More than 800 years of regional history are meticulously bundled, stacked, and preserved here. It's impressive that every component of the Schwerin Residenz ensemble is meticulously registered and well-preserved, just like the other archival holdings of Mecklenburg. As for Western Pomerania, it is now preserved in Greifswald. The State Archive Schwerin was built with foresight and progressiveness at the time.
Friedrich Franz IV commissioned the construction of the Secret and Main Archives of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg. From 1909 to 1911, a functionally designed building for storing archival materials was constructed using the latest technological knowledge. This was realized by the construction and ministerial director Paul Ehmig, who was then in Mecklenburg's service. However, there were predecessor buildings: In 1701, after the third division of the country, the two Residenz archives in Güstrow and Schwerin were merged in the Hofdornitz in the Schwerin Palace. Almost 80 years later, after further accessions, this became the Secret and Main Archive of the Duchy, later the Grand Duchy. In 1835, the holdings were then housed in Kollegiengebäude I. And finally, in 1911, the newly constructed building in the former Beaugency Street, now Graf-Schack-Allee, was available.
About the style
The building is the youngest among the grand-ducal government buildings that belong to the Schwerin Residenz ensemble. It consists of an elongated administrative building and a seven-story magazine building. To its foundation, 22-meter-long Simplex concrete piles were driven into the marshy soil. This was technologically advanced, as wooden piles were customary until then. To reduce the load of the enormous volume of files, the construction and ministerial director Paul Ehmig developed a special self-supporting steel framework with shelves. The new technology of this groundbreaking building, including an elevator and fire protection considerations, attracted nationwide attention. The color scheme and Art Nouveau painting in the foyer of the administrative building are also architecturally special. And: Paul Ehmig had thought ahead: The archive can be expanded on the site in two directions
