Rostock – To really understand historical records, a quick glance is often not enough. Many of the documents are written in German Gothic or blackletter script – and as a layperson, you first have to learn how to read them!
That is why our Polish colleague from the State Office for Road Construction and Transport in Rostock regularly travels to Schwerin. There, at our associated partner organisation, the State Archives of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, she is back at school, so to speak, familiarising herself with these old scripts.
At the State Archives, she practises, compares and deciphers: Letter by letter, she develops a feel for the handwriting of bygone eras – an important foundation for her part in the project’s future work.
After all, only if the content is read correctly can it later be accurately recorded and made digitally accessible.
(State Office for Roads and Transport MV)
