The origin of the municipal archive in Przemyśl goes back to the Middle Ages and is connected with location of the town according to Magdeburg law, as well as with the fact that first municipal authority organs: the town council and the court of assessors were brought into being then. The term – archivum civile (municipal archive) – is first mentioned in an old document from 1635. The records coming from the Middle Ages say about eventful history of the town and indicate population of many nationalities and denominations among Przemyśl burgers living there. As back as in the Old Polish age Przemyśl was an important state and church administration centre. Since the moment of a definitive incorporation into Polish state in 80s of 14th century Przemyśl was the capital of province and Przemyśl Land and later – in 15th century the court of the first instance, the district court, as well as the chamberlain’s court were established here. Catholic and Orthodox bishops had their seats in the town and after its accession to the Union of Brest the Orthodox bishop was replaced by the bishop of unites. Both the hierarchs and the cloisters existing in the town had their own archives other than the municipal ones.

The period of two world wars did not result in any heavy damages of Old Polish documents. During the World War I the Przemyśl Archive has even got some assemblages as the Committee of War Archive in Przemyśl being the legacy of Polish War Archive in Vienna was established in July 1916. This institution held by the contemporary archivist Tadeusz Troskolański gained printed matters, books, diaries and the press in Polish, Ukrainian and German informing about Polish question during World War I and the history of the besieged town-fortress Przemyśl. Unfortunately, the index of the war archive prepared by the archivist Maria Polaczkówna has not been preserved by now. The next trial of setting in order the Old Polish records has been undertaken in the times of II Polish Republic. The archivist Jan Smołka basing on the Błażkowski’s catalogue rearranged the municipal documents which resulted in the “Catalogue of the Archive of Old Records of Przemyśl” issued in 1927. During the War World II the Old Polish documents were brought out from the town twice; in 1940 they were brought to Lwów by the Soviet occupation authorities; they came back to Przemyśl in 1943. The documents were evacuated again in 1944 by retreated German authorities – and the Przemyśl’s archivalias went to Tyniec near Cracow then. They were regained only in 1947.

During all the days of the War World II documents from the 19th century concerning the history of the town were stored in the municipal archive. In the post-war period resources of Przemyśl Archive have enlarged mainly regarding the documents of the state and the special administration, cultural institutions, as well as documents concerning schools of the former Rzeszów province.

After death of Jan Smołka in 1946 the position of the municipal archivist took assistant professor Kazimierz Arłamowski who was on duty up to 1950 when the municipal archive passed under the state protection. According to the Enactment of the Minister of Education from November 10th 1950 The Provincial State Archive in Rzeszów was established. The Archive of Przemyśl after including it in June 1951 in the state archival net was conformed to the Provincial State Archive in Rzeszów. Since then it was known as Provincial State Archive in Rzeszów Department in Przemyśl. The hard housing condition of the Provincial State Archive in Rzeszów resulted in moving it to Przemyśl where it operated as Provincial State Archive in Rzeszów Seat in Przemyśl. At the same time the Department in Przemyśl was liquidated and the Provincial State Archive in Rzeszów was renamed into Local Section. The director of the Provincial State Archive in Rzeszów Seat in Przemyśl became assistant professor Kazimierz Arłamowski. The housing conditions of the Provincial State Archive – although better than those in Rzeszów did not meet however the needs of the new established archive. In 1961 the archive got from the municipal authorities the building in 4 PCK Street being the former Orthodox church of Basilian monks. After the general overhaul of the building store rooms, a library, a scientific study, a photographic laboratory, a bookbinders’ workshop and administration found their place there. The director of the Provincial State Archive assistant professor Kazimierz Arłamowski fussed not only around the building and its repair, but he organised net of the state archives covering the Rzeszów province. One after the other the archives in Jasło (1952), Tarnobrzeg (1953), Sanok (1954), Przeworsk (1961) were established. When director Kazimierz Arłamowski retired in 1970 the seat of the Provincial State Archive was moved to Rzeszów; in Przemyśl remained the Regional Section of it under the supervision of Wanda Kaput, M.A.; when she left for Cracow, the superintendent of the Archive was Aurelia Dziedziuk. In 1975 the Province of Przemyśl was established; this fact, good housing condition of the archive, its reach resources, as well as traditions of cultural and scientific centre resulted in establishing the Province State Archive in Przemyśl according to the enactment nr 4 of the Minister of Sciences and the Schools of Academic Rank from January 21st 1976; its activity stretched over the whole region. The acting director was first Aurelia Dziedziuk and since August 1st 1976 dr Zdzisław Konieczny. Thank to his efforts the Archive has got from the President of Przemyśl some additional room of the former cloister by the Basilian Orthodox church where nuns lived up to 1976. Between 1983-1988 a general overhaul of the building has been done; it is worthy to say that all this proceeded while the Archive did its normal duty – which was very hard for its staff. The next changes came following the state political reform. Following the Act of the Seym from 1989 about relationship toward Roman Catholic Church in People’s Republic of Poland, the Basilians notified their claims to the Property Committee in Warsaw which in October 1st 1991 decided that both the Orthodox church and the cloister come back to their previous owner. At this time the General Directorate of the State Archives in Warsaw had no any funds to build the new archive in Przemyśl. Owing to efforts of many local organisations and supporting activities either of the President and the Voivode of Przemyśl, the Archive got a building of the former laundry and bath in Przemyśl. The funds for the general overhaul and modernisation of the building came thank to support of regional authorities of Przemyśl, various social organisations, Director General of the State Archives in Warsaw and the Head of the Finance Department of the General Directorate of the State Archives. The additional funds came from the Parliamentary Committee of the National and Ethnic Minorities, Disabled Rehabilitation Fund, Environmental Protection Fund and from the Regional Conservator of Historical Monuments. After overhauling of the building done in the years 1992-1996 the State Archive in Przemyśl has become the needed standard. In the new store-rooms 7000 running meters of documents may be stored. The new building houses: an antimagnetic store-room, rooms for the documents which did not need disinfection and additionally a room with vacuum chamber for the documents which need decontamination, rooms for the conservation department (containing among others the photo-reprographic laboratory and a bookbinders’ workshop), a big room prepared for the computer centre connected in the future to the archives computer net, a library with the reading-room, a conference-exhibition room, a small conference room, rooms for elaborating of the documents, offices and many others necessary for the work of the modern archive.

In 1996 retires dr Zdzisław Konieczny. By open competition the new director becomes Bogusław Bobusia, M.A. The State Archive in Przemyśl has been co-operating for years with regional societies – first of all with the Przemyśl Department of the Polish Archivists, the Przemyśl Department of the Polish Historical Society as well as with the Society of the Friends of Sciences, the Society of the Friends of Przemyśl and Region, Polish East Society and with others. Since some years the contacts with the Department of History and Archivistics of the Nicholas Copernicus University in Toruń have been established – where Przemyśl’s archivists improve their qualifications mainly regarding the archives computerisation. In 1997 the co-operation agreement with the Central State Historical Archive in Lwów was signed; it will allow to exchange scientific experiences and co-operate regarding the common publication allowing to reach easily the needed source of information.

The information about different forms of scientific, publishing and popularising activity of Przemyśl Archive are printed in annual report issued in the appropriate numbers of “Historic-Archival Yearly”.