The National Institute of Folk Culture owns large collections. These are administrated by the Centre of Tangible Cultural Heritage. The collections predominantly include object of ethnographic nature, especially those from South-East Moravia. Currently, the collections include 55 566 registration numbers and they are divided into two basic sections: The Ethnographic Collection and Miscellaneous – Contemporary Handicraft Production in the Czech Republic.
The Ethnographic Collection was long based on the collection of the Museum Association in Strážnice, which was later returned to the Strážnice City Museum as a follower to the Association. The creation of an own ethnographic collection of the National Institute of Folk Culture was encouraged by the foundation of the Open-Air Museum of Rural Architecture, whose exhibitions required big quantity of items used in household. The collecting activity focussed mostly on items from the fields of households, habitation, farming, and folk dress. The region from which the items were collected was defined by the ethnographic areas of Strážnicko, Podluží, Kyjovsko, Horňácko, Hradišťsko, Moravské Kopanice and Luhačovické Zálesí.
Household, furniture – the collection includes a wide spectrum of items used in households of our ancestors. The items were used for the production and maintenance of garments, the preparation of foods and eating, the storage of foods, the personal hygiene etc. The collection of furniture focuses on rural households and it covers the period from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th century.
Clothing, textile – the collection includes folk garments as well as complete folk costumes from South-East Moravia. Large ensembles come mainly from the ethnographic areas of Horňácko, Strážnicko and Veselsko. The collection of Horňácko patterned woven fabrics, called činovať, and canvas sheets used to separate the woman in childbed and her baby from the rest of the household are important.
Farming, trades – the collection includes items relating to farming, especially to growing crops, cattle breeding and care for meadows. Large groups concern beekeeping, viticulture and wine-making. The collection on trades is typical for the groups of items relating to various types of handicrafts and trading operated in South-East Moravia.
Although the following collections are smaller, they are also very important:
Musical instruments – the collection of musical instruments is an important part of the Institute´s collections. It was created alongside the exhibition “Musical Instruments Played by Folk Music Bands”, which was installed in the chateau of Strážnice in 1993. The collection includes all basic types of musical instruments used throughout the Czech Republic, beginning with simple rattles and bells to historically valuable string instruments.
Iconographic sources – the core of this large collection consists of several groups of glass plate and celluloid negative films from estates of photographers Josef Chlud, Rudolf Navrátil, Karel Šíma, Florián Zapletal, Jaroslav Huml and others. They capture a wide spectrum of themes from family and societal life, while documenting folk dress, architecture and farming activities from Strážnice and its surroundings, as well as from other areas of Moravia and Carpathian Ruthenia.
Landsfeld´s Collection –a large set of items from the estate of Mr and Mrs Landsfeld is a significant part of the NULK´s Collections. It consists of several parts relating to Heřman Landsfeld´s voluminous collecting, artistic and research activity. The collection includes a set of ceramics, as well as other sets with archaeological materials, photos, negatives, pictures, smoker´s articles, and other items from the entire Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia.
The collection Miscellaneous – Contemporary Handicraft Production in the Czech Republic is aimed at the newest tasks of the National Institute of Folk Culture – at the safeguarding and documentation of the current form of folk culture´s traditions. This collection contains items made by contemporary producers, who mostly have been awarded the title “Bearer of the Folk Craft Tradition”. For the time being, this collection is not divided into sub-sections.