While I was in Poland in September 2025, I spent 4 hours doing research at the Archdiocesan Archives in Przemyśl. Individuals can once again research the metrical books in these archives.
Please note that there is no one on site to do research for you. You either need to go in person or hire a researcher to go there on your behalf.
If you decide to visit the archives, it is open from 9AM to 1PM Monday through Friday (Plac Katedralny 4a). It is in your best interest to contact the archives ahead of time and let Father know what books and years you would like to examine and what day(s) and time(s) you will be there. You can send him an email at archiwum@przemyska.pl. I would recommend using Google Translate or DeepL to translate your email to Polish.
Please take the time to confirm which records are available for your parish before visiting. I found the following list accurate for the parish I was researching.
The research room is VERY small and only contains 6 small tables for research. I don’t know if people get turned away if more than 6 show up. Father will have the books in the research room when you arrive. You will be asked if you want to use gloves to handle your documents. I chose to do this. No one else in the room did.
Father is VERY busy but very accommodating. I did not confirm if he speaks English. Be aware that you will only be able to photograph records related to YOUR family. You cannot digitize entire books. You will need to use pieces of paper to cover up records adjacent to your record of interest. No one monitored this but if you don’t want the doors locked again, please follow the rules. In the past, donations were accepted. However, at that time, I was the only person doing research when I was there which made it easier to have that discussion. I did not observe anyone giving Father any money though. I will ask another researcher what the protocol is.
Time flew by while I was there. I was able to get through about 10 years of records from the parish of Samoklęski starting from 1826.
I am hoping that Father will at some point allow his records to be digitized. However, it’s good to once again have access to the records in this archive.
