The roots of modern Czech sexology date back to the beginning of the 20th century. Even then, there was a favorable environment for the development of this field at the University of Prague. Dermatovenereologist Professor Šamberger lectured to students about sexual disorders and supported the establishment of a separate department dedicated to sexual medicine.

In 1921, physician Ferdinand Pečírka was appointed professor of sexual pathology and was to establish the Institute of Sexual Pathology. However, his premature death prevented the realization of this plan. All that remained of him was a small library marked with the stamp of the future institute, which was temporarily stored in the dermatovenerology clinic, and the establishment of a specialized workplace was gradually forgotten.

The idea of a separate field was revived in the late 1920s. Professor Šamberger supported the young doctor Josef Hynie, who decided to study sexology systematically. In 1929, Hynie completed a study stay at the Berlin Institute for Sexology, headed by Magnus Hirschfeld, one of the most important centers of sexological research of the time.

An important turning point came in 1935, when Professor Pečírka's library was rediscovered. Josef Hynie was entrusted with its administration and moved the books to Professor Šamberger's dermatovenerology clinic. Here, the first workplace designated as the Institute for Sexual Pathology was established, where Hynie began consultations for patients and lectures for medical students.

World War II interrupted his scientific work, but Hynie used this period to write professional publications. One of them was the book Introduction to Medical Sexology, which became an important foundation for the further development of the field after the war.

In 1946, Josef Hynie was appointed professor of medical sexology at the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and head of an independent institute. This created the first systematic sexology department in Czechoslovakia. Shortly afterwards, the institute moved to premises on Salmovská Street in Prague, where he began to build a professional team of young doctors and develop clinical and scientific activities.

The name of the department gradually changed – from the original “Institute of Sexual Pathology” to the “Institute of Sexology”. The new name better reflected the broader focus of the field, which deals not only with disorders, but with the entire area of human sexuality.

The priorities of the current Institute of Sexology of the General Hospital (1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University) in Prague

1921–1922 prof. Ferdinand Pečírka (1859 – 1922)

1935–1974 prof. Josef Hynie (1900 – 1989)

1974–1989 prof. Jan Raboch (1917 – 2022)

1989–2012 Assoc. Prof. Jaroslav Zvěřina (1942)

2012–2017 Assoc. Prof. Michal Pohanka (1969)

2017–2020 Prof. Jiří Raboch (1951)

2020–2022 Institute as a separate department of the Psychiatric Clinic of the General Hospital and the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University in Prague

2023– Libor Zámečník (1970) – head of a separate department within the General Hospital