Public Registers in the Kingdom of Prussia at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries in a Systemic Perspective

Abstract

The advancement of legal relations between citizens alone, as well as between citizens and the state, has forced the registration of specific facts. In the light of this, a variety of public registers have evolved. Although these registers often complemented one another and there was a flow of information between them, all in all, the literature does not recognize their systemic nature. A certain exception in this matter is solely represented by land registers and cadastre. That said, at present Poland is one good example that thanks to the use of data and computer technology there is an increasing integration of these formally dispersed registers. But it appears that even solutions from the nineteenth century can be seen and understood as a contemporary system. This claim shall be proven on the example of public registers kept in the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia from the second half of the 19th century. The research presented in the article was based on the system analysis method. On the other hand, the study was conducted with use of legal acts, literature and archival materials collected in Polish and German archives.