Czechia Archives and Libraries

Regional Archives

 * Czech vital records are kept at the regional archives and most are available online.
 * There are eight regional archives.
 * The regional archives are the repositories for most pre-1900 parish books and, therefore, are the archives of primary importance to Czech genealogical researchers.
 * In addition to early parish books, the regional archives house an enormous amount of important material including early cadastral records, maps, architectural plans, historical documents, court records, administrative papers, etc.
 * You must know the village, city or parish to determine which archive holds the records of your ancestors.
 * If you do not know the name of the village or parish your ancestors lived in, see:
 * Czechia Finding Town of Origin, using United States records
 * Czechia Determining a Place of Origin
 * Czechia Emigration and Immigration
 * If you know the village/town/parish, use the GenTeam Free Gazetteer to find out which archive holds the records that you need. [[Media:1-Genteam_Gazetteer-Instruction.pdf|GenTeam Instructions]]

Wiki Articles for Each Regional Archive

 * Brno Moravian Provincial Archives
 * Litoměřice Regional Archives
 * Opava (Olomouc) Provincial Archives
 * Plzeň Regional Archives
 * Prague (Praha) City Archives
 * Prague (Praha) Regional Archives
 * Třeboň Regional Archives
 * Zámrsk Regional Archives

Personal Visit to the Archives

 * The archives are accessible to the general public.
 * It is necessary to reserve a place in the study (or research) room in advance. You can call or write a letter/e-mail.
 * You are asked to fill out a questionnaire and to show your ID or passport when you arrive. Foreigners require no special permit.
 * There are special request forms on which to write the call numbers of the items requested. Material for research is retrieved only at certain times. *Laptops and digital cameras are allowed (you cannot use flash). Some restrictions may be imposed on picture taking depending on the content and physical condition of particular documents.
 * Archivists are available to answer questions about archival material. They will, however, not help with the research, read the text of the records or translate.
 * Please note that you may work with documents deposited for fewer than 30 years only exceptionally and only with the permission of the archive director.

District Archives
Since most ancestry research is done at the regional archives rather than the district archives, the inventories of the district archives are far from well known. For example, censuses before 1930 (1869, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1921) are housed at the district archives. Many census records are online
 * How to Use This Collection

Published Archival Directories
Inventories of vital records in the Czech Regional Archives have been published and are available through the Family History Library:


 * Dictionary of Bohemian parishes in the Czech Republic, FHL INTL Book 943.71 E22g
 * Register of vital statistics in the Czech State Archives pertaining to Bohemia, FHL INTL Book 943.71 K23gg vol. 1-5
 * Register of Jewish vital statistics in the Czech State Archives pertaining to Bohemia, FHL INTL Book 943.71 K33g
 * Dictionary of Moravian parishes in the Czech Republic, FHL INTL Book 943.72 E22g
 * Register of vital statistics in the Czech State Archives pertaining to Moravia, FHL INTL Book 943.72 K23g vol. 1-2
 * Register of Jewish vital statistics in the Czech State Archives pertaining to Moravia, FHL INTL Book 943.72 K33g vol. 1-2

Websites

 * Bavarian-Czech network of digital historical sources

Wiki articles describing these collections are found at:

 * Republic, Northern Moravia, Opava Archive (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Czech, Northern Moravia, Opava Provincial Archives Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Czech Republic Censuses - FamilySearch Historical Records