What Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum does

Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (BHIC), also branded "Het geheugen van Brabant," is the designated regional historical center (regionaal historisch centrum) for the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. Headquartered at Zuid-Willemsvaart 2 in 's-Hertogenbosch, the institution manages nearly 40 kilometers of paper and parchment documents across more than 1,500 archives and collections, serving genealogists, local historians (heemkundigen), property researchers, and government bodies across nine municipalities and two waterschappen (water boards).

The platform is built on three core technology components: the Memorix search engine (provided by Picturae ICT in Heerhugowaard) for genealogy and photographic records, the DE REE archiefsystemen (Groningen) catalog for archives and books, and BHIC's own Mijn Studiezaal personal research workspace. The offering comprises nine primary databases — genealogy (civil registration, population registers, church books), photographic archive, archives/books catalog, notary and aldermen deeds, criminal verdicts (1811-1930), building permits, notarial archives, Memories van Successie probate records (1806-1927), and the E-depot digital repository — alongside a free scanning-on-request service, a physical reading room, and live chat with archivists.

BHIC operates as a non-profit public institution: all consumer-facing services are provided free of charge under a freemium model, and primary revenue derives from government subsidies and commissions from the contracting municipalities and waterschappen. Marketing and community engagement occur through a monthly newsletter, RSS feeds, an active researcher forum, the Brabant in Beelden podcast and film platform, and social channels including Twitter (@bhicarchief).

Name

Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum

Legal name

Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum

Website

https://bhic.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BHIC is the designated public archive institution for North Brabant, Netherlands, managing over 1,500 historical collections and providing free digital and in-person access to genealogical, notarial, and government records.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Archival Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210)

akta.pro primary industry

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

Keywords

• Archival services
• Genealogy research
• Historical records
• Digital archive
• Heritage institution

Headquarters

HQ city

's-Hertogenbosch

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Primary revenue from government subsidies and commissions from municipalities and water boards in North Brabant. BHIC receives funding from 9 municipalities and 2 waterschappen for archival services and public access.
2. Free Public Services: Core services provided free of charge to the public including online database access, scanning-on-request, reading room access, and research assistance. Organization operates as a non-profit public institution.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BHIC is a publicly funded regional historical archive institution that manages and provides public access to historical records of the North Brabant province, including genealogy databases, photographs, civil registration, notarial archives, criminal verdicts, building permits, and inheritance tax records. Its core offerings consist of multiple specialized online search systems and supporting services such as free scanning-on-request digitization, an E-depot digital repository, and a physical reading room staffed by expert archivists.

Product overview

The Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (BHIC) operates as a unified digital archive platform serving as the memory of North Brabant province. The core offering consists of multiple interconnected search systems: the genealogy database (Mijn Stamboom), photo collection (Foto's van Brabant), archives and books catalog, criminal records, notary documents, and building permits indexes. These are complemented by supporting services including the Mijn BHIC personal account portal, Mijn Studiezaal research organization platform, the E-depot digital repository, scanning-on-request service, live chat support, email newsletter, and physical reading room access. The platform is primarily built on Memorix technology (for photos and genealogy) and DE REE archiefsystemen (for archives and books).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mijn Stamboom (Genealogy Database) Online genealogy search tool enabling users to search civil registration certificates (birth, marriage, death), population registers, and church records for family history research.
• Foto's van Brabant (Photo Collection) Digitized photographic archive of Brabant available for browsing and searching, including historical images of the region.
• Archieven en Boeken (Archives and Books) Catalog system for searching archives, books, and collections managed by BHIC, including library materials, maps, and notary records.
• Criminele Vonnissen (Criminal Records)

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DE REE archiefsystemencoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner responsible for the archive and book catalogue search engine (zoekmachine archieven en boeken). Located in Groningen.
• Picturae ICT / MemorixcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner responsible for the photo collection and genealogy search engine (zoekmachine foto's en stamboom). Located in Heerhugowaard.
• Stichting tot Bevordering der Notariële WetenschapminorOthersCultural-historical foundation providing photography rights for notarial archive illustrations including kast, loterijtrommeltje, and lezenaar images.

Scale indicators6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Regionaal Archief Tilburg: Regional historical archive for the Tilburg region, directly comparable to BHIC in mandate and offerings (archival preservation, genealogical records, public research services) but serving a different North Brabant sub-region.
• Gelders Archief: Regional archive for Gelderland providing comparable municipal archival services, e-depot, and public genealogical research tools; structurally equivalent to BHIC under Dutch regional archive legislation.
• Open Archives: Dutch aggregator providing unified search across multiple regional and municipal archives including BHIC; a meta-platform peer competing for the same genealogical research audience.
• WiewasWie: Dutch genealogy aggregator indexing civil records, notarial archives, and historical documents from multiple Dutch archives including regional centers like BHIC; the closest direct digital peer for genealogical research.
• Het Utrechts Archief: Regional historical center for the province of Utrecht offering comparable archival, genealogical, and digital research services; a like-for-like regional archive peer operating under similar Dutch archival law.
• Stadsarchief Amsterdam: Municipal archive of Amsterdam offering extensive genealogical and historical research services at much larger scale; serves as a model for the same regional archive function BHIC performs, but at city level.
• Erfgoed Brabant: Heritage organization for North Brabant focused on historical collections and cultural heritage preservation; comparable mission and geography to BHIC with overlapping researcher audiences.
• Stadsarchief Breda: City archive of Breda providing similar genealogical, notary, and historical document research services to BHIC within North Brabant; structurally and functionally analogous.

Broad incumbents

• FamilySearch: Global genealogy platform owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offering comparable free genealogical records and search; competes with BHIC for the same family-history researcher segment, but at global scale.
• Nationaal Archief: National archive of the Netherlands providing central government records and broader historical collections; comparable archival function at national scale rather than regional, with overlapping researcher audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bhicarchief
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brabants-historisch-informatie-centrum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum