The Comeniological Documentation Centre has a scientific library, which was founded after 1898 together with the Uherský Brod Museum Association and has since grown steadily with publications on regional history, Comeniology and numerous other specialist areas.
The museum's collections include the history and ethnography of the Uherský Brod region and other European regions, Comenius in art, fine arts, archaeology and numismatics.
The initial collection of the books came from donations by its founding members. Hence, it reflected the professional fields of interests of Jan Kučera, Josef V. Hauerland, F. Prager, F. Rajchl, A. Hladký, and others, specifically: archaeology, ethnology, history, philosophy, sciences, and literature. The collection of the books has been replenished, mostly with gifts from citizens. Occasionally, the Museum acquired a complete library, e.g. that of JUDr. Vítězslav Houdkek, a lawyer and local historian, containing 250 legal and historical books including those written by Moravian historiographers of the 17th and 18th centuries (Bohuslav Balbín, Tomáš Pešina, Pavel Stránský, Jan Dubravius, F. J. Beckovský, J. J. Středovský, G. Dobner, M. A.Voigt, et al.).
Currently, the library has more than 30,000 volumes sorted out by topics: writings concerning Uherský Brod and the region, Comeniology, history, ethnography, literature, religion and church history, dictionaries and encyclopaedias, sciences, law, geography and maps, agriculture, militaria, etc. A separate collection contains ca. 1,000 journals (professional and popular) and newspapers.
The archive of theregional documentation is part of the library, containing posters, invitation cards, minor non-book prints, and clippings. Currently, the collection is being inputted into a computerized catalogue.
Another collection kept in the library is a set of so-called teachers’ speeches, i.e. special lectures, which Czech teachers were supposed to prepare between 1957 and 1992 to prove their teaching ability. Beside ordinary speeches we can find here also valuable sources of experience and inventive ideas. At present the catalogue exists only in the form of typed cards.
In 2002, a special collection of old prints and manuscripts was singled out (so-called Historical Collection fond), which contains manuscripts and prints originating before 1800. Today it has ca. 600 items, including 5 incunabula and 7 maps of Moravia (e.g. by Pavel Fabricius and John Amos Comenius). This collection, too, manifests the interests of former and current collectors (theology, philosophy, works by J. A. Comenius, law, geography, travelogues, Holy Bibles).
Please access here the ON-LINE catalogue of the J.A. Comenius Museum in four languages (English, Czech, Slovak, German).
The main areas of the museum’s collection and activities are Comeniology and the history and ethnography of the Uherský Brod region.
The History collection originating mainly from the region in terms of its provenance and its use, less often from other regions. Quite exceptionally, objects from more distant European regions are also represented. There are mostly utilitarian objects from the 17th to 20th centuries, whose uniqueness or interesting technical character has contributed to their permanent preservation.
The Ethnographic collection consists of three-dimensional objects and clothing, which are mostly evidence of folk culture in the Uherský Brod region.
The Comenius in Art collection is comprised mainly of paintings and sculptures, but to a lesser extent it also includes plaques, medals, posters, badges, objects made of glass, porcelain and textiles with themes related to the life and work of Comenius.
The Fine Arts collection consists mainly of paintings and sculptures depicting the region, less frequently there are also paintings and sculptures by other national or European artists. The collection covers the period from the 17th century to the present day.
One of the most extensive sub-collections is a collection of archaeological findings related to the earliest history of the town and the entire region. To a lesser extent, the more distant sites of the former Uherské Hradiště district and finds from other Moravian localities are represented.
The Numismatic collection is an extensive collection of coins and banknotes from the 2nd century BC to the present day.