Austria Genealogy

Guide to Austria ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Country Information
Austria is landlocked and in a strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe bordering the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The major river is the Danube. As a result of wars and political realignments, the internal and external boundaries of Austria have changed several times. German is the official language.

Austria Clickable Map
The boundaries of Austria have changed over time. Your ancestor may have said he was from Austria, but actually he may have come from any of the countries that once belonged to the Hapsburg Monarchy or Austro-Hungarian Empire. Therefore, see also Research in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

More Austria Research Strategies
Research strategies give guidance on how to research or what records to search for first. Below are additional research strategy Wiki articles for Austria.
 * Getting started
 * What's the next step?
 * Finding your ancestor in the records
 * Resources

More Austria Research Tools
Research tools can include resources that assist in locating correct records to search and determining the correct locality to search in. Below are links and Wiki articles to research tools in Austria.
 * Handwriting Guide
 * Dictionary of old German Definitions
 * German to English Translator
 * German- English dictionary
 * All about batch numbers (text in German)
 * German genealogy web portal - English front page
 * BYU Research Guide for Germany, many links out-of-date
 * Information System Austrian National Library - Special link collection for genealogy (55 links, Page in German)
 * Listing of all records collections for Austria available on FamilySearch.org.
 * Wikipedia List of cities and towns in Austria.

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in resourcing your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * Family History Center locator map