Access and Usage

Unfortunately, due to extensive preparations for a major construction project (2027 – early 2029), we must significantly restrict the services we offer within the archive (research requests, on-site visits to the archive, scanning requests) with immediate effect.

Visits to the archive will not be possible until, in all likelihood, January 2027, and will only be possible on a limited basis (maximum 1 day per week) during the construction phase. Requests can only be processed if they do not take longer than approximately 30 minutes. You will be informed as to whether your request will be processed or whether, unfortunately, this is not possible.

We kindly ask for your understanding,

The Scientific Collections Team

Erkner, 14th August 2026

The archive is open to all interested parties. You can get an overview of our holdings from home on our online portal Stadt-Raum-Geschichte.de and research your topic yourself. Some of the digitised holdings are directly accessible there. However, for legal reasons, and because there are still some collections that have not yet been digitised, not everything can be found on the online portal. In this case, please contact Anja Pienkny, who will do the research for you. Of course, you can also view our holdings on site. You will find further information on using our holdings in person below.

Online Portal Stadt-Raum-Geschichte.de (German only)

Digitalised archive holdings can be accessed via the online portal Stadt-Raum-Geschichte.de. The portal offers two different search options: A map search and a search across all digitalised holdings.

 To the search function in the online portal Stadt-Raum-Geschichte.de

On-Sitage Usage in Erkner

Anyone with an interest in our holdings can use the archive. Please make an appointment with the archivist Anja Pienkny, preferably by e-mail.

The archive is open by appointment from 9.30 am to 5 pm. The archive documents can be viewed after completing the usage request on site. Alternatively, the completed application form can also be sent in advance by e-mail to Anja Pienkny.

The Scientific Collections are located at the IRS in Erkner. The address is:

Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS)
Flakenstraße 29-31
15537 Erkner

You can also find the way to us in the map. The archive is not located in the main building, but in the renovated pavilion opposite the main building in the inner courtyard. The visitor area in the pavilion is on the ground floor.

It is permitted to photograph archive documents for work purposes in the archive. Please bring your own device (camera, smartphone). For a fee (€5 per scan page), we can also produce scans in sufficient quality (600dpi, Tiff). Please always consult us before publishing archive documents, as we are not the copyright holder for all documents. For further information on usage, please refer to the terms of use.