Fonds HR-DADU-33 - Cathasthicum (Land Registry)

Identity area

Reference code

HR-DADU-33

Title

Cathasthicum (Land Registry)

Date(s)

  • 13th century - 19th century (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

16 volumes; 0.9 linear metres; textual records

Context area

Name of creator

Archival history

The books of this fonds were kept by state officials of the Dubrovnik Republic, and, most often, these officials were chosen from Dubrovnik nobility, and were represented by three noblemen.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

The fonds has been linked to the archive since its inception. In times of the Dubrovnik Republic, the books of the fonds were stored in the Rector's Palace. The books remained in the Rector’s Palace after the fall of the Republic (1808). The archives were consolidated in 1891 when they became available to researchers. The archive in the Rector's Palace has been functioning as an independent institution since 1920 and it was dislocated to the Sponza Palace in 1952, where it is still located today.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The fonds contains books on the distribution of land done among the nobility (and more prominent citizens) after the acquisition of new areas (Pelješac, Dubrovačko primorje and Konavle) in the 14th and the 15th centuries, as well as books containing documents on the collection of rental fees for state houses in the Republic. The system of renting real estate owned by the state was established at the end of the 13th century and was improved during the 14th century. The preserved volumes of the fonds enable researchers to obtain uninterrupted monitoring of data on renting state immovable property until the earthquake in 1667. The data shows that the reconstruction of the city after the earthquake in 1667 began precisely with the reconstruction of state-owned buildings. At the same time, the authorities tried to renew the system of rent collection. However, financial difficulties forced them to sell most of the renovated houses and thus raise funds for the renovation of the main buildings of the most important secular and ecclesiastical institutions in the Republic.


One of the volumes of the fonds is found to be relevant for determining exactly the places where the Jews in Dubrovnik lived and where their shops were located. This is volume 4, entitled Tute le chase del comun de Ragusa e tereni e fiti che apartinien al ditto comun 1481-1722. The volume contains data on shops, and, to a lesser extent, on residential premises, which the Jewish people of Dubrovnik held in property during the period from 1608 till 1716, on the main city street Placa, in Kovačka ulica (Street Kovačka), on the corner of Zeljarica (Street Zeljarica) and on the ground floor of the Archbishop's Palace. Residential and business premises in the ghetto are also referenced in the documents of this fonds. According to the data, most real estate properties were leased for a period of five years. The rental amount is stated next to each property.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

The fonds is fully accessible to researchers in accordance with the Ordinance on the work in the reading room of the State Archives in Dubrovnik and the Law on Archival Materials and Archives NN 61/18 (Pravilnik o radu u čitaonici Državnog arhiva u Dubrovniku and Zakon o arhivskom gradivu i arhivima NN 61/18).

Conditions governing reproduction

Taking photographs and scanning are allowed, for a fee.

Language of material

  • Italian
  • Latin

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Paper, parchment. The archival material is well preserved.

Finding aids

Građa za generalni katalog Državnog arhiva u Dubrovniku, box 17, folder 26. Josip Gelčić, »Catalogus i. r. Archivii Ragusini.« Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja u Bosni i Hercegovini 22 (1910): 537-588.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

State Archives in Dubrovnik

Existence and location of copies

The fonds has been completely transferred to microfilms, but the microfilms are not available to the users of archives.

Related units of description

Libri affictum comunis (HR-DADU-38)

Related descriptions

Publication note

Gregor Čremošnik, Dubrovački "Liber de introitibus stacionum et territorium comunis", Sarajevo: Zemaljski muzej u Sarajevu, 1934. Ante Marinović, Libro negro del Astarea (introduction; introduzione), Zagreb - Dubrovnik: Zavod za povijesne znanosti HAZU u Dubrovniku: 2005. Irena Benyovsky Latin and Danko Zelić, Knjige nekretnina dubrovačke općine (13-18. st.); Libri Domorum et Terrenorum Communis Ragusii Deliberatis ad Affictum (saecc. XIII-XVIII) (summary: The Books of Communal Real Proprety and the System of Rent of the Dubrovnik Republic) I, II, Zagreb-Dubrovnik: Zavod za povijesne znanosti HAZU u Dubrovniku, 2007.

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Old reference code

Fonds of the Dubrovnik Republic and the territory of the former Republic under the French Administration, series 12

Access points

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Name access points

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Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Descriptions of fonds, series and sub-series are made according to the ISAD (G) standard (general international standard archival description).

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

2021

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Archivist's note

Description prepared by Vesna Miović (Fonds, Series, Subseries) Croatia [The Institute for Historical Sciences in Dubrovnik, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (CASA)] Translation to English by Zrinka Friganović Sain

Accession area

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