„Archiwa miejskie” miast prywatnych Wielkopolski w strukturze narodowego zasobu archiwalnego

The following article discusses city archives in Greater Poland in the Old Polish period. This monograph contributes to better understanding of these institutions in noble cities. At the very beginning, the author discusses the history of city archives, which is closely linked to the development of office forms. Then proprietary legislation relating to these institutions is presented, indicating that city archives did not enjoy much interest of their subsequent owners. Nevertheless, this article focuses mainly on the organization of city archives. In this context, the author puts forward a thesis that, despite the joint organization of the office, institutions of archives were separated in practice. Another interesting problem, which to this day shows a lot of potential for research, is storing city books in various formats and sizes. This study, however, is defective due to the author’s little knowledge about old furniture, whose authenticity is difficult to determine. In the latter part, the author concentrates on the arrangement of old archives. At this point, the content of archival fonds is characterized. Finally, the writer analyses and describes how city archives from the Old Polish period were included into the national archival fonds. Additionally, inventories of mayor and commune administrator’s chests from Pleszew, Lwówek and Borek are included.