Greece Archives and Libraries

In Greece there are several types of genealogical repositories:


 * General Archives of Greece (GAK)
 * County Offices
 * District Offices
 * Municipal archives
 * Local vital record offices
 * Military archives
 * Church archives
 * Other libraries (public and academic)

General Archives of Greece (GAK).
Genika Archeia tou Kratous)

Some have translated the title for this archive as the “National Historical Archives.” The Greek government collects records relating to Greek history, culture, and people. Records of genealogical value at general archives include:


 * Church records
 * Civil registration
 * Passports
 * School records
 * Immigration records and declaration of domicile records from the mid-nineteenth century
 * Pension and marriage records of military officers
 * Notarial company records
 * Microfilm copies of many of the records at this archive are available at the Family History Library. The central archives of the General Archives of Greece is located at the following address:


 * Genika Archeia Tou Kratous Megaron Akadimias odos Eleftheriou Venizelou 28 10679 Athens GREECE Tel: (01) 362-7781 Fax: (01) 362-7781 http://arxeiomnimon.gak.gr/index.html

Branches of the General Archives of Greece

Branches of the General Archives of Greece (GAK) collect records within the area they serve. These branches may include the area of a county, island, or large city. These branches are usually located in the capital of a district (Eparhia). To find out where the branch of the GAK for a particular area is located, inquiries can be sent to the central offices listed above. Alternatively, a list of GAK branches with addresses, email addresses, phone and fax numbers can be found here: http://www.gak.gr/frontoffice/portal.asp?cpage=NODE&cnode=36. (Page is in Greek; right-click to translate into English).

County Offices (Nomarheion)
Greece is divided into 53 counties (Nomos). Each county has an office and an archive. The archives include duplicates of some records of the municipal archives. These include copies of the male registers used for military recruitment.

District Offices (Eparheion)
Each county is further subdivided into districts (Eparhia). Various records are found in these archives. These may include duplicates of municipal records.

Municipal/Community Archives
Dimotika/Koinotika Archeia)

In Greece each municipality or community has its own archives under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior (Ypourgeion Esoterikon). These are located in the town or city halls. They serve as local repositories for records pertaining to their particular areas. Among the records of genealogical value at municipal archives are the following:


 * Male and Female Registers
 * Birth, marriage, and death records
 * Town registers
 * Book of Municipal Personnel
 * Book of Relatives of Deceased Persons
 * Family status records (oikogeneiaki katastasis)

The municipal archives of Greece are not open to the public. You may be granted special permission to search these records from the mayor or the clerk. This will vary from one archive to another.

When writing to the municipal or community archives, you will not need a street address as there is only one office in each town and it is understood where this is located.

(Local) Civil Records Offices
(Lixiarheion)

In 1925 a separate office was created for keeping vital records—records of births, marriages, and deaths. In larger cities, these offices often have their own buildings. In smaller towns they are often found in the town halls (municipal or community offices).

The civil registry office in Athens has copies of some births, marriages, and deaths from 1859; however, the records in these offices generally begin in 1925. The first years after these offices began not every person was recorded, but later the records became more complete. For more information about these offices and their records, see Greece Civil Registration- Vital Records.

Census records may be found at the National Statistics Service:

Ypourgeio Esoterikon Statistiki Ypiresia Euaggelistrias 2 Athens, GREECE

However only statistical results of the census are available at this location. Original census records where names of residents by families are listed may only be found at some local GAK Historical Archives. The Town Registers can serve as substitutes of census records.

Military Archives
(Stratiotika Arheia)

Military archives include various types of information, including pension, recruiting, and so on. The recruiting records are particularly valuable as they include a register of all males by year of birth. You may need to write to the recruiting office of the Ministry of Defense main office for information as to the location of these records in local archives:


 * Stratologiko Grafeio Ag. Paraskeuis Grafeio Koinou Ag. Paraskeui, Athens GREECE

The Greek Government Gazette (Efimeris tis Kyverniseos) has recruiting lists with information for each person, such as birthplace, father's name, and year of being responsible for duty. Serving in the armed forces was and still is mandatory in Greece. The age for being responsible for duty is 21 years old. Many issues of the Government Gazette have been microfilmed by the Family History Library, and are listed under locality search - Greece, at FamilySearch.org.

Diocese Archives
(Iera Mitropolis)

Greek Orthodox church records of marriages are kept in bishops’ offices (episkopi). A church officer called a metropolite is over a diocese (mitropolis). There are 77 dioceses in Greece. Besides these, there is an archdiocese in Athens and in Crete, and an Exarchate on Patmos. You should write any request for information directly to the metropolite of the local diocese. For best results, keep the request simple. See Greece Church Records. The address for the archdiocese in Athens is:


 * Greek Orthodox Archdiocese 21 Agias Filotheis Street Athens GREECE

For addresses to other dioceses, you do not need a street address. Addressing the letter to the city where the diocese is located will be sufficient. See Greece Gazetteers and Greece Genealogy for more information.

Other Libraries
Some of the sources you will want to use are also available in major libraries in Greece and in other countries. Contact these libraries and ask about their collections, hours, services, and fees.


 * National Library of Greece Odos Eleftheriou Venizelou Athens GREECE

The National Library has a collection of published genealogies, manuscripts, histories, directories, maps, and newspapers.

Websites

 * Archives Portal Europe provides access to information on archival material from Greece as well as information on archival institutions throughout the European continent.