Austria, Vienna Population Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection is an index of population cards for individual residents of the city of Vienna, Austria from 1850-1896. Many people from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Eastern Europe passed through Vienna and may also be included on these cards. The cards include name, birth date and place, marital status, old and new places of residence, dates of arrival and departure. Occasionally the name of spouse and children are listed. Many people from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Eastern Europe passed through Vienna and are included on the cards.

The broader collection was maintained from 1850-1928. The current publication, however, only includes information on individuals born before 1897 because of privacy restrictions for those born in the last 100 years.

All the forms are in German and the majority of the names are in German. However, because Vienna was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire some names are written in the languages of the Empire. The records were in a generally good state of preservation at the time that they were microfilmed from 1981-1995. This collection contains 3.8 million hand written entries recorded on pre-printed cards.

The registration of Vienna residents began in the middle of the 15th century. The city was divided into 8 districts around 1850. Between 1850 and 1904 these eight districts were subdivided and supplemented bringing the number of districts to 21. The Zentralmeldeamt (central registration office) was created in 1889 and associated with the Vienna police department. The cards cover most of the population of Vienna. This type of registration informed the government of who was in the city of Vienna and where they resided within the city. These are generally very reliable records, being information directly reported by residents about themselves and their families.

Phonetic Filing Order of Names
An unusually complex system was used for filing surnames. This system files letters of the alphabet in a different sequence than usual. The following instructions are recommended to help locate the surname you are seeking in these files. Here are described the values of the letters of the alphabet, and their unusual filing orders.

THE ALPHABET: (A), (Au), (E, Ä, Ö), (Ei, Eu, Ej, Ey, Ai, Aj, Ay), (I, Ie, J, Ü, Y), (O, Ou), (U), (B, P), (C, G, K, Q, X, Ch, Ck, Cs, Cz, Ks), (D, T, Th), (F, V, W), (H), (L), (M), (N, Nck, Ng, Nk), (R), (S, Sch, Sz, Cz, Tsch, Tz, Z).

Note that all vowels are filed before the consonants, rather than in their normal alphabetic sequence. Letters or combinations of letters within the same parenthesis are used interchangeably and thus not regarded as different in filing. Each of the letters or combination of letters occupy one space in the filing sequence.
 * Names beginning with vowels are filed by the first vowel sound, and then by the next vowel sound if present, and then by the first consonant sound. They are then filed by the second consonant sound grouped in order first by the vowels preceding the second consonant.
 * Names with no vowels preceding the second consonant are filed following those that have vowels between the first and second consonants. This pattern continues until the end of the word, filing by each consonant, first running through all the vowels preceding that consonant.
 * Names beginning with consonants are filed together with their sound-alike group. After the first consonant sound, names are filed by the second consonant sound grouped in order first by all of the vowels preceding the second consonant.

Instructions
These instructions for using this collection can also be found in the FamilySearch catalog record.
 * 1) First convert the spelling of the surname you want to find by writing it according to the phonetic letters outlined.
 * 2) Then substitute the first letter of the phonetic group for the other letters in the same group.
 * 3) Then find the surname in the library catalog list according to the special filing rules outlined, and note the film number associated with it.
 * 4) Check to make sure you have the right selection by converting the catalog listed surnames to their phonetic spellings also.

Reading These Records
These records are written in German. For help reading them see: FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * German Language and Languages
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Germany Handwriting
 * Reading German Handwritten Records

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: • 2

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How Do I Search This Collection?
When searching, it is helpful to know at least one of the following:
 * Your ancestor's name
 * Age and or residence
 * An estimated event year
 * A relative’s name

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use the age in the record to find an approximate birth year, which will help you find their other records
 * Use the information to find your ancestors in civil records. There may not be census records available but these can help you find additional family members
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found to find more generations of the family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Consult the Austria Record Finder to find other records
 * View the original record if possible to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Austria.
 * Research Tips and Strategies
 * Austria Record Finder

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

How Can I Contribute to the FamilySearch Wiki?
Austria, Viena, tarjetas de población (Registros históricos de FamilySearch) Áustria, Viena, Cartões de População (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)