Remembrance Day – Quiet heroism in the records of the CNB Archive

The Czech National Bank Archive preserves not only the archival materials of central banks, but also those of many other domestic commercial banks. This time, we invite you to explore the documents of Legiobanka, a treasure that testifies to the bank's close connection with Czech military history.

On 11 November, we commemorate the end of the First World War. This important day also provides an opportunity to honour all the war veterans who, as members of the Czechoslovak legions, helped establish the independent Czechoslovakia.

The Czech National Bank Archive holds the archival collection of the Bank of the Czechoslovak Legions (Banka československých legií). The bank was entered in the Commercial Register in 1921, though its origins go back to 1919. Its direct predecessor was the Military Savings Bank (Vojenská spořitelna), founded in Irkutsk to support Czechoslovak legionnaires. Legiobanka ranked among the medium-sized banks in Czechoslovakia, and its employees were predominantly former legionnaires. In 1940, the occupying authorities ordered that it be renamed Czech-Moravian Bank in Prague (Českomoravská banka v Praze) to remove the reference to its legionnaire origins. During this period, many of its managers and clerks joined the resistance – just as they had during the First World War. After the Second World War, the bank adopted the name Legiobanka and was nationalised. In 1948, it was merged with several other banks to form Živnostenská banka.