Regional Archives Koper, Piran Branch
History
Old City Archives - Archivio Civico Antico in Piran were founded in 1877 by the Piran municipality and hold the oldest archival material in Slovenia, dating from 1173 onwards. In 1891 the archives have ceased to operate as independent institution and were merged with the city library. Piran archive has repeatedly changed its premises. In 1895 they moved to the premises of today's judicial building. The archives stayed in Piran during the World War II due to a clever decision of librarian Domenico Petroniu to place the archives under stairways of the municipal palace, where they were walled up.
The city archives were moved together with the library to the City Museum (now [Maritime Museum Piran]) in 1954, to become an autonomous institution Municipal Archives Piran a year later. The archives joined the Regional Archives of Koper in 1974 and moved to the premises of Minorite Monastery in 1975. The place was not suitable for the archives and the overcrowding continued until October 2009, when the archives finally got new premises at the place of the former Gaspar gallery in the city center.