Serbia Archives and Libraries

Archives and Libraries

 * Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm.
 * If you plan to visit a repository, contact them and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, and fees. Ask if they require you to have a reader’s ticket (a paper indicating you are a responsible researcher) to view the records, and ask how to obtain one.
 * Although the records you need may be in an archive or library, the FamilySearch Library may have microfilmed and/or digitized copies of them.

Serbia Archive Structure

 * The archival structure of Yugoslavia has four tiers. From general to specific, archives are found at national, state and provincial, city (known as historical archives), and community (obstina) levels.
 * The national archive is the Archive of Yugoslavia. Its collections pertain to the 20th century and consequently are of only limited value to the genealogist at this time.
 * At the next level down are state and provincial archives.
 * The Archive of Serbia was founded in 1898 before the confederation of Yugoslavia existed. It served as a national archive until the formation of the Archive of Yugoslavia in 1950.  Consequently, it has many records of a national character.
 * The Archive of Vojvodina was founded in 1926. Established before the communist period, it is not directly subordinate to the national archive, but is independent.


 * At the next level down are the historical archives. There are thirty-four such archives.  They are located primarily in larger cities and are also known as city archives though they cover not only the city but also the surrounding area.  In some cases the church records have been centralized in these archives.
 * Otherwise, the records are located at the next level down in the community archives or in the churches themselves.

Archives
Archives of Yugoslavia Vase Pelagića 33 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Post Office: 65 E-mail : arhivyu@arhivyu.rs Phone: (+381 11) 3690-252, 3690-253, 3690-261, 3690-262 Fax: (+381 11) 3066-635 Website Catalogue

Archives of Vojvodina (Serbian Autonomous Province) Arhiv Vojvodine Dunavska 35 21000 Novi Sad Serbia Website

Historical Archives
These are the archives most likely to hold centralized older church records. The archives serve not only the named city but the also the surrounding region. EHRI listing of contact information for historical archives.

Record Offices
Minister of Justice and Public Administration of the Republic of Serbia Department for Civil Registration Nemanjina 22-26 11000 Belgrade

E-mail: [mailto:kabinet@mpravde.gov.rs kabinet@mpravde.gov.rs]

For information about records of births, marriages, divorces, and deaths of Serbians outside of Serbia, see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.