The archive of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau can look back on many years of experience in the digitization of archival materials. The so-called “Matriken” – parish registers containing the baptism, marriage and death records – of all Styrian parishes were already digitized between 2010 and 2013. These are now available online to numerous family researchers on the matricula-online.eu portal.

The “dh@GS – digital heritage@Graz-Seckau” project now focuses on other special features from the archive of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau. The aim was to create digital access to archival materials that are important for many scientific fields. The conservation aspect also played a role: by digitizing these important and centuries-old documents, these unique objects can also be better physically preserved for posterity. This is possible because they can now only be viewed digitally, thus eliminating the need for future physical use.

The "charter heritage" of the archive of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau occupies a special place among the digitized holdings in the dh@GS project. The aim was to digitize all documents from the High Middle Ages to the 19th century that are kept in the depots of the DAGS. A total of 2,921 charters can now be viewed online in the DAGS digital archive. Not only do the charters date from a considerable period of time of over 700 years, but the large variety of different document types is also characteristic of this archive holding. All types of charters from the Middle Ages and the early modern period can be found there, from papal bulls to sovereign charters, such as imperial and royal diplomas and (arch)bishop charters, to private charters. The high-resolution images are accompanied by charter regesta with the date and place of issue of the individual documents as metadata.

In addition to the charters, another holding plays a special role in the digitization as part of the dh@GS project. The archive of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau houses a collection of thousands of musical items that have been collected in Styrian parishes since the 17th century and transferred to Graz in the middle of the 20th century. These include numerous treasures of baroque and classical music. A total of 3810 musical pieces were digitized in the dh@GS project, their metadata recorded and then put online.

The most famous musical pieces in this collection are probably the so-called “Graz Sonatas” by Antonio Vivaldi. The world’s only surviving version of these violin sonatas comes from the parish archive of Bad Aussee and is now located in the archive of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau (e.g.: Antonio Vivaldi, Graz sonata for violin & b.c. in C major, RV 4).

Another focus was the digitization of manuscripts, official books and files from the archive of the Diocese of Graz-Seckau from the period before 1633. These include, on the one hand, urbaria, tithe lists and consecration records from the Middle Ages, which provide insight into the life and work of the bishop and the diocese at that time.

On the other hand, the historically extremely interesting period of the late 16th and early 17th centuries is illuminated: The Catholic Reform that emerged in Styria from the 1580s onwards and the Counter-Reformation policy, set in motion by the Habsburgs residing in Graz, who made use of the bishops of Seckau for this purpose, led to an increase in written records in a previously unknown quantity. The 1633 border was deliberately chosen as the year of Bishop Jakob Eberlein's death. With his episcopate, the re-Catholicization of Styria, which began under his uncle and predecessor in the bishopric of Seckau, Martin Brenner, was completed.

Highlights for this part of the digitized archival materials include the oldest urbarium of the bishopric from 1295, the visitation protocols from the 16th and early 17th centuries or the unique manuscript of the description of exorcism in Graz around 1600 by Paulus Knorr von Rosenroth.