10 Years of "Kirchenbuchportal"

Exactly ten years ago, a pioneering experiment began that has become a success on many levels: the founding of the “Kirchenbuchportal”. With the joint vision to make church records available in digital form to all people interested, 12 Protestant churches initiated the Kirchenbuchportal GmbH in 2013. Today, 10 years later, we can proudly look back at the tremendous development and the numerous partnerships by which we have become an essential part of the scientific community.

Our collective goal has been ambitious from the start: Recording, filming, digitizing and presenting church books in an easily accessible portal. In March 2015, ARCHION was presented to the public as a result of hard work and passionate devotion. The feedback was encouraging, and we knew that we would make a significant contribution to the genealogical community.

Today, we can announce with joy that ARCHION has grown far beyond the boundaries of Protestant archives. In close cooperation with 25 partner archives there are now more than 150,000 church books online - a true cornucopia of traces of past life. More than 80,000 registered users can now access these valuable sources from anywhere in the world.

The journey has not reached its end, though. It is our joint mission to further develop ARCHION in the years to come and send even more historic treasures on the digital journey. We are grateful for the wonderful cooperation with our partner archives and their committed employees. Together, we will further inspire and support the scientific community in the future.

A special thanks is due to all researchers who have made ARCHION an indispensable part of their hobby. Their passion and enthusiasm drive us to further give our best and bring the past to life.
Today, we celebrate 10 years of “Traces of Past Life” on ARCHION, and together with all of you we look expectantly into the future. We are looking forward to further write history together and discover historic treasures. To the next 10 years and beyond!