Nomination form International Memory of the World Register. The fonds of Røros Copper Works

Transcription

1 Nomination form International Memory of the World Register The fonds of Røros Copper Works

2 1.0 Summary (max 200 words) The nominated material consists of the fonds of Røros Copper Works. It covers the period from 1644 to 1977, and has an extent of 250 shelf meters. The fonds is the largest, most important, and most reliable source of information about the history of the UNESCO World Heritage site Røros and Circumference. The fonds is constituted mainly of correspondence, minute books and accounts from the management. In the administrative records we find the accounts and the most important cases concerning the mines, the smelters, forest property, and landed property. The main accounts are partially based on previous accounts kept at the sites of individual mines and smelters. The fonds also contains a large quantity of drawings and maps, approximately 3800 items in total. The fonds has been accepted into the Norwegian Memory of the World list. The experimental operation of the Røros Copper Works began in 1644, and the company was granted its privileges in The Copper Works laid the basis for the mining town of Røros. Røros has been on the UNESCO's World Heritage List since In the summer of 2010 the geographic area defined as a World Heritage site was expanded in accordance with a resolution by the World Heritage Committee. The area now includes an extended cultural landscape around Røros, the winter transport route that runs southbound to Falun, and not least the Femund smelter a remote smelter on the very outskirts of the historical area that marked the boundaries of the Copper Works privileges. This area of privilege, the circumference, constitutes the buffer zone of the World Heritage site. With the new, larger area the history of the mining community s development, material as well as immaterial, has been recognized as a cultural World Heritage site. 2.0 Nominator 2.1 Name of nominator (person or organization) The Regional State Archives in Trondheim and the Røros Museum. 2.2 Relationship to the nominated documentary heritage The Regional State Archives in Trondheim holds the Røros Copper Works fonds 1690 ca.1930, while the fonds from 1930 to the end of operations in1977 is held by The Røros Museum. 2.3 Contact person(s) (to provide information on nomination) Archivist: Maria Press, The Regional State Archives in Trondheim, and Erik Roll, The Røros Museum. 2.4 Contact details Name The Regional State Archives in Trondheim v/maria Press Address Maskinistgata 1, N-7034 Trondheim Tel: mapr@arkivverket.no The Røros Museum v/erik Roll Erik.Roll@rorosmuseet.no 9

3 Tel P. box 224, N-7361 Røros Identity and description of the documentary heritage 3.1 Name and identification details of the items being nominated If inscribed, the exact title and institution(s) to appear on the certificate should be given Private archive no. 211 Røros Kobberverk, Statsarkivet i Trondheim (covers the period ). Røros kobberverks arkiv, private fonds held by the Røros Museum (covers the period ). 3.2 Catalogue or registration details The fonds covers the whole of the Røros Works operational period, from 1644 to The first and oldest part (up to c. 1930), held by Regional State Archives in Trondheim, is thoroughly described in the catalogue produced by Ida Bull in The most recent part, which is held by The Røros Museum, is summarily described in the same catalogue. The catalogue is complete with a table of contents, introduction, archival description, historical description of the Works, administrative history, and keyword index. In arranging the fonds, the principle of provenance has been adhered to whenever possible, and the various departments of the enterprise who produced their own sub-fonds (Management, Scribe, and Manager) have been given their own sub-fonds in the arrangement. From an early date, however, parts of the correspondence files were arranged thematically, and this could not be changed. The disadvantages caused by this, in terms of retrieval, are largely compensated for by the detailed index. The fonds is described down to item level. The catalogue is printed and was published in 1988 (ISBN ). It is registered in ASTA (The Norwegian archive information system) and published on The collection of maps and drawings kept at the Røros Museum is not included in the catalogue. The museum is working on a separate catalogue of the maps and drawings collection. There is free access to the fonds in the reading room of the Regional State Archives in Trondheim. The part of the fonds held by the Røros Museum is available to researchers from Monday to Friday from 8.00 to There are two workspaces in the museum library where visitors can examine the archive material. 3.4 History/provenance The fonds was accessioned by the Regional State Archives in Trondheim in after having been removed from the mining company s archive building in Røros. This had been built in 1916, adjacent to the offices of the company scribe. The repository was damp, and to prevent damages to the records the State Archivist, Anders Todal, arranged for the accession of the fonds by the Archives in Trondheim. The accession of happened while a major restructuring of the Works operations was being carried out. The Norwegian state had claimed the forests and the landed property, and it was thought that the state should thus also have custody and legal ownership of the archives pertaining to the properties. When the Røros Copper Works went bankrupt in 1977, the legal ownership was transferred to the bankruptcy administrators. Following negotiations in 1978 between the Røros Museum- and History Association (Røros Museums- og Historielag) and the Archives in Trondheim, an agreement was made to the effect that the records held in Røros at the time of the bankruptcy would remain in Røros, in the custody of the Røros Museum- and History Association. The association later became the Røros Museum Foundation (Stiftelsen Rørosmuseet) of today. 10

4 4.0 Legal information 4.1 Owner of the documentary heritage (name and contact details) The Regional State Director Astrid Løvlien Archives in Trondheim Maskinistgata Trondheim aslo@arkivverket.no Tel: Røros Museum Director John A. Bryde john.a.bryde@rorosmuseet.no P. box 224 N-7361 Røros Tel Custodian of the documentary heritage (name and contact details if different from the owner) 4.3 Legal status The Regional State Archives in Trondheim and the Røros Museum are legal custodians of the fonds. Copyright: there are no issues pertaining to copyright other than the basic regulations regarding intellectual achievement. The Regional State Archives in Trondheim and the Røros Museum exercise the legal responsibility for the fonds in the same way as for all other archives accessioned by us. 4.4 Accessibility There is free access to the fonds in the reading room of the Regional State Archives in Trondheim. There is a reading room where visitors can view the material.the part of the fonds held by The Røros Museum are available to researchers from Monday to Friday from 8.00 to There are two workspaces in the museum library where visitors can examine the archive material. There are no restrictions on access. 4.5 Copyright status There are no issues pertaining to copyright other than the basic regulations regarding intellectual achievement. 5.0 Assessment against the selection criteria 5.1 Authenticity. 11

5 The fonds is authentic. All documents are original. The history of the fonds, as well as the history of accessions and accruals, are described in the respective catalogues and case files of The Regional State Archives in Trondheim and the Røros Museum 5.2 World significance The fonds is the most important source of information about the history of the UNESCO World Heritage site Røros and Circumference. If the fonds were to be lost, we would lose this irreplaceable and tremendously important source to a unique community and industry of the past. The inhabitants of Røros would lose a cultural treasure, the very documentation of their own history and of the people who built and developed the Røros community. The UNESCO World Heritage site Røros would lack all written traces of its history. 5.3 Comparative criteria: 1 Time Along with the archives of the Kongsberg Silver Mines, the fonds of Røros Copper Works is the oldest and largest mining fonds preserved in Norway. The experimental operation of the Røros Copper Works began in 1644, and the company was granted its privileges in The entire community of Røros grew out of the mining, an industry that was entirely new to Norway at that time. The fonds of the Copper Works provides unique and important documentation about the rise of this new industry, as well as insights into the international trade network that developed around the Copper Works. The fonds also tells the interesting and unusual story about how this mining community became a state within the state. 2 Place Before the Works were etablished, there were only a few, scattered farms in Røros. Soon a distinct community emerged, based solely on the Works mining operations, which was regionally, nationally, and internationally linked. The Røros Copper Works became part of an extended trade network, and the workforce was recruited from the region, the rest of Norway, and from abroad as well as from Røros itself. This variegated group of people, from such different environments, strongly marked the character of the place. The mining town of Røros is today on the UNESCO World Heritage list. With its wooden buildings from the 18 th and 19 th centuries and a street plan from the 17 th century, the town center has, to a great extent, kept its original appearance and ambiance. However, it is the mining community in its entirety that qualifies and justifies Røros as a site on the World Heritage list. The material and immaterial factors were of equal importance when determining why Røros should enjoy the privilege of being listed as a World Heritage site. The fonds of Røros Copper works provides us with a unique source: it provides insights into the financial, technical, and social history of Røros, as well as of its architectural history and extraordinary culture. The fonds of the Røros Copper Works is our best source of knowledge to how a mining community was established in one of the coldest regions in Norway. The area is characterized by vast mountain plains, and trees grew exclusively along the waterways where cultivation of grain was impossible. Establishing a community here was dependent on good organization, infrastructure, access to labour and resources from the very beginning. The fonds contain unique sources that shed light on how the establishment of the community was made possible. The accounts of the Copper Works contain descriptions of all expenses. There are memos describing when glass was purchased to replace the windows in one particular building, there are notes describing the extra costs that resulted from the ravages of the blood plague in 1707, and for injuries suffered by individuals as a result of their work. There are also lists of inventory for each year, where all objects, 12

6 books, etc. owned by the Works were entered. The accounts are particularly well kept and detailed before 1762, and this material gives us a particularly clear insight into the everyday life of the mining town in cases concerning buildings, objects, and equipment. The fonds also illuminates certain features typical to mining communities, and which we know are similar to mining communities in other parts of the world. For example, most people employed by the mining company also farmed on the side, encouraged to do so by the Work s management. In this way, a satisfactory level of material standards was maintained, and the people of Røros were less vulnerable in times of recession. We know that this dual basis for survival also existed in other European mining towns, and in providing knowledge about such aspects, the fonds show the many common features shared by mining communities around the world. Røros as place depends today on a conscious perspective on past lives and their role in developing the town and the region. The general development in society (national as well as international) at the time when the mines were operative, must be seen as a backdrop against which the parallel, local development of the Røros mining community can be read. The fonds of the Røros Works is the main source of knowledge about the activity in the town, and it works as a link, not only between the international, national, regional and local, but also between the different areas within the Røros region. This link is temporal as well as geographical, as it documents local functions that were different in the past and do not correspond to the regional and municipal demarcations of today. The history of the Røros Copper Works, which is told through its archives, is also of great importance to tourism in the Røros area, an important source of income for the town and its people. 3 People The fonds from the Copper Works is the main source of knowledge about the history of the Copper Works and the mining community that surrounded it. The fonds holds the stories of the people and the ideas that built and shaped the mining town of Røros, and of the international trade network that the Copper Works was a part of. The Copper Works changed the structure in the rural community that previously existed in the area by introducing alternative ways of living to the people there. Paid work became an option and an alternative to agriculture. A study of the accounts in the period shows that many of those employed by the Works were of German origin. 1 They were experts and leading figures who played an important role in the life of the company, and as such it is reasonable to suppose that they had considerable cultural impact on the Røros community. The first Germans in leading positions came from the Kongsberg Silver Mines. However, the Røros Copper Works were to gain more from its cooperation with the Copper mines in Falun, Sweden. We know of several people from Røros who travelled across the border to improve their knowledge of mining and smelting. The Røros Copper Works always focused on mining in other countries. There is a large library of foreign literature from the 17 th century to the 20 th century. There is a large collection of books from other mining communities and, not least, a large collection of periodicals. This shows that the officers at Røros continuously kept up with was going on in the mining field. The library is still in the holdings of the Røros Museum. 1 Seresse, Volker: Tysk bergverkstradisjon ved Røros Kobberverk En undersøkelse av bergfolk fra Sachsen og Harzregionen til Norge og deres virksomhet på 1600-tallet, (German mining traditions at the Røros Copper Works A survey of mining experts from Sachsen and the Harz-region to Norway and their activities in the 17th century.) Tapir Forlag

7 The experts at the Copper Works also travelled regularly abroad to learn. Such study trips are described in narrative accounts such as that by Anton Sophus Bakke (General Director at the Works from 1880 to 1897) and Jakob Pavels Fris (Director of the Works from 1876 to 1888). The Røros Copper Works, in the remote, cold north, was strongly influenced by foreign knowledge and practice, and the fonds contains several examples of this. The connection between Røros (its landscape, buildings, and people) and the archives of the Copper Works is strong. Without access to these archives, an essential resource for understanding the mining community would be lost. In many projects the archives provide the basis for historical accuracy, and hence the link between the past, the present and the future. Røros cannot afford inaccuracy in the way it preserves its cultural heritage, and the Copper Works fonds thus functions as a source of invaluable knowledge and as an important means of correction in uncertain situations. One example of an archive series that tell the story of the people who were employed by the Copper Works are the salary-books, kept from 1690 onwards. They are a unique source for those who want to gain insight into the social and financial history of the Works. They provide information about the individuals who worked at the Works, their names, professions, payment, and the days they worked. The names of the employees tell us, for example, about ethnicity, which again tells us something about the ethnic make-up of the mining community. The salary books also provide information about the various tasks that were performed at the Works, and which represent an important aspect of Norwegian industrial history. The archives also contain correspondence to, from, and about the workers, among which are complaints from employees about bad work conditions and missing payments, just to mention a couple of examples. And there are, of course, many more. The fonds is a rich source to the history of the people who built the Røros community. 4 Subject and theme The fonds of Røros Copper Works is a rich source for those who want to do research into the economic and social history of the Works. The technical aspects of its history are also well documented in the fonds, and the large body of drawings sheds light on the architectural history of Røros. The fonds documents how the mining technology developed from the 17 th century until the 20 th century. It shows the development from when quarrying was performed by heating the rock to make it more brittle so it could be worked by manual force, to mining with explosives and modern drilling techniques. Copper smelting, until the late 19 th century, was a time consuming process. From then on, new and much more effective smelting methods were employed. The management of the Røros Works were always looking to employ new technology, and this is reflected in drawings and reports from study trips, as well as in correspondence with various centers of knowledge and competence in Europe. One example of this, is when employees from Røros, while on a study trip in Wales, were trained in the socalled Manhès-process. This was a way of smelting copper that had derived from the revolutionary smelting technique developed by Sir Henry Bessemer in Røros was equipped with electricity very early, and it was one of the first towns in the world to install electric street lights, in An electric power station had been built in connection with the smelter in Røros, and from this there was power enough to provide electric lights. Electricity was also used in other capacities, when Røros in the 1880s, as the third copper works in the world, initiated experiments producing pure copper by means of electrolytic smelting. Electrolysis was in its infancy then, and these 14

8 early experiments show just how well the Røros Works kept up with developments in the rest of the world. The fonds documents this aspect well. 5 Form and style The fonds contains many beautiful items. One example is the above mentioned salary-books in which the entries are carefully rendered on rag paper by the company s own scribes. The inscriptions on the books covers are beautifully executed, making them works of art. The books are bound in leather, and as such represent a level of skill and craft in the art of bookbinding that has since been lost. This series is of great aesthetic value. The fonds also contains many letters and other items of great beauty. As the archives are so complete and well preserved, they represents a complete record of the administrative practices of the company over an extended period of time. As such, the fonds is an excellent example of how a mining business was run, and it gives us the opportunity to study administrative practices, archival practices, and office technology over a span of 300 years. 6 Social/ spiritual/ community significance: The cultural history of the Røros Copper Works is of great importance to the people of Røros today. They live their lives in this old mining town which is a living cultural heritage site and a tourist town. 6.0 Contextual information 6.1 Rarity The fonds of the Røros Copper Works is the only one of its kind in Norway and a unique source to the history of Røros. 6.2 Integrity The fonds is almost entirely complete and has not been altered or damaged. 15