Žilina Region (Žilinský kraj), Slovakia Genealogy

Guide to Žilina Region (Žilinský kraj),Slovakia ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

History
The Žilina Region (Slovak: Žilinský kraj; Polish: Kraj żyliński) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions and consists of 11 districts (okresy) and 315 municipalities, from which 18 have a town status. The region was established in 1923, however, in its present borders exists from 1996. It is a more industrial region with several large towns. Žilina is the region administrative center and there is a strong cultural environment in Martin. Žilina Region (Wikipedia)

Districts



 * List of towns and municipalities (Click on "Show".) Clicking on your town will take you to a Wikipedia article. It will give you the name of the district for that town. Also, under the section, "Genealogical resources", you will find a listing of church records held in the regional state archives.

Church Records
Church records are the prime source for information about the vital events in an individual's life. They identify children, spouses, parents, and often grandparents as well as dates and places of vital events. They establish individual identity and are excellent sources for linking generations and identifying relationships. Contents:
 * Christening registers – infant's name, name and surname of father and mother, christening date (most also give the birth date); sometimes names of grandparents; names of godparents.
 * Marriage registers – names of groom and bride, date of marriage, often include ages, residences, occupations, previous marital status, names of parents, sometimes the birthplace; names of witnesses.
 * Burial registers – name of the deceased, parents' names if a child, spouse's name if married, date and place of death and burial, residence; sometimes cause of death, occasionally the date and place of birth.

1. Search the indexed and/or online digitized copies of the church records in FamilySearch Historical Records.
Several localities and religions are represented in the record collections given below. However, the collection is incomplete. It requires a few steps to see if there are records of your ancestors' religion and locality. Use the instructions in the Slovakia Church and Synagogue Records Aid to learn how to navigate the following collections:

Indexed Baptism Records
Most of the digitized, online baptism records are indexed.
 * 1592-1935 at FamilySearch — index and images.
 * The Slovakia Church and Synagogue Books Coverage Table will show which parishes are included in the index.
 * Slovakia, Church and Synagogue Books, 1592-1910, at Ancestry.com, index and images ($), not complete for all localities.

Browsable Images
Most marriage and burial records are not indexed and browsable images for them will need to be searched. Use the Genealogy Slovakia Gazetteer to find out which town held the church records for your ancestors' specific religion. It will also give you the name of the county which you will need to navigate to your records, which are organized by county.
 * 1592-1910 - at FamilySearch — free, browsable images only, not complete for all localities.
 * Select your ancestors' religion.
 * Select the county of your ancestors' town
 * Select the town of your ancestors; religious parish.

2. Look for church records in additional digitized records of the FamilySearch Library.
Most church records in the state archives, for the time period allowed by privacy laws, were microfilmed by FamilySearch. Many have been digitized. Hopes are to complete that project in 2020. Records of the Family Historical Records Collection are included in the FamilySearch Catalog. However, '''the Catalog might lead to digitized records not included in that collection. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available.'''

To find digitized church records:
 * a. Use the Genealogy Slovakia Gazetteer to find out which town held the church records for your ancestors' specific religion. The gazetteer will also help you determine the Hungarian, Czechoslovakian, and Slovakian version of the town's name. Here you will also find the name of the district (county) for that town.
 * b. Click on the FamilySearch Catalog link for your district (county):
 * Bytča
 * Čadca
 * Dolný Kubín
 * Kysucké Nové Mesto
 * Liptovský Mikuláš
 * Martin
 * Námestovo
 * Ružomberok
 * Turčianske Teplice
 * Tvrdošín
 * Žilina
 * c. Click on "Places within Slovakia, (your county name)". A list of available towns will appear. Select your town.
 * d. A list of record groups will appear for the town. Click on the "Church Records" topic.
 * e. Click on the link to a specific record title. The titles will list different religions and available time coverage.
 * f. A more detailed description of the record will appear. Scroll down to the "Film Notes". On the left, choose the correct event and time period for your ancestor.
 * "Krsty" means baptisms
 * "Manželstvá" means marriages
 * "Úmrtia" means deaths`
 * "Birmovaní" means confirmations
 * g. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the listing: FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the records are indexed (but possibly only partially). Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online, digital, browsable copy of the records. If you see a stand alone microfilm reel icon for records you need, check back occasionally to see if the record has been digitized and/or indexed.

3. Order church records from the archives of Žilina.
Records too recent, and considered private, are not available published in digitized form. Family members can request copies of them for genealogy. Štátny archív v Žiline so sídlom v Bytči Kastiel, S.Sakalovej 106/3 014 01 Bytča Slovakia Telephone: 041/5533311 Fax: 041/5533622 E-mail: archiv@saby.vs.sk Website
 * Using the Slovakian version of your town's name, click on the Wikipedia page for that town from the Wikipedia list of municipalities and towns in Slovakia. Study the "Genealogical resources" section for a description on records available in the district archives.
 * The Slovak Letter Writing Guide will help with wording requests in Slovakian, including a [[Media:LWGCzechSlo.pdf|PDF form]] you can use for your request. Do not use the general archive address shown on the form. That is for use when you don't know which archives has the records. Use the address given below.
 * You can arrange an international bank order or electronic transfer through Western Union  or MoneyGram. Do not send money until the office notifies you of their fees and preferred payment method.

The Slovak Letter Writing Guide will help with wording requests in Slovakian, including [[Media:LWGCzechSlo.pdf|PDF form]] you can use for your request.

4. Contact the local civil registrar.
Registers more recent than those in the state archives are still at local city or subdistrict registration offices matričné úrady.
 * Study MATRIČNÝ ÚRAD - Slov-Lex, a directory of municipality civil registrars (here listed as matrimonial offices, but they handle births and deaths also.) Use your computer's "Find" function to navigate the list. The left column lists registrars; the right column lists towns served by that registrar. The list shows which municipal office covers smaller villages.
 * Send requests to:
 * Matričné Úrad
 * (Zipcode) (Town)
 * Slovakia


 * A form for requesting records, information on payment, and other details can be found in the Slovakia Letter Writing Guide. Use the address above, not the archive address shown on the form.
 * You can arrange an international bank order or electronic transfer through Western Union  or MoneyGram. Do not send money until the office notifies you of their fees and preferred payment method.

Word Lists - Language Aids

 * You do not have to be fluent in any foreign language to read your documents. Genealogical records usually contain a limited vocabulary: born, married, buried, mother, father, husband, names of the month, etc. Names of people and numbers in dates don't have to be translated.
 * Before 1918 the Slovak lands were part of the Kingdom of Hungary which, together with Austria, constituted the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Records written before 1918 may be in Hungarian, Latin, German, or Slovak. Slovak records often contain Hungarian, Latin, or German words.
 * To help you read genealogical records see the following:
 * Hungarian Genealogical Word List
 * Latin Genealogical Word List
 * Slovak Genealogical Word List
 * Polish Genealogical Word List
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * The Slovakia Church Records Reading Aids article provides English translations of headings in Slovakian, Hungarian, and Latin church forms used for baptisms, marriages, and burials. Knowing which column of the form gives the pertinent names and dates allows you to efficiently and successfully search these records.

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.