The State Archives in Pazin keep more than a thousand archival funds and collections and more than 4,000 obligatory meters of archival material. The material is a valuable source for exploring the history of Istria from the Middle Ages to the modern era.
The archives testify to the political, administrative, economic, social and cultural circumstances in the Istrian area and its links with neighbouring and other European areas.
The oldest material is kept in Collections of documents, including a fragment of a document created in Pula around 1200.
Particularly well represented are the periods during which the area of Istria was divided between the Venetian Republic and the Austrian authorities. The material also testifies to frequent political and administrative changes that followed the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 and to the periods of Austrian, French, Italian and later administrations.
Due to the different states, administrations and cultural influences that have changed over the centuries in Istria, the material was created in several languages, among which are: Latin, Croatian, Italian, German, French and Slovenian.
Most of the material is written in Latin, and among the preserved records a special place is occupied by material written in Glagolitic script, important for Croatian cultural and written heritage.
