STATE ARCHIVES IN OPAVA - STATE DISTRICT ARCHIVES OLOMOUC

The Olomouc Regional State Archives were established in their present form as a result of a territorial reorganization of the state in 1960, when the archival collections previously held in two city archives (Olomouc and Uničov) and three archives of smaller districts (Litovel and Šternberk) were merged into one.and Uničov) and three archives of smaller districts (Litovel, Olomouc and Šternberk) became part of it.

With 7646.16 linear meters of archival material (as of 31.12. 2016), the Olomouc State District Archive is the largest archive of its kind in the Czech Republic. It preserves documents of authors with a local or district area of responsibility who have carried out or are still carrying out activities in the Olomouc Region. The Olomouc District includes the areas of the former political districts of Olomouc-město [Olomouc-City], Olomouc-venkov [Olomouc-Country], Litovel and Šternberk, which were created in the middle of the 19th century and merged during a reform of the state administration in 1960. The Regional State Archives, together with the Olomouc branch of the Regional Archives in Opava, are located in a modern, functional archive building designed by Ing. Pavel Pospíšil and opened to the public in 1997. The building, stylized in the form of an open book, is located near the historical center of Olomouc. In 2002, both of the above-mentioned institutions were organizationally linked, as the Regional Archives in Opava also became the responsible body for the Olomouc Regional Archives as its organizational unit as a result of the state administration reform at that time.

Archival materials with a district origin are divided into fonds of state administration offices (e.g. district offices, district national committees) and city or municipal self-government (city archives, archives of rural municipalities). The most important fonds here include registries of the historical towns of Olomouc, Uničov, Šternberk and Litovel. Another group consists of documents from courts, public prosecutors' offices and notaries, archives of economic institutions (guilds, trade associations, cooperatives) and documents of authors active in the health sector (hospitals, health insurance companies) or in education and culture (schools, theaters, cinemas). Among the most interesting sources are documents from associations and other social organizations. The holdings of ecclesiastical institutions (parish offices, deaneries and church competition committees), estates of important personalities of the Central Moravian region and collections are also rich in archival materials.

Among the most valuable inventory units are documents (the oldest Moravian-Neustadt town privilege from 1223 is also the oldest founding document of a town in the Bohemian Lands) and the oldest archives of a town in the Bohemian Lands.The oldest archives of the Olomouc archives), a unique collection of town books (the oldest of which is the Olomouc town book from 1343 and the best known is the so-called memorial book [in Czech "památná kniha"] of Wenceslas of Jihlava from 1430) and part of the records (e.g. the section "Zlomky registratur [Fragments of records] 1426-1786" in the Olomouc City Archives).

Basic features of the holdings on the history of the House of Liechtenstein family
Among the historical sources on the history of the Liechtenstein family preserved in the Olomouc Archives, the "Archives of Moravian Šternberk" should be mentioned first and foremost. In 1693, Prince Johann Adam von Liechtenstein bought the Sternberg dominion, the center of which was the town of Sternberg. The Liechtenstein family then ruled there until the abolition of servitude and patrimonial administration. Sternberg underwent significant changes under their rule. The town gradually lost its medieval prerogatives in the area of judicial and administrative powers. The executive power was transferred to the administrative and judicial bodies, which represented the absolutist monarchist state. Although Sternberg was transformed into a self-governing town in the second half of the 19th century, the Liechtensteins continued to influence its appearance, albeit only indirectly. The renovation of Sternberg Castle, which towers over the historic town center, carried out by Prince Johann II of Liechtenstein in the 1880s according to a project by Viennese architect Karl Kayser, was particularly noticeable.

The second most important collection of this type is the "Archive města Litovel" [Archive of the City of Littau]. Litovel was inherited by Prince Karl of Liechtenstein in 1597 after the death of Johann von Boskowitz and Černá Hora, known as "Schembera", the previous owner of the town. Karl acquired the inheritance through his marriage to Johann's daughter Anna. The town belonged to the House of Liechtenstein until the abolition of servitude and the abolition of patrimonial administration. Litovel, originally a royal town, retained the status of a so-called princely municipal town under Liechtenstein rule, which continued to enjoy broad administrative and judicial autonomy, extensive privileges and its own estate. In 1850, Litovel became a self-governing town.

The "Archiv města Uničov" [Archive of the City of Moravian-Neustadt] can be considered the third important collection of Liechtenstein sources. In 1622, Emperor Ferdinand II donated the royal town of Uničov to Prince Karl of Liechtenstein by special decree. The formal reason given for this step was to punish the town for its participation in the Estates Uprising. In fact, as the owner of the neighboring town of Litovel and the nearby Úsov dominion, the Prince of Liechtenstein requested the town from the Emperor in order to consolidate his possessions in northern Moravia. However, the situation changed after the death of Prince Charles and the successful defense of the town, which was fighting on the imperial side against the Danish army in 1626-1627. The citizens of Uničov then turned to Emperor Ferdinand II with a request for the return of the privileges of a royal town. They justified their request by claiming that the town's role in the Estates Uprising had been misinterpreted and that most of the townspeople actually remained loyal to the Emperor. During a lengthy investigation into the matter, the citizens of Uničov had to counter the pressure exerted by the Liechtenstein officials, but did not give up their dispute. In 1632, the Emperor finally ruled in favor of the townspeople and restored Uničov to its former status as a royal town with effect from 1633. Liechtenstein rule thus remained a mere episode in Uničov's history.

The relevant archival documents in all the above-mentioned fonds are not documents of a personal nature, but exclusively those that were created in the course of the administration of the above-mentioned towns by the Liechtensteiners and their officials.

Overview of important holdings relating to Liechtenstein
Archive města Šternberk [Archive of the town of Moravian Šternberk] (1364-1945)
Archive města Litovel [Archive of the City of Littau] (1287-1945 (1953))
Archive města Uničov [Archive of the City of Moravian-Neustadt] (1223-1945)