THE ORIGINS OF MUNICIPAL STATISTICS IN BOHEMIAN LANDS

This article is a partial contribution to the prospective compilation of the history of statistics in Bohemian lands. The general interest in statistics and the results of statistical surveys in the nineteenth century was reflected in the establishment of statistical offices in economic institutions (Patriotic-Economic Society, Industrial Unity, Chambers of Commerce and Trade), but also in the provincial and municipal authorities. The Statistical Committee and Statistical Chair in Prague, founded in 1870, have the greatest importance for the development of statistics in Bohemian lands. Our contribution summarizes the activities of these authorities, the development of the used methods and extensive publishing activities (in Czech and German language) for about 50 years until the establishment of Czechoslovakia. In the next decades, statistical offices were established in other cities (Pilsen, Brno, Olomouc, Liberec, etc.), which in addition to their own annual reports and news published their contributions in the Viennese annual report "Osterreichisches Stadtebuch" (15 volumes in years 1888-1918).