Austria Evangelical-Lutheran Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Österreich, Evangelische Kirchenurkunden

Record Description
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). 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.

General Information About These Records
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

Record Content
Birth or baptism records usually include the following information:


 * 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

How to Use the Records
To search the collection ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Place" ⇒ Select the "Event type" ⇒ Select the "Year Range" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination

For Help Reading the Records
These records are in German. For help reading the records, see the following wiki article: German Word List

Related Websites
Evangelical Church in Austria

Related Wiki Articles

 * Austria
 * Austrian Church Records Online

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box:Austria, Evangelical-Lutheran Church Records, 1848-1900

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

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.