Characteristics of the Historical Archive
In the first half of the 20th century, the monastic archive was located on the floor of the cross corridor (today's picture gallery exhibition). Efforts to systematically organize it date back to the early 19th century, but the monastery had archivists, who were members of the canonry, even in more distant times. After 1950, the archival materials were transported to the then State Central Archive, where detailed inventories of charters and written material were created. The archival fund was restituted after 1990, but building suitable storage facilities exceeds the current possibilities of the canonry. Therefore, the archive is deposited in the 2nd department of the National Archive. The funds are accessible for research purposes, except for economic and personnel files from the early 20th century. The archive contains a collection of more than 580 charters from the end of the 12th to the 20th century and extensive written material related to the history of the monastery, its owned estates, and administered parishes. For studies of materials from the 20th century, it is necessary to request permission from the librarian of the Strahov Library. The request can be sent by mail or email and should contain precise information on the subject and purpose of the study.
In cooperation with the National Archive, restoration of selected archival monuments is ongoing. The digitization of charters was also carried out in cooperation with the National Archive within the Monasterium project, whose web portal also provides access to the charters for study. The digitized inventory is accessible here. However, due to the ongoing processing of some parts of the fund, it may not always be up-to-date, and consultation with relevant experts is recommended. A selection of historical photographs of the Strahov Monastery area, processed in the Topothek Portal project, is available here.
