Czech Republic, Town Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Czech Republic

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains records from towns in what is now the Czech Republic from 1439-1787. The Czech territory during this time period was known as the Kingdom of Bohemia and after 1526 was integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy. This was the beginning of the Czech territory entering into the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Town records were established in the late 13th century to record a great deal of activities that were conducted in the town, such as marriages, trade, and criminal proceedings. Many new town books were created in 1849 and contained meeting minutes, financial and tax records, and other various wealth tracking documents. This collection has various town records captured in the district archive of Chrudim (Státní okresní archiv Chrudim).

Reading These Records
These records are written in Czech. For help with reading the records, see Czech Republic Languages, Czech Republic Genealogical Word List, and Czech Republic Handwriting.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Birth Marriage
 * Birth date
 * Name at birth
 * Parents’ names
 * Parents’ residence
 * Marriage date and place
 * Spouse’s name
 * Parents’ names
 * Age

Inventory
Click the link in the Dates column to open the FamilySearch Catalog record. Due to privacy regulations not all records may be available.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The person's name
 * Residence
 * Approximate event year
 * Names of other family members

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * If available, check the image for additional information
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Try searching by surname only
 * Remember that spelling was generally not standardized until the early part of the 20th century

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the Czech Republic.
 * Czechia Guided Research
 * Czech Republic Record Finder
 * Czech Republic Research Tips and Strategies

Related FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

 * Czech Republic Land Records
 * Czech Republic Censuses and Inhabitant Registers

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.