STATE ARCHIVES IN OPAVA - STATE DISTRICT ARCHIVES PROSTĚJOV

The District Archive in Prostějov was established in 1955 as a specialized institution of the District National Committee. When it was established, it followed on from the activities of the former Prostějov town archive, the beginnings of which date back to 1904. Until 1954, the archive and town museum formed a single institution under the name "Town Archive and Museum in Prossnitz".

From the very beginning, the archive had to contend with a lack of space. The proposed relocation of the archive to Plumlov Castle proved to be unrealistic, and the archive therefore remained in the museum building. From the archive's point of view, this was an emergency solution, as it only acquired one room for the archivist and two rooms with insufficient capacity for the depository. The unsatisfactory situation was to be alleviated by two cellar rooms, which the archives shared with coal. In view of the critical space conditions in the archive, a decision was made in 1956 to relocate it to the north wing of Prossnitz Castle, but the actual move did not take place until 1961. In 1967, the archive also acquired the west wing of the castle, where operations began in 1968 and where the archive remained for the next 30 years. However, the storage capacity was soon exhausted and the lack of space and the absence of a reading room and a filing room had a negative impact on all archive activities - no archives could be stored in a cassette. No archive records could be received for cassation, access to archive records was limited to the processing of smaller archive collections and researchers had a minimum of space at their disposal.

After the acquisition of several smaller rooms with insufficient storage capacity and after several unrealized projects for the construction of a new archive building, progress was made in 1998 when the District Office in Prostějov purchased a factory building in Třebízského Street from engineer Arnošt Rolný for archive needs. After an exhausting renovation, the new archive was ceremoniously opened on March 8, 2000. In addition to a generously designed conservation workshop and a multi-purpose room, the archive also acquired a more than standard space reserve. The conditions in the new archive building made it possible to open the archive more to the public and to devote itself to cultural and educational activities in addition to the actual archive work, which consists of pre-archival records management and making archive holdings accessible. Lectures and exhibitions on regional topics have already become a matter of course. Great importance is attached to the digitization of archive holdings and collections and their subsequent publication. The Prostějov Regional State Archives currently manage 1762 holdings and collections, which amount to 3605 linear meters. As of January 1, 2017, the archive library contained 13,986 volumes, mainly on regional topics.

Basic characteristics of the holdings on the history of the House of Liechtenstein family
Most of the materials relating to the history of the House of Liechtenstein can be found in the archive of the Prostějov town archives. In 1599, Karl von Liechtenstein bought the over-indebted manor of Plumenau from the creditors of the Lords of Pernstein. The town of Prostějov contributed the sum of 27,000 fl. in the hope that, in the possession of this rich noble family, it would no longer be burdened with liability for official debts, as was the case under the Pernstein family. Charles of Liechtenstein did indeed relieve the town of this obligation in 1600, but his conversion to Catholicism in 1599 exposed the Protestant town to other dangers, as was to become fully apparent in the following years. After the defeat at White Mountain, Prostějov was affected by a violent re-Catholicization, which was enforced very harshly with economic and military sanctions and constant encroachments on the town's rights. Charles of Liechtenstein, for example, abolished the possibility of appealing to the higher Olomouc law in 1612 and ordered Prostějov citizens to turn to his Feldsberg chancellery. He reserved the right to confirm death sentences and stipulated that the town should enforce the Feldsberg legal instruction. He established the function of a princely judge in Prostějov, who was the town's first personage. Liechtenstein politics also intervened in the ruler's rights. In 1685, Johann Adam of Liechtenstein granted the town the right to hold another fair and a horse and cattle market. For this reason, the Bohemian Court Chancellery conducted a fiscal lawsuit against the Liechtensteiners in the years 1687-1737 for interfering with the sovereign's rights.

Another collection that can be used for research into the history of the Liechtenstein family is the Plumlov town archive. The most valuable document in this fund is the charter of Charles of Liechtenstein from 1600, which recognizes Plumlov's former privileges. The records up to 1850 mainly concern the town's relationship with the authorities.

The archives of the municipalities that belonged to the Plumlov estate, as well as the holdings of the political and judicial administration, such as the Prostějov District Office, can also be used in passing.

Overview of the fonds on the history of the House of Liechtenstein family
Archive města Prostějov [Archive of the town of Prossnitz]
Archive městečka Plumlov [Archive of the town of Plumenau]
Okresní úřad Prostějov [Prostějov District Office]