Here are the words that no genealogist, historian, or archivist ever wants to hear: a major archive with many original documents, most of which have never been copied or digitized, is on fire and the fire has been burning for many hours.
Firefighters in Kraków, Poland have been battling a blaze that broke out in the city’s archives for 36 hours.
The fire started on Saturday evening and, according to a spokesman for Małopolska fire brigade, it is difficult to predict when it will be extinguished.
The city’s archives contain about 20,000 linear metres of documents.
Temperatures in Kraków presently are below zero which certainly must be a problem for firefighters.