The Archive of the Kingdom of Galicia was created in 1775 by the Royal Court of Galicia in order to house its documentation. Its current location dates back to 1555, and since 1962 it has been known as the Historical Archive of the Kingdom of Galicia. It currently has a dual function, on the one hand, as the Historical Archive of the Province of A Coruña and, on the other, as the Historical Archive for the whole of Galicia.
+(34) 881 960 374
Reading room
Photocopies and microfilms (only for documents held in the archive)
Document safekeeping
Consulting documents
Research
Conservation
Winter (September to June): Monday - Friday from 8.30 to 20.30
Summer (July and August): Monday - Friday from 8.30 to 19.30
It had its beginnings in the Royal Decree of Charles V of 3 February 1529, and in the Royal Provision of the same Emperor and his mother, Doña Juana, of 1 March 1543, which ordered the custody and safekeeping of the proceedings of the Royal Court of Galicia, an institution created by the Catholic Monarchs by various provisions from 1480 onwards. Its more recent origin lies, however, in the Royal Decree of Charles III of 22 October 1775, which created the Archive, provided it with personnel and regulated its functioning. Housed in the Palace of the Royal Court, now the Captaincy General, the Archive was moved to the cellars of the Palace of Justice in 1936, where it remained until 1956, when it was moved to the building it currently occupies.
The current building was built as a project designed by the architect Antonio Tenreiro Rodríguez, and it was inaugurated on 5 September 1955. At present, the Archive occupies the entirety of a space initially designed to house the House of Culture and the public library. It is located in the historic San Carlos Garden, where the tomb of the British Army General Sir John Moore is also situated.
The Archive of the Kingdom of Galicia occupies 4 floors of offices and different storerooms, in three blocks joined together, with public access from Calle San Carlos and the San Carlos Garden.
It has been listed as a Cultural Heritage Site since 1985.