARCHIVIST HISTORIAN AND PROMOTION OF ARCHIVAL MATERIALS, CERTIFICATE 
OF DOMICILE (HEIMATRECHT) IN THE CITY OF ZAGREB KATARINA HORVAT