The NBS Archives are open to the public at the following times:
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
9 a.m. to 12 noon /
12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m.
In July, August and September the Archives are closed to the public.
The Archives will be closed to the public from December 16, 2025 to January 16, 2026.
Bratstvo svätého Jána, Stráže pod Tatrami
The Society Bratstvo svätého Jána (Johanni Brüder; Brotherhood of Saint John) was founded on 21 June 1723 in the village of Stráže pod Tatrami (then Michaelsdorf, now part of Poprad), which had recently been returned to the Hungary from the Polish pledge. The society probably took its name from the local church of St John the Baptist. It was founded by the German inhabitants of the village and, according to its 1723 statutes, the members were committed to promoting brotherly love and tolerance, piety, good manners and mutual assistance. The members would meet once a year during the St John’s Day festivities and elect their president. A strict ceremonial procedure was defined for the meetings.
The society’s documents probably ended up in the archives of Štátna banka československá (State Bank of Czechoslovakia) after being deposited in one of the Spiš branches of Bratislavská obchodná a úverná banka, Bratislava (Bratislava Commercial and Credit Bank).
The fonds consists of one archival box and comprises the minutes books of the society’s meetings from 1723 to 1944 and the statutes. The documents are written primarily in Schwabacher script. An inventory of the fonds was drawn up in 2016.
Last updated: Friday, November 28, 2025