Austria Evangelical-Lutheran Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Austria

Title in the Language of the Record
Österreich, Evangelische Kirchenurkunden

What is in the Collection?
These records are written in German.

This Collection will include records from 1848 to 1900.

The collection consists of church book duplicates from the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria (Evangelische Kirche Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses in Österreich). The collection also includes records from the parishes of the Evangelical Church of the Helvetic Confession (Evangelische Kirche Helvetisches Bekenntnisses in Österreich). Original records are located in the Evangelischer Oberkirchenrat A.u.H.B., Vienna.

The collection includes records such as: Taufen (baptism), Trauungen (marriage), Sterben (death or burial), Toten (death or burial), Taufregister (baptismal index), Trauungsregister (marriage index), and Sterberegister (death or burial index). The text of the records is in German. In the “Description,” a two-letter abbreviation is listed (either AB or HB). AB refers to Evangelisch (Luthern). HB refers to Evangelisch Reformiert (Reformed Luthern (Swiss)). In the records, the abbreviation AB follows the city name.

For a list of localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Collection History
There are two different Evangelical churches in Austria. One belongs to the Lutheran tradition and is called the Luthern Church A.B. (Augsburg Confession); the other one is part of the Reformed Luthern Tradition and is marked by the label, H.B. (Helvetic, meaning the Swiss Confession). The combined membership of the Luthern churches in Austria make up close to 5% of the total Austrian population. The Lutheran Church has approximately 356,500 members; the Reformed Lutheran Church has approximately 19,500 members.

The church books stored at the archive in Vienna are duplicates of the originals. The originals are still in parishes around the country. Often the originals include records for earlier years than the duplicates because the order to duplicate the church books was not given until 1848.

Church records were created to record church sacraments associated with the life events of the parishioners, such as baptism, marriage, and burial. This collection of church books is a reliable and accurate source for genealogical research. Accuracy in the records for such information as dates, ages, and places is dependent upon the accuracy of the person giving the information and the accuracy of the recording by the ecclesiastical.

Sample Images
Birth or Baptism Records usually include:


 * Name of baptized child
 * Date and place of birth
 * Date of baptism and location
 * Gender
 * Parents' names, status, place of birth, religion
 * Names of godparents
 * Whether child was legitimate or illegitimate or stillborn
 * Additional remarks

Marriage Records usually include:


 * Date and Place of Marriage
 * Groom's Age, Marital Status, Occupation and Residence
 * Names of Groom's Parents, including Maiden Name of Mother
 * Bride's Age, Marital Status, Occupation and Residence
 * Names of Bride's Parents, including Maiden Name of Mother
 * Birthplaces of Bride and Groom
 * Witnesses' Names, Age and Occupation

Death and Burial Records usually include:


 * Date and Place of Death and Burial
 * Name and Age of Deceased
 * Cause of Death
 * Father of Deceased and his Occupation
 * Date and Birthplace of Deceased
 * Marital Status of Deceased
 * If Married, the Name of the Spouse

How Do I Search the Collection?
It is helpful to know:*Your ancestor's name*Residence*Age or birth date*Names of family membersFill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information in the list to what you already know about your ancestor to determine if it is the correct family or person. You may need to compare several persons in the list before you find your ancestor.

To search by image: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the "Place" (Ort) ⇒ Select the "Event type" (Ereignistyp) ⇒ Select the "Year Range" (Zeitraum) which takes you to the images.

These records are in German. For help reading the records, see the following wiki article:


 * German Word List
 * German Language and Languages
 * Germany Handwriting
 * Germany Resources

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. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
Use the surname to compile baptism entries for each child and sort them into families based on the names of the parents.
 * Use the age in the record to find an approximate birth year.
 * Use all the information to help you find other records such as birth, death, church and civil records such as censuses. These can help you find additional family members.
 * Use the father’s occupation to find employment or military records.
 * Use the parents’ places of origin to find former residences and establish a migration pattern for the family.
 * Use the couple’s marriage date and place to find records of their children
 * Use the burial place to help you identify their migration pattern
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found to find more generations of the family.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc.


 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.


 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images. *Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation: Image Citation