Romani in Europe

31-01-2024

"I had the great honor of working with the Archives Portal Europe to bring to light a series of the most significant documents related to Roma history in a virtual exhibition commemorating 'the Sigismund of Luxembourg Roma Decree' issued 600 years ago. The selected documents illustrate both the rich and vibrant cultural heritage of the Roma people and the inexhaustible wealth of the archives of Europe. I am hopeful that this precious cooperation will result in greater awareness of Roma history, often marked as forgotten, at the European level. Hereby, I pay tribute to the European archives and their mission, which has evolved over the last decade to promote digital records and preserve cultural heritage. We are honored to be part of this work, which remains essential in uncovering the often-neglected history of the Roma people."

Mgr. Peter Pollák, PhD, Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Culture and Education

"When the aforementioned László vajvoda and his people would arrive at our estates, namely the cities and towns, we strongly command and order, by means of this present document, that you are obliged to assist and protect these László vajvoda and the Gypsies under him, without any hindrance or any kind of harassment, and in fact, to protect them from any hindrance or injury" – declared Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor on the 18th of April 1423, in the first privilege (law) regarding Romani people. It was the first anti-discriminatory law issued for Roma.

The Romani have a long and complex history in Europe. They arrived in Europe in the 14th century, and have since settled in many countries throughout the continent. Throughout history, the Roma have faced discrimination and persecution. They were often seen as outsiders and were subjected to forced labour, enslavement, and violence. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Roma were the targets of genocide in some countries, particularly during the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. Despite the challenges they have faced, the Roma have managed to maintain their distinct cultural traditions, including their language, music, and customs. They have also made significant contributions to European culture, particularly in the fields of music and dance. But even today, the Roma continue to face discrimination and social marginalization in many European countries. Efforts have been made in recent years to improve the situation, such as the European Union's Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies, but much work remains to be done to ensure that the Roma have equal rights and opportunities.

Due to poverty, lack of access to education and linguistic segregation, their memories are fragmented and distorted in the archives. As the Roma culture is primarily based on oral tradition, the sources preserved in archives are mostly from the perspective of the majority society, power and institutional system. Those documents that would reflect their own perspective of identity – similarly to other marginalized ethnic, linguistic and social minorities - are painfully underrepresented in our modern archives.

Despite the challenges they have faced, the Roma have managed to maintain their distinct cultural traditions and continue to make significant contributions to European culture. On the 600th anniversary of the privileges issued by Sigismund of Luxembourg [pics 01-02], this APE highlight pays a kind of tribute to the rich and complex history of the Roma people in Europe.

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Only two years after the privileges by Sigismund, this Salvoconducto a favor de Juan de Egipto Menor (Letter in favour of John of Egypt Minor) [pic 03] , from the Archivo Corona de Aragón, documents for the first time the presence of a Romani in the Iberian territory. This Juan was refered to as "conde del Pequeño Egipto", count of the Egypt Minor, as in the Middle Ages was called an area of indeterminate borders that would include Syria, Cyprus and the near territories of the Eastern Mediterranean.

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After a good reception of the Romani people as pilgrims in 1425, came the marginalization of this ethnic minority, accused of being against adapting to Christian social norms. Spain, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, initiated a persecutory strategy aimed at their expulsion. The Royal pragmatics of March 4, 1499 [pic 04] nullified all the letters of protection granted and still in force. It was followed by hundreds of edicts against them [eg, pic 05]. It will not be until the end of the 20th century that the historical discrimination of this ethnic minority in legal systems began to be repaired, in parallel with the recognition of their cultural contribution to the history and cultures of the old European continent.

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Pic 06 represent a 1541 resolution of the local council in Salzburg, Austria, containing various resolutions about the use of wine and meat, trading, treasure diggers, a tax on salt from Hallein (a town near Salzburg) - but first and foremost, on the subject of the "Zigeuner", the gypsies - presumably an anti-Romani law, following the trend in Europe at the time

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Prejudices against Romas as troublemakers and thieves go back centuries, and remain often unchanged; these documents from Italy in 1613 [pic 07], Spain in 1644 [pic 08], and Germany in 1726 [pic 09] all use similar terms about punishing "companies of gypsies" for theft and robbery

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One of the Romani's main characteristic is that they never identified themselves with a territory, in a world that is predominantly sedentary. In this 1950 newsreel about census in Switzerland [pic 10], funnily - and probably also accurately - titled "Benign Curiosity", the "Cinegiornale Svizzero," the Italian Swiss bulletin, marvels about the fact that "even the strange and mysterious Romani population has left a trace of their phenomenal life, impressed in the monotonous sheets created by the census." In reality, we have information about Romas from censuses over the centuries - [pic 11] is from the 1729 records of the Aragona Crown (the Consultas Real Audiencia) and it includes statistics about Romani people in Catalunia.

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"Zigeunerstock" (literally "Gipsy Stock") was a marking in Germany along paths and areas that Sinti, Roma peole and other "unwanted" used frequently. They were sign posts listing the things that weren't allowed (by law or otherwise) in the region that the travelling people were about to enter. At the time, Germany did not exist as a nation and was divided in smaller counties; however, these "Zigeunerstöcke" were used throughout and essentially had the purpose to keep the travelling people away. While these markings don't exist anymore, the name "Zigeunerstock" is still sometimes used in pieces of land, or hills, nearby the oldest roads. [Pic 12] shows a partial district map from 1771 of the area between Brettener and Jöhlinger Straße, with boundary stones with numbers, angles and grades, height differences with hatching, field names, forests, fields, ditches, and the Zigeunerstock.[Pics 13-14-15] also show the Zigeunerstöcke in historical field maps of the Württemberg and Hohenzoller area, produced by the State Office for Geoinformation and Rural Development in Baden-Württemberg respectively in 1820, 1823, and 1843

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In the 18th Century, the Habsburg rulers tried to forcefully settle the Roma people, and have them adapting to the social norms of the majority - while at the same time evicting them when they settled. This was to try and “assimilate” them into paying taxes and serve in the military, while still being segregated. As a result, the conscription of the Romani people became important. This is a German-language census sheet of the Roma population of the 16 towns of the Spiš region (now Slovakia) from 1777 [pic 16]

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The extent of the discrimination and marginalisation of the Romani population can be clearly understood in the amount of court documents against them throughout the centuries; here are the documents from the 1783 process against Juana Trujillo, a native of Fiñana, and José Maldonado, a native of Gabia la Grande, both gypsies, prosecuted in the Court of the Inquisition of Córdoba, for sacrilegious acts [pic 17]; a permission to ordering the prosecution of criminals, vagrants, gypsies, idlers, and "ill-entertained and suspicious people" in general from 1806 [pic 18]; and the documents related to the activities carried out by the gypsy population in the jurisdiction of Rastro de la Corte from 1816 [pic 19]

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In 1821, Romani people were issued a passport in Germany only after it was established that they were not travelling with anyone else [pic 20]

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17 April 1964: the burial of a 14-year-old gypsy prince in the main cemetery in Karlsruhe [pic 21]; you can also find a death certificate in the Slovenian archives here

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Housing policies over the centuries: a report on the living conditions of the Romani family of Anton Reinhart, in Germany, 1813 [pic 22]; New housing for “Gypsies” at Mundenhof, Freiburg [pics 23 and 24]; a rare protest by the Romani community in 1969 [pics 25 and 26]; a woman and a small boy in a settlement of Sinti from all over Europe in Karlsruhe, 1970 [pic 27]

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In spite of all the negative stereotypes, Romani people have always been strongly associated to arts and culture, especially music; here is the popular ballad "Martha la gitane - à la Revolution" (Martha the gypsy - to the Revolution) collected by French writer Lucien Descaves in his correspondence with Louise Michel, a teacher and important figure of the Paris Commune [pics 28 and 29]

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From the minutes of the meeting of the City Municipal Administration of Svishtov, Bulgaria, on April 30 1886 (n.16), the prohibition to gypsies from slaughtering cattle at their homes to sell the meat [pic 30]; and from the municipality of Dobrich, the minutes of the council meeting of the 18 March 1888 (n.13), with the decision to open another butcher shop in the "gypsy neighborhood" [pic 31]

More documents from Bulgaria: the problem of Roma relocation n the city of Lom in 1882, from the book of minutes of the Municipality of Sofia [pic 32]; View of the gypsy neighborhood in the city of Skopje, from the photo album of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, 1916 [pics 33 and 34]; and a photo of gypsy musicians at the Bagram-festival in 1992, portrayed by German photographer Rolf Bauerdick [pic 35]

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A few pictures of the lives of Romani in Portugal in the early 20th century, as captured by photojournalist Joshua Benoliel [pics 36-39]

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Pictures of Romas from Lithuania [Pic 40-43] : as the document in [Pic 40] reveals, in the late 1920s there were probably approximately 4000 Romani people in the country, holding a regular Lithuanian passport and integrated in society – some of them were in the army [pic 41], others struggled because Lithuania did not allow to pitch camp in the woods with open fire, and were trying to move to Poland, which had a much larger Roma population and structured society, including a king.

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Pictures of Romani Romas from the late 19^th century: A woodworker Roma man (”rudar”)[pic 44]; A kalderash (tinker, metal worker) Roma man (”căldărar”) [pic 45-47]; Roma pair (”lingurari”) sellers of their woodspoons: the woman, smoking pipe, is lighting the one of the man [pic 48].

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These are spectacular pictures of the “Ursari”, or “bear leaders” in Romanian, specific Romani communities that are able to train bears who are then mostly used as companions during itinerant shows [pic 49-53]

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A ritual performed by Roma Women on Lazarus Saturday, so called ”Lazarea” in Romanian, which celebrates the resurrection of Lazarus, and is celebrated before Palm Sunday [pics 54-55]; and the “Paparuda”, a traditional Romanian magical ritual, used for bringing rains in times ofdrought, which can only be danced by girls and old women [pic 56].

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Other pictures of Romas in Bucharest in the 1930s: Roma women named ”chivuțe” who paint houses with brush [pic 57], and selling popcorn during the ”Târgul Moșilor”, a one-month carnival beginning on the mid of May [pic 58]. Men at a market [pic 59], playing instruments on the street [pic 60], in the countryside right in the outskirt of town [pic 61]. These last pictures were taken by German photographer Willy Pragher, who was operating in Romania throughout the 1930s and early 1940s.

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Other pictures from Willy Pragher during his period in Romania: Romas making and selling “corn flakes” (perhaps popcorn?) [pic 62]; Ursari playing with bears [pic 63
and 64]; and a large group of Roma people wearing traditional clohes in front of a tent [pic 65]. These photographs, seemingly innocent, were taken during one of the darkest times ever in European history: we are now in 1941, during war time. After the 1940 coup d’etat that transformed the Kingdom of Romania into a dictatorship, under Mareșal Ion Antonescu, Romania officially joined the Axis power in World War II; while authorities did not systematically annihilate the Roma population living in the country, an estimate of 26000 Roma were deported in 1941 and 1942. It is difficult to know how many Romas were killed in Europe during the Holocaust period; the Holocaust Memorial Museum reports between 250000 and 500000 victims.

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While the spotlight is on Nazi Germany, it is important to remember that, just like anti-Semitism, anti-Roma discrimination has, as this exhibition is showing, very ancient roots in Europe. In 1928, during the so-called “Weimar Republic”, laws were being prepared to “fight against gypsies and rural travellers” as these 1928 letters from the then Ministry of the Interior Ferdinand Kirnberger show [pic 66 and 67] Only in 1965 West Germany recognised that the persecutions against Romas and Sinti during war times were racially motivated, and only in March 1982 Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt formally stated that German Roma had been victims of genocide.

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In 1938, in Portugal, Romani people were subjects to mistreatment and police brutality. These photographs document the funeral of Emídio Salinas, killed by the police (PSP, Polícia de Segurança Pública) in 1938 [pic 68-69]; this is a group of Romani in the Harborne of Lisbon, waiting for the repatriation of the body of 17 years old José Vieira Prudêncio Perrulas, killed in Luanda during a quarrel over the number of lottery tickets he was selling in a tavern, in 1966 [pic 70] ; and finally, the criminal record of João Henriques, “O João Cigano” as written in a red pen over the records [pic 71].

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The history of Romani people is in a way a privileged viewpoint to study the history of human rights in Europe; as a deeply marginalised community, they were amongst the first to suffer when exclusionary choices were made. This 1708 Portuguese law that forbids to use the language and the costumes of the “ciganos”, the gypsies, is one example amongst the many seen in this exhibition [pic 72].

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In particular, the history of Romani people in Europe is connected to that of slavery. The very first mentions of Roma people in many archival documents is connected to slavery: here are the first mention of Roma people in Wallachia [pic 73] and in Moldavia [pic 74]. In 1691, Wallachia’s ruler Constantin Brâncoveanu recognises to logothete Iane Cocorăscu all the properties, vineyards and Roma people, inhereted from his cousin, Voichița [pic 75]; 50 years later, in 1742, Mihai Racoviță, ruler of Wallachia, again gives to the Cozia Monastery and the head of the monastery, archimandrite Ghenadie, the right to decide on any matter concerning the Roma people, including choosing the overseer [pic 76].

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While since World War II Europe has improved its record on the treatment of Romani people, unacceptable and profound disparities and discrimination remains; and changes are extremely slow, and not constant. In 1967, a UK study titled “Children and their Primary Schools” found that Gypsy children had the worst access to Education of any group, in the UK as well as the rest of Europe (the papers related to the report and its aftermath can be found here). More than 50 years later, the majority of Romani children in Europe are still denied proper education.
We close our exhibition with a few photographs of Romani children from our archives.
May 1970: a couple approached by a Romani child in Karlsruhe (Germany) by photographer Horst Schlesiger [pic 77]; a photograph about the dire conditions of Romani children in the early 20th century from the exhibition “Time Photographs 1928-1988” in Freiburg, Germany, in 1988 [pic 78]; two postcards from 1902, figuring Roma children riding a donkey and the writing “Greetings from Romania” [pic 79-80]; Roma community near the Vilnius station, Lithuania, 1990 [pic 81-82].

Text by Zoltán Szatucsek, Codruta Mihailovici, Anna Batzeli, Laura Partal Ortega. Research by Zoltán Szatucsek, Ildikó Szerényi, Anna Batzeli, Laura Partal Ortega, Reda Vainauskaitė, Lucília Runa, Silvestre Lacerda, Santiago Muriel, Bogdan Florin Popovici, Claudiu Victor Turcitu, Codruta Mihailovici, Darius Bujokas


Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár, An 18th C. transcript of the document issued by Sigismund on the 18th April 1423 - recto (Reference code: HU MNL OL DL 107246)	Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár, An 18th C. transcript of the document issued by Sigismund on the 18th April 1423 - verso (Reference code: HU MNL OL DL 107246)	Archivo de la Corona de Aragón, Letter of protection in favour of John of Little Egypt, 1425. Available here	Archivo General de Simancas, Letter stating that the Egyptians (gypsies) and Greeks who live in the Kingdom without a job take one and live with their lords or else leave the land (4 March 1499). Available here

Archivo General de Simancas, Decree of implementation following the March 1499 letter. Available here	Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Resolutionen des Eb Ernst an die Regierung zu Salzburg (page 1), available here	Archivo General de Simancas, First page of the letter from Juan Vivas de Cañamás, ambassador in Genoa, to Philip III, King of Spain, regarding the damages caused in Monferrato (in North-West italy) by companies of gypsies and Frenchmen (1613), available here	Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid, First page of the execution of the lawsuit litigated by Pedro de León, prosecutor of the King, with Francisco de Mendoza and other consorts, gypsies, living in Medinaceli (Soria), about robbery, and subsequent sentence of death by hanging (1644), available here

Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt , Public execution of a 'gang of gypsies, thieves, murderers and robbers' active in Upper Hesse (1726), available here	Swiss Federal Archives, Cinegiornale Svizzero - Curiosità Benigna, Italian Swiss Newsreel - Benign Curiosity (1950), available here	Archivo de la Corona de Aragon, Consultas Real Audiencia (1729), available here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Plan über den einem Hochwürdig und gnaedigen Domm-Capitul zu Speyer gehörigen Binzdammer Zehnd-District auf der Ober-Grombacher Marckung gelegen, Plan over the Binzdammer Zehnd District belonging to a reverend and gracious Dom-Capitul zu Speyer on the Ober-Grombacher Marckung (1771) , available here

Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Kartenblatt SO VI 39 Stand 1820 ca. , available here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Kartenblatt NO IV 45 Stand 1823 ca. , available here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Kartenblatt SO IV 13 Stand 1843 , available here	Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár, census sheet of the Roma population of the 16 towns of the Spiš region (now Slovakia) from 1777

Archivo Histórico Nacional , Allegations against Trujillo, Juana and Maldonado, José (1783), first page, available here	Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid, Expediente por el que se ordena la persecución de malhechores, vagos, gitanos, ociosos, malentretenidos y gente sospechosa (1806), first page, available here	Archivo Histórico Nacional , Expediente relativo a las actividades desarrolladas por la población gitana en la jurisdicción del Rastro de la Corte (1816), available here	Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, Regulation that Gypsies must be checked that there are no other persons among them before they are issued passports (8 December 1821), available here

Stadtarchiv Karlsruhe, Beisetzung eines 14jährigen Zigeunerprinzen auf dem Karlsruher Hauptfriedhof, funerals of a 14-year-old gypsy prince in the main cemetery in Karlsruhe, available here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , A report on the living conditions of the Romani family of Anton Reinhart in Germany (1813), available here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , New housing for “Gypsies” at Mundenhof, Freiburg (1965), available here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , New housing for “Gypsies” at Mundenhof, Freiburg (1965), available here

Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , a rare protest by the Romani community (1969), available here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , a rare protest by the Romani community (1969), available here	Stadtarchiv Karlsruhe, a woman and a small boy in a settlement of Sinti from all over Europe in Karlsruhe (1970), available here	Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis , Folk ballad "Martha the gypsy - to the Revolution", trancribed in 1870/71, available here

Veliko Tarnovo State Archives, Minutes of the meeting of the City Municipal Administration of Svishtov (30 April 1886), available here	Dobrich State Archives, Minutes of the meeting of the City Municipal Administration of Dobrich (18 March 1888), available here	Sofia State Archives, Протокол от заседание на Софийски градско-общински съвет № 2 от 8 февр. 1882 г. (Minutes of the meeting of the Sofia City-Municipal Council No. 2 of February 8. 1882), available here	Central State Archives of Bulgaria, Албум със снимки на цар Фердинанд (Photo album of King Ferdinand), 1916, available here

Central State Archives of Bulgaria, Албум със снимки на цар Фердинанд (Photo album of King Ferdinand), 1916, available here	Centro Português de Fotografia, Gypsy-musicians during the Bagram-festival, 1992, available here

Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Gypsy people (1909), available here	Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, The family driving, on the Garrano (a small horse) as old as time (1909), available here	Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo,A donkey that will walk until death (1909), available here	Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo,"The eldest of the tribe” (1909), available here

Lithuanian Central State Archives Lithuanian telegram agency (ELTA) report on Roma in Lithuania (1929).	Lithuanian Central State ArchivesCadets from Advanced military technical courses with Roma family (1926).	Lithuanian Central State ArchivesRoma having a snack	Lithuanian Central State ArchivesA couple of Roma in national clothes (1930).


The National Archives, Romania, A woodworker Roma man (”rudar”)(end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BV-FD-00330-4-2-02	The National Archives, Romania, A kalderash (tinker, metal worker) Roma man (”căldărar”)(end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BV-FD-00330-4-2-01)	The National Archives, Romania, A kalderash (tinker, metal worker) Roma man (”căldărar”)(end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BV-FD-00330-4-2-14	The National Archives, Romania, A kalderash (tinker, metal worker) Roma man (”căldărar”)(end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BV-FD-00330-4-2-15


The National Archives, Romania, Roma pair (”lingurari”) sellers of their woodspoons: the woman, smoking pipe, is lighting the one of the man (end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-5-642	The National Archives, Romania,Bear trainer Roma man (”ursar”) visiting houses for fun or to bring magical healing. (end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-1-7748-138	The National Archives, Romania, Bear dance performance paired with the bear trainer Roma man (”ursar”) (end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-2-1138	The National Archives, Romania, Bear trainer Roma man (”ursar”) in Gorj county, Romania (end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-2-4385


The National Archives, Romania, Group of bear trainers Roma men (”ursari”) in winter (end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-5-4534	The National Archives, Romania, Bear trainers Roma men (”ursari”) (end of XIXth century), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-5-644	The National Archives, Romania, The ritual performed in motion by Roma women, dancing and singing according to the tradition, on Lazarus Saturday, so called ”Lazarea” in Romanian (1940 c), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-2-3072-1	The National Archives, Romania, The ritual performed in motion by Roma women, dancing and singing according to the tradition, on Lazarus Saturday, so called ”Lazarea” in Romanian (1940 c), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-2-3072-1


The National Archives, Romania, Rain magical ritual performed by two Roma girls (usually, only girls and old women can perform the dance) named ”Paparuda” (1940 c), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-2-3087-7	The National Archives, Romania, Roma women named ”chivuțe” who paint houses with brush, ref. RO-BU-F-01073-5-3087	The National Archives, Romania, Roma women selling popcorn at ”Târgul Moșilor” (one month carnival, beginning on the mid of May, Bucharest, since the late 19th century till the mid-20th century)., ref. RO-BU-F-01073-5-3088-6	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , Bucarest, Gypsies making music (1937), avalaible here


Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , Street and market life in Bucharest: Gypsy sells bird whistles, avalaible here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , Bucharest, street and market life in Bucharest: gypsies at breakfast (1932), avalaible here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , Bucarest, Gypsies making music (1937), avalaible here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , Bucharest: Gypsies with bears (1942), avalaible here


Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg , Bucarest, Gypsies making music (1937), avalaible here	The National Archives, Romania, Large group of nomad Roma people (men, women - some wearing traditional blouse, and children) in front of a tent, ref. RO-BV-FD-00330-4-2-06	Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, Hesse, Letter from the Ministry of the Interior on the Draft of a law to combat gypsies and rural travelers (1927), available here	Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, Hesse, Statement by the Ministry of Justice on the 'Draft of a law to combat gypsies and rural travelers' by the acting Interior Minister Ferdinand Kirnberger (1927), available here


Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, The widow of the gypsy Salinas Emídio, during the burial (1938), available here	Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, The widow of the gypsy Salinas Emídio, during the burial (1938), available here	Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, A group of Romani in the Harborne of Lisbon, waiting for the repatriation of the body of 17 years old José Vieira Prudêncio Perrulas (1966), available here	Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, The widow of the gypsy Salinas Emídio, during the burial (1938), available here


Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, The law that forbids to use the language and the costumes of the “ciganos” (1708), available here	The National Archives, Romania,First mention of the Roma people in Wallachia: Dan I, ruler of Wallachia, endows Tismana Monastery with cheese, wax, trees, wheat, honey, nuts, fish, textiles, clothes, shooes s.o, including 40 “salashe” (a term derived from Turkish, denoting families or tent communities) of Roma people (1385), ref. RO- BU-F-00684-2	The National Archives, Romania,First mention of the Roma people in Moldavia: Alexandru cel Bun (Alexander the Good), ruler of Moldavia, endows Bistrița Monastery with 31 families of Roma people, among other asset (1428), ref. RO- BU-F-00683-2	The National Archives, Romania,Constantin Brâncoveanu, ruler of Wallachia, recognizes to logothete Iane Cocorăscu all the properties, vineyards and Roma people, inhereted from his cousin, Voichița. (1691), ref. RO- BU-F-00312-12-72


The National Archives, Romania,Mihai Racoviță, ruler of Wallachia, gives to the Cozia Monastery and the head of the monastery, archimandrite Ghenadie, the right to decide on any matter concerning the Roma people, including choosing the overseer (1742), ref. RO-BU-F-00119-49-25	Stadtarchiv Karlsruhe , Change in the municipal regulations regarding the permission for gypsies and rural drivers to park on city streets and squares 21. May 1970, available here	Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Abt. 3. Staatsarchiv Freiburg , Freiburg: Black Monastery; Exhibition: children, gypsies, schoolchildren on the bridge (1988), available here	The National Archives, Romania, Postcard ”Greetings from Romania” with Nomad Roma people with tents and children ridding a donkey (1902), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-5-640-2


The National Archives, Romania, Postcard ”Greetings from Romania” with Nomad Roma people with tents and children ridding a donkey. Colored image (1902), ref. RO-BU-F-01073-5-640-3	Lithuanian Central state archive , Roma community near the Vilnius station (1990)	Lithuanian Central state archive Roma community near the Vilnius station (1990). Author P. Lileikis

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You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the description of the archive:

Name: search term appears in the name of the institution. It can be the full name of an archival institution or only parts of it.
Place: search term appears in the address or area of the institution. It can be the city or town, where the archival institution is located or any other place of importance (e.g. previous locations)

A finding aid is a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds, up to item level.
A holdings guide is an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.
A source guide is a topic-oriented overview of collections and fonds of one or several institutions.

You can filter by one or more entity types:

A person (e.g. John Locke, or Jean Jaques Rousseau);
A family (e.g. Bonaparte, or Helgason);
A corporate body, i.e. the name of an institution, organisation, or company (e.g. Ministerie van Justitie, or Electro Mecánica Antonio Armentano)

Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions:

A business archive holds the records of (often) commercial organisations.
A church or religious archive holds the records of church parishes or religious organisations, e.g. birth or death registers.
A county or local authority archive holds the records of the county's administrative bodies.
A media archive holds audiovisual or sound records, e.g. a film archive or the archive of a broadcasting company.
A municipal archive holds the records of a town or city administration.
A national archive holds the records of a country's administrative bodies, i.e. from ministries and other public bodies, sometimes also private papers of former ministers, chancellors, or presidents.
A private person or family archive holds the records forming the legacy of a prominent person or family.
A regional archive holds the records of a region's administrative bodies.
A specialised governmental archive holds records of public bodies, often operating on a national level, that are not part of the national archives' holdings.
A specialised non-governmental archive or archive of another cultural heritage institution hold collections from various cultural heritage institutions, eg. museum archives, libraries archives, etc
A university archive or archive of another research organisation holds the records pertaining to the administration of the according educational or research body.
Political parties, popular/labour movements and other non-governmental organisations, associations, agencies and foundations hold the archival collections of these institutions, outside of governmental records and outside of business archives (e.g., NGOs)

Enter a start and/or end date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01-01-1900 for 1 January 1900. This will allow you to focus your search on a specific period of time. You can use the calendar function or type directly in the text field. The checkbox "Exact date search" concentrates the search on one specific date.

Check "View in context" to view the results in the hierarchical structure of archives.

Choose "List view" to view the results in a simple list, ordered according to relevance or date
Choose "Context view" to view the results in the hierarchical structure of the holding archives.

For more details see Research Tools

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A holdings guide is an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.

A finding aid is a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level.

You can filter results by selecting one or more countries of interest. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by one or more holding archival institutions. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can select to view results from a specific Finding Aid, i.e., a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter by type of descriptive document:

"Holdings Guide": an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.
"Source guide": a topic-oriented overview of collections and fonds of one or several institutions. a description of the archival collections available. Similar to Holdings guides
"Finding aid" provides more detailed descriptions of the archival materials of specific collections or fonds

You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by selecting "Fonds description" for a general overview or "Other descriptions" for item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by selecting only those containing digital objects, i.e. the link to the digitised version of the archival material you are looking for. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by type of digital object you are interested in:

Text: most documental material, such as administrative records, letters, manuscripts etc.
Image: includes photographs, posters, maps.
Sound: sound recording with no images
Video: moving images with or without sound
Unspecified: indicates that the holding institution has not specified the type of digital object
3D: 3-d digital objects

You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers)

Full dates includes normalised date information available for date-based searches. It is recommended to combine this selection with the filters "Start timespan" and "End timespan" for more details.
Only descriptive dates provides the date information in human-readable format.
No date either includes documents where the creation date is unknown, or where date information is not in a machine-readable format

Please note that not all documents contain a machine-readable date. More information here

You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the earliest dates mentioned in the materials.

You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by selecting one or more topics of interest. Please note that this filter will only include materials where the topic has been assigned and is therefore in a machine-readable format. Read how to assign a topic to documents on the Topics page. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:

The name can be the full name of a person, family or organisation as well as only parts of it, e.g. only the last name.
The identifier is used internally by the institution or refers to (inter)national vocabularies such as the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF).
The place can be the place of birth (or foundation), the place of death (or closing), the place of work or any other place of importance.
The occupation is the profession or job of a person
The mandate is a law, directive or charter that establishes and defines an organisation's powers, functions, responsibilities or sphere of activities.
The function is an activity, role, or purpose performed or manifested by a person, family or organisation

You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by type of entities:

Person (e.g., John Locke or Jean Jaques Rousseau)
Family (e.g., the family Bonaparte)
Corporate body (an institution, organisation, or company, e.g. the "Ministerie van Justitie")

You can filter results based on the type of holding institution. Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions.

A business archive holds the records of (often) commercial organisations.
A church or religious archive holds the records of church parishes or religious organisations, e.g. birth or death registers.
A county or local authority archive holds the records of the county's administrative bodies.
A media archive holds audiovisual or sound records, e.g. a film archive or the archive of a broadcasting company.
A municipal archive holds the records of a town or city administration.
A national archive holds the records of a country's administrative bodies, i.e. from ministries and other public bodies, sometimes also private papers of former ministers, chancellors, or presidents.
A private person or family archive holds the records forming the legacy of a prominent person or family.
A regional archive holds the records of a region's administrative bodies.
A specialised governmental archive holds records of public bodies, often operating on a national level, that are not part of the national archives' holdings.
A specialised non-governmental archive or archive of another cultural heritage institution hold collections from various cultural heritage institutions, eg. museum archives, libraries archives, etc
A university archive or archive of another research organisation holds the records pertaining to the administration of the according educational or research body.
Political parties, popular/labour movements and other non-governmental organisations, associations, agencies and foundations hold the archival collections of these institutions, outside of governmental records and outside of business archives (e.g., NGOs)

Write your message in your own language and use this drop-down menu to have your message translated into English or in the language of the institution for a swifter response. By checking this box and selecting a language you will send your original message along with the translated version

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Other: If you have any other relevant material, such as a transcription of the document, please upload it and let us know here

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This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.

This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.

The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.

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Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, No Derivates (BY-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object, even commercially, as long as no alteration is made to the object and you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.

If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial (BY-NC) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only and as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and as long as you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivates (BY-NC-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object for non-commercial use only, as long as no alteration is made to the object and as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.

If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.

This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.

This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.

The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.

Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.

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