Institut Für Stadtgeschichte

What Institut Für Stadtgeschichte does

The Institut für Stadtgeschichte (ISG) is a municipal government institution of the City of Gelsenkirchen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, established on September 1, 1989. It operates as the city's official central repository and research body for local history, combining three core functions under a single organizational umbrella: the Stadtarchiv (city archive) holding municipal records and primary sources; the Dokumentationsstätte 'Gelsenkirchen im Nationalsozialismus', a documentation center on the history of National Socialism in the city; and a historical research and consulting division focused on the Ruhr region. The institute employs approximately 15 staff across archival, historical, pedagogical, and administrative disciplines, and is headquartered at Munscheidstraße 14 in the Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen, with a secondary site at the Documentation Center in Gelsenkirchen-Erle.

ISG's service surface spans physical and digital channels. In-person offerings include archive access, exhibitions, and educational programs at the main location and documentation center. Digital offerings include the Digitaler Lesesaal (a digital reading room for remote document access), virtual exhibitions such as 'Zwischen Kneipe und Kaffeehaus', an interactive 360° virtual tour of the documentation center, online biographical databases, a documentation project on Jewish persecution in Gelsenkirchen 1933-1945, the official city chronicle and Golden Book, and the GE:schichte blog hosted on Hypotheses.org. Civic education is delivered through the Fachstelle demokratie.bewegen program. The institute is led by director Dr. Daniel Schmidt, with Juliana Tadic as secretary.

ISG's business model is non-commercial. As a municipal institution, it is wholly funded by the City of Gelsenkirchen through tax-based public budgets and operates under the city's Education Department as part of extracurricular education. Services to the public are generally free or charged only minimal fees under the institute's Gebührensatzung (fee regulations) and Benutzungssatzung (usage regulations). ISG is not a revenue-generating enterprise; it has no external investors, no funding rounds, and no commercial revenue streams. A supporting partnership exists with the Förderverein für Stadt- und Verwaltungsgeschichte e.V., an advocacy association assisting the institute's mission.

Name

Institut Für Stadtgeschichte

Legal name

Institut für Stadtgeschichte

Website

https://institut-fuer-stadtgeschichte.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Institut für Stadtgeschichte (ISG) is a municipal institute of the City of Gelsenkirchen, Germany, founded in 1989. It operates the city archive, a documentation center on National Socialism, a digital reading room, and civic education programs serving citizens, researchers, schools, and genealogists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Historical Archives

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Historical Sites (712120)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

Keywords

• Municipal archival services
• City history research
• Historical documentation center
• Civic education programs
• Genealogical research services

Headquarters

HQ city

Gelsenkirchen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Government Funding: As a municipal institution of the City of Gelsenkirchen, the ISG is funded through public municipal budgets. Revenue is generated through tax-based funding rather than commercial revenue streams.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Institut für Stadtgeschichte (ISG) is the central municipal institution of the City of Gelsenkirchen for the scientific research, preservation, and public presentation of city history. It operates the Stadtarchiv (city archive), the Dokumentationsstätte 'Gelsenkirchen im Nationalsozialismus' (documentation center), historical research and consulting services, a digital reading room (Digitaler Lesesaal), civic education programs, and publications on local history.

Product overview

The Institut für Stadtgeschichte (ISG) is a municipal history institute established on September 1, 1989, serving as the central institution for the research, preservation, and presentation of Gelsenkirchen's city history. The ISG operates as a unified organization comprising several interconnected services: the Stadtarchiv (City Archive) as the core archival repository, the Dokumentationsstätte Gelsenkirchen im Nationalsozialismus as a specialized documentation center, a research division for historical research and consulting, and the Digitaler Lesesaal (Digital Reading Room) providing online access to digitized materials. Additional offerings include educational programs through the Fachstelle demokratie.bewegen, various digital exhibitions and virtual tours, publications, and online resources documenting Gelsenkirchen's history including biographical databases and documentation of Jewish persecution. The institute serves both academic researchers and the general public through these integrated services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stadtarchiv (City Archive) The municipal archive of Gelsenkirchen, housing historical documents, records, and primary sources for research and public access. Serves citizens, historians, genealogists, and students.
• Dokumentationsstätte 'Gelsenkirchen im Nationalsozialismus' Documentation center focused on the history of Gelsenkirchen during the Nazi era, featuring exhibitions and educational programs about the persecution of Jews and victims of National Socialism. Located in the Erle district.
• Digitaler Lesesaal (Digital Reading Room) Online digital reading room providing remote access to digitized archival materials and historical documents for researchers and the public.
• Historische Forschung und Beratung (Historical Research and Consulting) Scientific research and consulting services focused on the history of Gelsenkirchen and the Ruhr region, supporting academic and public history projects.
• Fachstelle demokratie.bewegen (Civic Education Program) Department dedicated to civic education and democratic participation, offering programs and resources for engaging citizens in democratic processes. Targeted at schools, educators, and community groups.
• Publikationen (Publications) Published works including research papers, historical studies, exhibition catalogs, and educational materials about Gelsenkirchen's history, available to the public and academic audiences.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Förderverein für Stadt- und Verwaltungsgeschichte e.V.supportingOthersSupport association that assists the ISG in its mission to promote city and administrative history. The association provides additional support for research activities and public engagement with historical education.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stadtarchiv Köln: Municipal city archive of Cologne providing archival services, historical research, and public access to historical records — directly comparable as a German municipal history and archival institution serving a major city.
• Stadtarchiv Dortmund: Municipal archive of Dortmund, also serving a Ruhr-area city — closely comparable in geographic, demographic, and institutional context to the ISG in Gelsenkirchen.
• Stadtarchiv Düsseldorf: Municipal archive of Düsseldorf providing archival services, historical research, and public access — directly comparable as another NRW-based municipal city history and archival institution.
• Stadtarchiv München: Municipal archive of Munich offering archival access, historical research, and educational programs — closely comparable as a large German municipal city history institution.
• Historisches Museum Frankfurt: Municipal history museum of Frankfurt combining permanent exhibitions, historical research, and educational programming — directly comparable as a German municipal institution presenting and researching city history.
• Stadtmuseum Berlin: Berlin's municipal museum presenting the city's history through exhibitions and educational programs — a comparable municipal cultural-heritage institution with archives, exhibitions, and civic education.

Broad incumbents

• Stadtarchiv Hamburg: Hamburg's municipal state archive offering archival and historical research services — comparable municipal archival institution, though operating at city-state scale.
• Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: National museum of contemporary German history with exhibitions and educational programming — comparable as a publicly funded history institution, though operating at a national rather than municipal scale.
• Stadtarchiv Berlin (Landesarchiv): State-level archival authority for Berlin with broader mandate and scale than a single-city institute — comparable as a public-sector history and archive provider serving an urban population.
• Deutsches Historisches Museum: Germany's national historical museum presenting German history through exhibitions and educational programs — comparable as a publicly funded history and memorial institution, though at a national scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_gelsenkirchen_
• YouTubegelsenkirchen.de/youtube
• Facebookfacebook.com/StadtGelsenkirchen
• Instagraminstagram.com/stadtgelsenkirchen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institut-f%C3%BCr-stadtgeschichte

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institut Für Stadtgeschichte