Archiefvanhet Sint-Elisabethgasthuis te Antwerpen
Item
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Country
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BE
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Name of institution (English)
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State archives in Antwerp (State Archives of Belgium)
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Language of name of institution
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fra
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deu
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dut
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Contact information: postal address
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Door Verstraeteplaats, 5, 2018 Antwerp
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Contact information: phone number
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0032 (0)32367300
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Contact information: email
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rijksarchief.antwerpen-beveren@arch.be
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Reference number
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BE-A0511.784
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Archive of the Saint Elisabeth Hospital in Antwerp
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Title (official language of the state)
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Archiefvanhet Sint-Elisabethgasthuis te Antwerpen
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Language of title
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dut
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Creator / accumulator
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Sint-Elisabethgasthuis te Antwerpen
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Date(s)
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1595/1787
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Language(s)
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dut
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Extent
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5 storage units
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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The archiefvanhet Sint-Elisabethgasthuis te Antwerpen comprises documentation related to the management and government of the Saint Elisabeth Hospital in Antwerp. This small collection includes the will of Fernando Ximenes (4), a converso of Spanish origin who moved to Antwerp, where he became an influential merchant. In his will, Ximenes left money for the foundation of charities to benefit the poor of Antwerp. He also left a sum of money to finance the dowry of two orphans. The document also contains references to some other charity works promoted by Ximenes and his family, dating from 1596 to 1634.
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Archival history
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Following the law of October 26, 1796, several archives of abolished and nationalised institutions were brought together in the local administration. In 1851-1852, the provincial government built a small archive building in Geefsstraat, Antwerp, to accommodate this documentation. A royal decree on February 24, 1896, established a State Archive in Antwerp in a building in the Hofstraat, in the city centre, which opened its doors in July 1897.
The initial collection was limited to a reduced number of documents, including 39 municipal archives, some church and monastic archives, the archives of the Leenhof van Mechelen (Loan Tribunal of Mechelen), among others, which were transferred from the General State Archives in Brussels to Antwerp. Several collections of other Ancien Régime institutions were gradually moved to Antwerp in the following years. Thus, the size of the State Archives' collection increased fast, and the Hofstraat building soon became too small.
In 1903, the construction of a new building started in the Zurenborg district, in southeast Antwerp. Only a few municipal archives were transferred to the new State Archive from 1910 onwards, a movement that was reinforced after World War I. Even later, only after much insistence from Antwerp, files and documents from local archives were transferred from Brussels to the Antwerp State Archives. From 1910, notary archives, especially those of Antwerp, were also transferred.
In the late 1930s, the archive warehouse became full and an extension was considered. A new wing was built on Bosduifstraat in 1942, which doubled the storage capacity.
In the implementation of the Archives Act of 1955, many 19th-century records from municipal, church, notarial, court, and family archives were transferred to the State Archives. Thus, by 1975, the building had already reached its storage limit. This problem was partly solved around 1980 by moving all files from courts and federal external services that were still in Antwerp to the State Archives in Beveren. Between 1992 and 1999, many files (mainly from municipal, church, and monastic archives) were transferred and/or deposited in the custody of the municipal archives of Duffel, Geel, Herentals, Kontich, Lier, Mechelen and Mol. The space thus freed up was immediately taken up, mainly by notarial and provincial government archives.
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(source: Houtman, Erik. 2006. Overzicht van de Archieven En Verzamelingen van Het Rijksarchief Te Antwerpen. Vol. I (Overheidsarchieven). Brussels.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The first "gasthuis" (hospital) of Antwerp was founded in the 11th century and was originally served by lay people who adopted the monastic rule of St Augustine. Around the 1230s, the hospital moved to its present site. The new guest house and chapel were consecrated in 1238 by Guiardus of Laon, bishop of Cambrai and placed under the protection of St Elisabeth of Hungary. The oldest surviving buildings are the chapel from the 15th century and the Gothic infirmary, presumably from 1460-84.
From 1798, the hospital came under the management of the Bestuur der Burgerlijke Godshuizen (Administration of Civil Almshouses), later the Commissie voor Openbare Onderstand (Commission for Public Assistance) and, in 1977, the OCMW (Social Welfare Department).
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(source: Inventaris Vlaanderen Onroerend Erfgoed)
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Author of the description
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Kevin Soares, 2022
