Austria, Carinthia, Military Personnel Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection consists of Austrian personnel records giving details on the soldier's birth, enlistment, and military service. The records will include the provinces of Austria as well as areas formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, primarily Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Czech Republic. Any additional records will be added as they are completed. The original records are housed in the Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Vienna.

In 1820, the regimental muster rolls (musterlisten), which contained basic information for each soldier, were replaced by formatted sheets (grundbuchsblatt) bound into books as a register (grundbuecher), then handled as loose sheets (grundbuchsblaetter). The documented registers were kept by the regiments and periodically sent to the central authority, the War Council Ministry of War, in Vienna for preservation.

The Austrian military system requires that all military personnel be registered with all personal and related information, which is kept in a personal file when the person is enlisted. Men exempt from military service included clergy, nobility, certain government officials, and workers employed in mining, iron production, and necessary agricultural occupations.

Reading These Records
These records are written in German. These records are written in German. For help reading them see:
 * German Language and Languages
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Germany Handwriting
 * FamilySearch Learning Center videos:
 * German Paleography Seminar

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


 * Name of soldier or officer
 * Date of birth
 * Place of birth
 * Religion


 * Occupation
 * Name of regiment
 * Date of service

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Name of the person
 * Approximate date of the event

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 Austria.
 * Austria Research Tips and Strategies
 * Austria Record Finder

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.

Áustria, Caríntia, Registros de Funcionarismo Militar (Registros Históricos do FamilySearch)