Croatia, Church Books - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Records
Hrvatska Crkva Knjige

Record Description
This collection includes baptismal, marriage, and burial records from different churches in Croatia, such as Roman Catholic, Serbian Orthodox, Jewish, and Military congregations, for the years 1516-1949. It also includes vital records of Jews and some early civil registration of the Napoleonic period. Indexing for some of these records is also available. The text was handwritten in Croatian and Latin.

This collection dates to a period when Croatia was not yet an independent country, so it includes records created under different governments, such as Hungary and the former Yugoslavia. A patent, ruled by Emperor Joseph II in 1784, mandated the inclusion of certain sections in all parish record books maintained by the clergy. These register records were later used also as civil vital records. As of 1868, the Ministry of Internal Affairs took over the right to supervise the maintenance of these records.

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

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

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Record Content
Birth records usually contain the following information:


 * Date and place of baptism
 * Name of infant
 * Gender and date of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Religion
 * Parents' names, residence, and place of origin
 * Names of witnesses or godparents

Marriage records usually contain the following information: 


 * Date and place of the event
 * Names of the bride and groom
 * Their civil statuses (widowed, single, divorced) at the time of the event
 * Places of origin and residence of the bride and groom
 * Names of parents
 * Name of witnesses

Burial records usually contain the following information:


 * Place and date of the event
 * Place and date of death
 * Name of the principal (deceased)
 * Civil status of principal at time of death
 * Civil status and name of spouse, if married at time of death
 * Parents' names
 * Sometimes, place of burial

How to Use the Record
To browse this collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒Select the "Religion" ⇒Select the "Place" ⇒Select the "Event Types/year Range" which takes you to the images.

Look at the images one by one 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.

To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:


 * The name of the person
 * The place where the event occurred
 * The approximate date of the event
 * Other identifying information such as the name of the parents or spouse

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family.

For example:


 * Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
 * Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
 * Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
 * Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * The name of the officiator is a clue to a couple’s religion or area of residence.
 * Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
 * Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * The information in church records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
 * Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800.
 * There is also some variation in the information given from one record to another.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
 * Search the records of nearby localities.

General Information About Church Records in Croatia
The church records were created by authorized priests to record the events of baptisms, marriages, and burials/death. These records were also used later to determine and prove the civil status and existence of citizens by civil authorities. These records are some of the most reliable sources of information available for doing genealogical research.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Croatian. For help reading the records, see the following wiki articles:

Language and Languages Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Word List

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Related Websites
You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying other links to related websites here.


 * U.S. Department of State - Croatia
 * Countries and their Cultures – Croatia
 * The History and Present of Croatia
 * Religion in Croatia

Related Wiki Articles

 * Croatia Church Records
 * Croatia Church Directories
 * Croatia

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: Croatia, Church Books, 1516-1949

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.