rdeknijf/gemeentearchief-alphen-optimized

Gemeentearchief Alphen aan den Rijn (Optimized)

Search indexed person records from the municipal archive of Alphen aan den Rijn. Uses direct HTTP calls to the MAIS AJAX proxy endpoint instead of Playwright browser automation, reducing query time from ~15-30s to ~0.5s per search.

No login required for viewing indexed records.

Coverage

Municipalities: Alphen aan den Rijn, Aarlanderveen, Benthuizen, Hazerswoude, Koudekerk, and surrounding areas.

Knijf records: 863 total person results, mostly "de Knijf" from Aarlanderveen. 14 DTB results (all begraafinschrijvingen from Benthuizen and Aarlanderveen -- "van der Knijf" branch). Zero doopinschrijvingen for Knijf.

Primary method (HTTP via MAIS AJAX proxy)

All data is fetched via curl to the MAIS AJAX proxy endpoint. The proxy returns server-rendered HTML that can be parsed with regex or an HTML parser. No JavaScript execution, cookies, or session management required.

Base URL

https://gemeentearchief.alphenaandenrijn.nl/components/com_maisinternet/maisi_ajax_proxy.php

Important: The SSL certificate may trigger warnings. Use curl -sk to skip certificate verification.

1. Search for persons

Construct a URL with query parameters and fetch with curl.

Simple search (all fields):

curl -sk 'https://gemeentearchief.alphenaandenrijn.nl/components/com_maisinternet/maisi_ajax_proxy.php?mivast=105&mizig=100&miadt=105&miview=tbl&milang=nl&mizk_alle=knijf'

Advanced search (specific fields):

curl -sk 'https://gemeentearchief.alphenaandenrijn.nl/components/com_maisinternet/maisi_ajax_proxy.php?mivast=105&mizig=100&miadt=105&miview=tbl&milang=nl&mip1=Knijf&mip2=de&mip5=Aarlanderveen&mibj=1800&miej=1850'

Search parameters

| Parameter | Description | Example | |-----------|-------------|---------| | mivast | Archive ID (always 105) | 105 | | mizig | Search type (see below) | 100 | | miadt | Archive ID (always 105) | 105 | | miview | View type (tbl for table) | tbl | | milang | Language | nl | | mizk_alle | All-fields search term | knijf | | mip1 | Achternaam (surname) | Knijf | | mip2 | Tussenvoegsel (prefix) | de | | mip3 | Voornaam (first name) | Pieter | | mip4 | Rol (role) | Kind | | mip5 | Plaats (municipality) | Aarlanderveen | | mib1 | Bron (source type code) | 113 | | mibj | Period start (yyyy or dd-mm-yyyy) | 1800 | | miej | Period end (yyyy or dd-mm-yyyy) | 1850 | | mif1 | Bron filter (same codes as mib1) | 113 | | mif2 | Rol filter | Kind | | mistart | Pagination offset (0-based) | 0 | | miamount | Results per page (default 20) | 20 | | misort | Sort field and direction | dat\|asc |

Search type (mizig) values:

| Value | Search type | |-------|-------------| | 100 | All persons (across all record types) | | 323 | DTB (Doop-, trouw- en begraafinschrijvingen) | | 324 | Civil registry (Burgerlijke Stand) | | 328 | Notarial deeds | | 94 | Bevolkingsregister | | 329 | Gerechtelijke akten |

Bron (source type) codes:

| Code | Source type | Era | |------|------------|-----| | 156 | Doopinschrijving | Pre-1811 | | 157 | Trouwinschrijving | Pre-1811 | | 158 | Begraafinschrijving | Pre-1811 | | 113 | Geboorteakte | Post-1811 | | 109 | Huwelijksakte | Post-1811 | | 114 | Overlijdensakte | Post-1811 | | 140 | Echtscheidingsakte | Post-1811 | | 390 | Erkenningsakte | Post-1811 | | 102 | Persoon in akte | Various | | 112 | Persoon in bevolkingsregister | Various | | 31 | Bouwdossier | Various |

Sort field codes: last_mod (default), ach (surname), voo (first name), rol (role), pla (place), dat (date). Direction: asc or desc.

2. Parse search results

The response is HTML. Extract data with regex or an HTML parser.

Hit count:

import re
hits_match = re.search(r'mi_hits_count">(\d+)<', html)
total = int(hits_match.group(1)) if hits_match else 0

If total is 0, the search returned no results.

Result rows:

rows = re.findall(
    r'<tr[^>]*class="mi_(odd|even) rowlink"[^>]*'
    r'data-id="([^"]+)"[^>]*'
    r"data-qr='([^']*)'[^>]*>"
    r'(.*?)</tr>',
    html, re.DOTALL
)

for parity, data_id, data_qr, content in rows:
    cells = re.findall(r'<td[^>]*class="mi_value">(.*?)</td>', content, re.DOTALL)
    # cells[0] = icon/type (extract alt="..." for record type name)
    # cells[1] = Voornaam
    # cells[2] = Achternaam
    # cells[3] = Rol
    # cells[4] = Plaats
    # cells[5] = Datum

    record_type_match = re.search(r'alt="([^"]+)"', cells[0])
    record_type = record_type_match.group(1) if record_type_match else 'unknown'
    voornaam = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>', '', cells[1]).strip()
    achternaam = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>', '', cells[2]).strip()
    rol = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>', '', cells[3]).strip()
    plaats = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>', '', cells[4]).strip()
    datum = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>', '', cells[5]).strip()

    # For detail lookup, extract micode and minr from data_qr
    micode = re.search(r'micode=([^&]+)', data_qr).group(1)
    minr = re.search(r'minr=([^&]+)', data_qr).group(1)
    miaet = re.search(r'miaet=([^&]+)', data_qr).group(1)

Note: For DTB search (mizig=323), the table columns differ: Registratiedatum, Beschrijving, Gemeente.

3. Get record details

Use the data-qr parameters from a result row, adding miview=ahd:

curl -sk 'https://gemeentearchief.alphenaandenrijn.nl/components/com_maisinternet/maisi_ajax_proxy.php?mivast=105&mizig=100&miadt=105&miaet=54&micode=111.1.08-72&minr=5583710&milang=nl&miview=ahd'

The detail response is ~28KB of HTML containing all structured record fields.

Parse detail fields:

# Strip script tags
text = re.sub(r'<script[^>]*>.*?</script>', '', html, flags=re.DOTALL)
text = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>', '|', text)
parts = [p.strip() for p in text.split('|') if p.strip()]

fields = {}
current_label = None
for part in parts:
    if part.endswith(':') and len(part) < 50:
        current_label = part.rstrip(':')
    elif current_label and part not in ('&nbsp;', ''):
        fields[current_label] = part
        current_label = None

Typical detail fields include: Aktedatum, Aktenummer, Datum overlijden, Plaats overlijden, Overledene, Voornaam, Tussenvoegsel, Achternaam, Geslacht, Geboorteplaats, Woonplaats, Leeftijd, Beroep, Burgerlijke staat, Partner, Vader, Moeder, Aangever, Gemeente, Opmerkingen.

Permanent URL: Extract from the detail HTML:

purl = re.search(r'proxy\.archieven\.nl/105/[A-F0-9]+', html)

4. Pagination

For large result sets, iterate with mistart:

# Page 1 (results 0-19)
...&mistart=0&miamount=20
# Page 2 (results 20-39)
...&mistart=20&miamount=20
# etc.

5. Facet filters

The results HTML contains facet filter counts inline. Extract them:

# Bron facets (source type distribution)
bron_facets = re.findall(
    r'mi-filter-alt="([^"]+)"[^>]*>\s*<a[^>]*>([^<]*)\((\d+)\)',
    html
)
# Returns: [('Begraafinschrijving', '...', '24'), ('Geboorteakte', '...', '163'), ...]

Performance

| Operation | Timing | Size | |-----------|--------|------| | Search (20 results) | ~0.5s | ~63KB | | Detail view | ~0.15s | ~28KB | | DTB search | ~0.3s | ~47KB |

Compared to Playwright: search takes ~15-30s, detail ~5-10s. This is a 30-100x speedup.

Fallback (browser automation)

If the AJAX proxy is unavailable, returns errors, or the HTML structure changes:

1. Navigate to person search

All persons (across all record types):

browser_navigate -> https://gemeentearchief.alphenaandenrijn.nl/index.php/collectie?mivast=105&mizig=100&miadt=105&miview=tbl&milang=nl

DTB records only (Doop-, trouw- en begraafinschrijvingen):

browser_navigate -> https://gemeentearchief.alphenaandenrijn.nl/index.php/collectie?mivast=105&mizig=323&miadt=105&miview=tbl&milang=nl

Civil registry only (Burgerlijke Stand):

browser_navigate -> https://gemeentearchief.alphenaandenrijn.nl/index.php/collectie?mivast=105&mizig=324&miadt=105&miview=tbl&milang=nl

2. Simple search

Fill in the "Alle velden" textbox and click "Zoek".

URL parameter: &mizk_alle=knijf

3. Advanced search

Click "Uitgebreid zoeken" to expand the advanced search panel.

Persoon fields:

| Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | Achternaam | Surname | | Tussenvoegsel | Prefix ("de", "van der", etc.) | | Voornaam | First name | | Rol | Role (Dopeling, Vader, Moeder, Getuige, etc.) |

Overige fields:

| Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | Plaats | Municipality | | Bron | Source type dropdown | | Periode | Date range (dd-mm-yyyy, mm-yyyy, or yyyy) |

4. Read results

Results table: columns vary by search type.

• All persons: Voornaam, Achternaam, Rol, Plaats, Datum
• DTB: Registratiedatum, Beschrijving, Gemeente

Facet filters available: Bron, Gemeente (for DTB), Rol (for all persons).

5. View record details

Click a result row to expand inline details (same MAIS interface as other archives). Shows structured data, archive reference, and scan links.

6. Scans

Records link to scans when available. The archive holds originals of DTB records dating from 1661-1812.

When to use vs other sources

| Source | Use for | |--------|---------| | Gemeentearchief Alphen | Alphen, Aarlanderveen, Benthuizen, Hazerswoude, Koudekerk records | | Erfgoed Leiden | Leiden, Ter Aar, Nieuwkoop, Hillegom -- does NOT cover Alphen | | Het Utrechts Archief | Utrecht province (Woerden, Utrecht city) -- does NOT cover Alphen | | RHC Rijnstreek | Woerden, Bodegraven, Lopik area |

MAIS platform note

This optimization pattern applies to ALL archives on the MAIS/Archieven.nl platform. The AJAX proxy path is always:

/components/com_maisinternet/maisi_ajax_proxy.php

Only the mivast and miadt values differ per archive. This same technique can optimize Het Utrechts Archief, Gelders Archief, and any other MAIS-based archive skill.

Output format

## Gemeentearchief Alphen Result -- [record type]

**Person:** [name]
**Role:** [role]
**Event:** [type], [date] in [place]

**Father:** [name]
**Mother:** [name]

**Archive ref:** [reference numbers]
**Scan available:** Yes/No

**Confidence:** Tier B -- official archive record from Gemeentearchief Alphen aan den Rijn