State Archive in Przemyśl

The State Archive in Przemyśl, established in 1874, is a place of rich history and cultural significance. Initially operating as a city archive, it stored documents dating back to the city's foundation under Magdeburg Law. The existence of the archive was noted as early as 1635, when municipal documents were kept in the City Council headquarters, and later, during the Austrian partition, in the town hall and the District Court. In 1874, the city records were returned to the city, and Mieczysław Błażowski became the first city archivist, who compiled important catalogs from that period. During World War I, the archive came under the supervision of the Society of Friends of Science, which contributed to its popularity among researchers and historians. After the war, the archive survived the difficult times of World War II, during which the collections were repeatedly transported away. Finally, in 1947, the collections returned to Przemyśl, and after the war, the archive was enriched with new records from the Rzeszów Voivodeship. In 1951, it became a branch of the State Provincial Archive in Rzeszów, and in 1976, after the creation of the Przemyśl Voivodeship, it gained the status of the State Provincial Archive in Przemyśl. After numerous location changes, including the takeover of buildings formerly belonging to the Basilian church, the archive settled into its new headquarters in 1996. Currently, with the introduction of digitization, the archive makes its collections available online, enabling broader access to historical materials. The archive has been managed by many archivists and directors, each of whom contributed to the institution's development. Interestingly, despite its turbulent history, the archive still serves as a key location for research on the region's history, and its collections include diverse documents testifying to Przemyśl's rich cultural tradition.