One of the most abundant and valuable collections of charters from the first centuries of the existence of the state of Hungary can be found in the Archives of the Archabbey of Pannonhalma. The first item in the collection of documents in the Archabbey’s Archives is the interpolated letters-patent issued by Saint Stephen to the monastery in 1001. In the course if time, the documents of other abbeys (e.g., Bakonybél, Tihany, etc.) were also transferred to Pannonhalma, thus, the earliest sporadic relic of the Hungarian language – the foundation deed of Tihany of 1055 – is preserved in our institution. In addition, documents of early periods are also preserved in the archives of the ecclesiastical body entrusted with notarial functions. After the end of the 19th century, the archives was enriched with significant family deposits (Guary, Chernel, Somogyi, Kende, Erdődy families). The archives of Stephanie Belgian Royal Princess and her husband, Prince Elemér Lónyay got to Pannonhalma by virtue of bequest.
The collection interest of the archives – a private archives open for the public – includes the documents of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation, of all its abbeys, monasteries, and affiliated houses, as well as those of the Territorial Abbey. Among these, outstanding ones are the documents of the Order’s administration, those of the offices of the Archabbot and the Prior, those of the General Chapter; in addition, the documents of the educational institutions, those of the offices of the management and business associations, and the documents of the institutions of the affiliated houses are important as well. The archival units of the more-than-200-linear-metre documents can be found in the fond- and division-registers.