Available-for-Sale (AFS) Securities (Securities Transferred) (Details) (Private label MBS [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
Private label MBS [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	$ 11,930	$ 93,622
OTTI Recognized in OCI	(662)	(2,697)
Fair Value	$ 11,268	$ 90,925

The amount of OTTI recognized in accumulated comprehensive income for securities which have been transfered from Held-To-Maturity to Available-For-Sale

No definition available.

Name:	fhlbpgh_HeldToMaturitySecuritiesTransferredToAvailableForSaleSecuritiesDuringPeriodOtherThanTemporaryImpairmentRecognizedInAccumulatedOtherComprehensiveIncome
Namespace Prefix:	fhlbpgh_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration