Austria, Vienna Population Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

Foreign Language Title
Österreich, Wien, Meldzettel, 1850-1898

Collection Time Period
These cards represent residence registrations from 1890 until 1928 with most cards dating between 1910 and 1925. Although the registrations took place during this range, the birth dates recorded in the registrations can date back several previous decades.

Record Description
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. Most records range from 1890 to 1925. Many people from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Eastern Europe passed through Vienna and are included on these cards. 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.

Record Content
Vienna Population Cards contain the following genealogical facts:


 * District and street address
 * Name of the individual registering
 * Occupation
 * Place and country of birth
 * Home town and home country
 * Birth date, religion, and marital status
 * Name(s) and age(s) of spouse and children
 * Previous residence
 * Date of the registration
 * Date of departure
 * Departure destination

How to Use the Records
Use the date and place of birth or marriage to locate christening or marriage records in church records.

Record History
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 8 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.

Why This Collection Was Created?
This type of registration informed the government of who was in the city of Vienna and where they resided within the city.

Record Reliability
These are generally very reliable records, being information directly reported by residents about themselves and their families.

Related Web Sites
This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Related Wiki Articles
Austria Vienna Population Registers

Sources of information for This Collection
"Austria, Vienna Population Cards, 1850-1928", database, FamilySearch (http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch), 2009; from Stadt- und Landesarchiv Wien, Austria. "Austria, Vienna population cards, 1850-1928", Stadt- und Landesarchiv Wien, Austria. FHL microfilm, 3171 reels. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

This publication is a cooperation with the Vienna City and Provincial Archives.

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from the record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find th record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you do not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

The suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched in found in the Wiki Article:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records CollectionsEdit This Page. 

Examples of Source Citations for a Record in This Collection
"Austria, Vienna Population Cards, 1860-1895." index and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org) accessed March 17, 2011). entry for Karl Austingel. born 4 November 1881; citing Population Cards. FHL microilm 4,372,226; Stadt-und Landesarchiv Wien, Austria. This publication is a Cooperation with the Vienna City and Provincial Archives.