Author(s): Maren Hachmeister (2017),
Arnošt Štanzel (2018) – last update: 2018-09-28.
The Masarykův ústav a archiv Akademie věd České republiky / Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic was created in January 2006 through the attachment of the ASCR Masaryk Institute to the ASCR Archive. It is the leading address for studying the Czech and Czechoslovak history of science.
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences Archive (Československá akademie věd) launched its activities on 1.1.1953. Three years later, it became a “Special Archive” and in 1974 an “Archive of Special Importance”. Its main tasks have been including the collection and processing of materials that derive from the activities of former research establishments and associations, institutes and organizational units at CSAS or ASCR and the personal papers of leading Czech scholars and scientists.
The T. G. Masaryk Institute was established by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk on 23. 7. 1932 as a foundation aiming to administer and supplement the TGM Library and Archive, to continue editing and publishing Masaryk’s writings, to allow for external study by researchers and to publish the results of their works or to assist such publication. In 1954 the Masaryk Institute was closed down as part of an anti-Masaryk campaign, but then 1968 saw an attempt to renew its activities. On 4th January 1990, President Václav Havel decided to restore the T. G. Masaryk Institute on the basis of a proposal by the Masaryk Society Committee. In 1995, it was established with the ASCR Masaryk Institute Foundation, which took over the administration of the Archive as well as its Library. As an independent establishment within the ASCR, it provided space for Masaryk research in broader contexts. Since 2006, it has been a part of the Masaryk Institute and Archive of the ASCR.
Contact
Masarykův ústav a Archiv AV ČR, v. v. i.
Gabčíkova 2362/10
Praha 8
182 00
Czech Republic
Archival information: tel. +420 286 010 120 or +420 286 010 120 (reading room)
Email: mua@mua.cas.cz or chodejovsky@mua.cas.cz (PhDr. Jan Chodějovský, Ph.D.)
Office hours: Mondays 9:00-18:00 and Wednesdays 9:00-18:00 (except bank holidays)
Website
How to find the Archive sites
The building with the reading room is accessible from the Vychovatelna public transport stop where trams 3, 10 and 24 stop both from the Kobylisy Metro Station on Line C and from the Palmovka Metro Station on Line B. Walk from this tram stop through two connecting underpasses beneath Zenklova Street.
Bus 201 from the Nádraží Holešovice Metro Station on Line C and from the Letňany or Střížkov Metro Stations on Line C also stop at Vychovatelna. Walk from this stop through the underpass beneath V Holešovičkách Street.
How to plan and to prepare a visit
Please, check the information given on the Archives website and contact PhDr. Jan Chodějovský, Ph.D. (chodejovsky@mua.cas.cz) for any further Information and arrangement.
Registration
You will have to register in person at the reading room. Please, contact PhDr. Jan Chodějovský, Ph.D. (chodejovsky@mua.cas.cz) in advance.
Reading Room
The Reading Room is shared by the CAS Archive and the T. G. Masaryk Institute Archive.
Reading Room rules and regulations
- Before entering the reading room, visitors are asked to leave their coat, bags, etc. in the cloakroom. Every visitor is allowed to take a laptop (without bag), a camera (without bag), pencils (but NO pens!) and a notebook into the reading room.
- After entering the reading room, visitors are asked to register and to sign an attendance list. On the first visit, it is required to show the passport and the archive registration.
- To order archival material, please complete the respective forms and consult the staff. Usually, it will take several days until archival materials are made available for reading.
- Taking photos without flash light is generally permitted and quite common. Be, however, aware of the copyright regulations.
Archive databases & Online finding aids
Practical advice
- Many countries do not require a visa for entry into Czech Republic, permitted to stay up to 90 days. (Click here to see the list of coutnries with visa-free access.) If you require advice on how to attain a visa into Czech Republic, please visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic page, which lists the general entry requirements.
- The staff speaks English; however, language skills in Czech are of advantage for Readers/visitors.
- There is no public cafeteria on-site. Thus, bring your own food and drinks.
- The Masaryk Institute and Archive of the CAS Library is also publicly accessible and comprises two separate libraries. The library of the formerly separate ASCR/CAS Masaryk Institute, which looks after the original fonds of the Masaryk Library and the new fonds that have been built up since 1995. Books can be ordered for in-house study.
- Normally you can order up to three archival units. If you kindly ask – for instance stressing your short-term stay in Prague – you can receive more than three boxes a day.
Citation Suggestion
Hachmeister, Maren and Arnošt Štanzel: Masarykův ústav a archiv Akademie věd České republiky / Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, in: ESE Archives Guide: A Web Guide to East and Southeast European Archives, 2017 (updated 2018-09-28), http://www.ese-archives.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/?p=373
The original article was written by Maren Hachmeister in 2017 and was amended by Arnošt Štanzel in 2018.