Working in the reading room in Münster
The reading room of the Westphalia department of the Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen is open to all interested parties. Please contact us with your research request! Our archivists will be happy to advise you and help you with your research.
The archival materials and books from our collections can be viewed in the reading room. Use of the reading room is free of charge. However, fees may apply for more extensive research and information if you submit a written request to us.
Retrieval of archival materials
How to best prepare for your visit to the reading room: The Westphalia department of the Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen has already made numerous finding aids and digitized archive holdings available online in the archive search function of this portal. Please use this opportunity to research relevant archive materials and, if necessary, view them from home. You can also order archive materials online in the reading room. This allows you to prepare for your planned visit in the best possible way. If you have a long journey to Münster, we particularly recommend using the online search and order function.
Archival materials ordered in the reading room are retrieved at 9:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 2:00 p.m. and made available for you to use.
An exception to this are the holdings of the justice and finance administration, which are stored in an external repository and therefore must be pre-ordered. Files are transported once a week on Fridays, so that we can present them to you on Mondays in the reading room on Bohlweg. Please place your orders as early as possible, by Thursday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. at the latest, by email to the following address: westfalen[at]lav.nrw.de. Orders received after this time can only be processed one week later.
Restricted accessible entry
There are two reserved parking spaces next to the rear entrance in the visitor parking lot at the back of the building.
A bell in front of the stairs to the main entrance on Bohlweg is located at a height accessible to wheelchair users; after pressing the bell, the gatekeeper will arrange for staff to assist with access.
A ramp leads from the parking lot at the rear of the building to the basement. It can be used with the assistance of staff from the State Archives.
An elevator ensures accessibility to the reading room and access to a barrier-free toilet.
Inaccessible holdings
The following collections are currently unavailable due to conservation measures (as of May 2025).
- A 108u / Kloster Galilaea – Urkunden
- A 109u / Stift Geseke - Urkunden
- F 001 / Reichskammergericht
- K 204 / Regierung Münster, Wiedergutmachungen, Nr. 1-2000
- Q 003t / Appellationsgericht Münster - Testamente
- Q 234 / Staatsanwaltschaft Dortmund, Zentralstelle für die Bearbeitung von NS-Massenverbrechen, Nr. 15000-17000
- Q 301-325t / Stadt- und Landgerichte
- W 052 / Karten K (Katasterkarten) Nr. 4000-7500
We appreciate your understanding!
Library of the Westphalia Department
The total holdings of the Westphalia Department of the Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen comprise approximately 180,000 volumes. Of these, 28,000 volumes belong to the historical book collection of literature published before 1900.
Main areas of focus:
- History and regional studies of Westphalia and neighboring areas
- Document books, regesta, and source collections
- Archival publications, guides, and inventories
- Historical auxiliary sciences
- Administrative history, official printed matter, law gazettes
Special collections:
- School programs (45,000 items)
- Administrative reports and budgets of the districts, cities, and municipalities in the archive district (25,000 items from 1860-2000)
- Volume Dissertationum Juridicarum (1,750 legal dissertations from the 18th and 19th centuries)
The holdings can be viewed in the archive's reading room. They cannot be borrowed.
The catalog can be searched online via the OPAC of the library network of the NRW authority libraries. The search can be restricted to the Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen Westphalia department via the “Advanced search” menu item. Please select the abbreviation “LAV W Münster” from the “Branch” drop-down menu.
Note: School programs can be filtered from the entire collection by entering the place name under “Keyword” and the abbreviation ‘SP’ under “Systematics” in the OPAC search mask.
Contact
Anja Falk anja.falk[at]lav.nrw.de
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