Online German Gazetteers and Parish Register Inventories

Gazetteer definition: a list of all localities within a given jurisdictions, such as a county, duchy, state, province, or empire. Information provided may vary depending on the original purpose of the publication and may include different government jurisdictions, church parish(es), population-, area,-and tax information, post office, description, history, and more.

Parish register inventory: A listing of parishes within a given jurisdiction. It usually includes information about extant parish registers by type, time period covered, and accessibility.

Below are gazetteers and parish register inventories for Germany

German Empire
•	For phonetic searches in the area covered by today’s Germany, use the “fuzzy gazetteer” at http://isodp.hof-university.de/fuzzyg/query/ •	The JewishGen gazetteer has several search options, including “contains”. See http://www.jewishgen.org/communities/LocTown.asp Be sure to change the country and choose a search option. •	Deutsch-Fremdsprachiges Ortsnamenverzeichnis - place name changes for formerly German localities as of June 1919, see http://pbc.gda.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=7346&from=pubstats •	Orbis Latinus –Latinized place names. Several volumes/editions are available on multiple websites. See http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/contents.html (1909 - English interface) and http://www.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de/orbis-latinus  (1972- four-volume combined set) Prussia (Preußen) •	A complete set of the “Gemeindelexikon Preußen” volumes is available on www.ancestry.com. Search the catalog for “Gemeindelexikon”. Browse images by volume. •	Various volumes are also available on GoogleBooks and the DigiBib on www.compgen.de (Genealogy.net)
 * Meyers Gazetteer (currently not online)
 * [www.compgen.de The Genealogisches Ortsverzeichnis (GOV)]
 * Areas east of the Oder-Neisse rivers

REGIONAL A number of gazetteers and parish register inventories are available in the digital library (DigiBib) of the German Society for Computer Genealogy. They can be accessed at www.compgen.de, tab “Digibib”. New titles are added regularly.

Alsace-Lorraine (Elsass-Lothringen) •	Ortschaft-Verzeichnis von Elsass-Lotharingen (1880), see http://books.google.com/books?id=4JJMAQAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false •	List: Die Orte des Elsass, see http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fraalsac/alsaceaz/geninfoger.htm •	Deutsch-französisches Ortsnamenverzeichnis, see http://www.elsass-lothringen.de/ortenamen.htm •	German-French place name list for Alsace, see http://michel.barbier.pagesperso-orange.fr/AlsaLor-DG.html Baden •	Das Grossherzogtum Baden in geographischer, naturwissenschaftlicher, geschichtlicher, wirtschaftlicher und staatlicher Hinsicht dargestellt, see http://books.google.com/books/about/Das_Grossherzogtum_Baden_in_geographisch.html?id=GjEBAAAAQAAJ Explanation of symbols and abbreviations see p. 768, alphabetical place name list follows. •	http://www.leo-bw.de/themen/ortslexikon does not list parish, but gives history

Bavaria (Bayern) •	„Amtliche Ortsverzeichnisse” (official gazetteers) are available beginning with 1877 and can be downloaded here http://www.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de/landesbeschreibungen-orte#1888 •	Ortsdatenbank (place name database); entries include links to articles and nice maps, see http://www.bayerische-landesbibliothek-online.de/ortsdatenbank •	Bayernatlas regional atlas (modern, very nice!) see http://geoportal.bayern.de/bayernatlas/

Berlin •	http://www.alt-berlin.info/ - street maps •	http://www.luise-berlin.de/strassen/indexstr.htm directory of historic and current Berlin street names Brandenburg •	Quellen zur Bevölkerungsgeschichte in der Mark Brandenburg bis 1945 (2012) by Stefan Rückling, see https://www.yumpu.com/de/document/view/3315714/quellen-zur-bevolkerungsgeschichte-in-der-mark-brandenburg-bis-/3 Bremen •	Geschichte und Landesbeschreibung der Herzogthümer Bremen und Verden (1824); the table of contents is at the end of volume 2. Volume 1 http://books.google.com/books?id=AZcwAAAAYAAJ     , Volume 2 http://books.google.com/books?id=pW0AAAAAcAAJ Brunswick (Braunschweig) •	Place list of the former Duchy of Braunschweig in the Kingdom of Westphalia (1806-1813), (good because of the boundary changes that had happened under Napoleon) see http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortsverzeichnis_des_ehemaligen_Herzogtums_Braunschweig_im_K%C3%B6nigreich_Westphalen East Prussia (Ostpreussen) •	Gemeindelexikon Ostpreussen 1905 see http://books.google.com/books/about/Gemeindelexikon_f%C3%BCr_das_K%C3%B6nigreich_Pre.html?id=EcEzAQAAMAAJ •	http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Ostpreu%C3%9Fen/Genealogische_Quellen Inventory of extant genealogical sources, arranged by Kreis Hamburg •	Ausführliche Nachrichten über die sämmtlichen evangelisch-protestantischen Kirchen und Geistlichen der freyen und Hansestadt Hamburg (1826) – History of Hamburg parishes with lists of pastors. Click on „Inhalt“for a table of contents linked to images. See http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Ausf%C3%BChrliche_Nachrichten_%C3%BCber_die_s%C3%A4mmtlichen_evangelisch-protestantischen_Kirchen_und_Geistlichen_der_freyen_und_Hansestadt_Hamburg •	Topographie des Herzogtums Holstein (1908), includes a chapter on Hamburg, read online or download https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sWUTAQAAMAAJ Hannover •	Historische Ortsdatenbank (Historical place name database) Ostfriesland see Topographie des Herzogtums Holstein (1908), includes a chapter on Hamburg, read online or download https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sWUTAQAAMAAJ •	Gemeindelexikon (1908), digitized together with Westfalen and Pyrmont. Hannover is images 1-274, see http://books.google.com/books/about/Gemeindelexikon_f%C3%BCr_die_Provinz_Hannove.html?id=AEfcPgAACAAJ Hessen •	Kirchenbücher und Standesregister für alle Wohnplätze im Land Hessen (1939), in the DigiBib, see http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Kirchenb%C3%BCcher_und_Standesregister_f%C3%BCr_alle_Wohnpl%C3%A4tze_im_Land_Hessen_(1939) •	Database for today’s Hessen: Historisches Ortslexikon http://lagis.online.uni-marburg.de/de/subjects/index/sn/ol •	http://www.lha-rlp.de/uploads/media/Kirchenbuchverzeichnis_uebergreifend.pdf -Rheinhessen and Kurpfalz gazetteer/parish register inventory Hessen-Nassau •	Database for today’s Hessen: Historisches Ortslexikon http://lagis.online.uni-marburg.de/de/subjects/index/sn/ol •	http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Hessische_Kirchenb%C3%BCcher – list of parish registers already filmed at the Kassel church book archive Hohenzollern •	Gemeindelexikon Hohenzollern’sche Lande 887 see http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Hohenzollernsche_Lande/Gemeindelexikon_1887 Lippe-Detmold •	Bilingual (German/English) gazetteer includes parish, civil registration office, post office and more http://www.genealogy.net/reg/NRHE-WFA/lippe_orte-d.html Lübeck •	Topographie des Herzogtums Holstein (1908), includes a chapter on the Fürstentum Lübeck, read online or download https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sWUTAQAAMAAJ Mecklenburg-Schwerin •	Gazetteer for Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz see https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Mecklenburg-Schwerin_%E2%80%93_Herzogtum_(duchy)Gazetteers Mecklenburg-Strelitz •	Gazetteer for Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz see https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Mecklenburg-Schwerin_%E2%80%93_Herzogtum_(duchy)Gazetteers Oldenburg •	Gazetteer (table) see https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Oldenburg_%E2%80%93_Herzogtum_(duchy)Gazetteers •	http://www.genealogienetz.de/vereine/OGF/index.html - list of parishes for the 1814 area of Oldenburg, with beginning date for records and expert to contact for help, where available Palatinate (Pfalz) •	Die Kirchenbücher der Bayrischen Pfalz ( 1925), parish register inventory, see http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Die_Kirchenb%C3%BCcher_der_bayerischen_Pfalz_(1925) •	http://www.lha-rlp.de/uploads/media/Kirchenbuchverzeichnis_uebergreifend.pdf -Rheinhessen and Kurpfalz gazetteer and parish register inventory Pommern •	Pommern Gemeindelexikon 1885 see http://pbc.gda.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=7545&from=FBC •	Pommern Gemeindelexikon 1905 see http://pbc.gda.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=7326 Posen •	Posen Gemeindelexikon (1908) http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=2094 •	http://donhoward.net/genpoland/posguide.htm - List of vital records for the Prussian Province of Posen Rheinland •	Gemeindelexikon 1885 available at http://www.digitalis.uni-koeln.de/Gemeinde/gemeinde_index.html as a PDF that can be downloaded in sections, and in the DigiBib on www.compgen.de Saxon Duchies: •	For some areas, see the Digital Historical Gazetteer of Saxony (Das Historische Ortsverzeichnis von Sachsen) [in German] http://hov.isgv.de/projekt/ The project is based on the “Staats-, Post- und Zeitungslexikon” published beginning in 1813 (13 main volumes plus 5 supplemental volumes). Use the Ämterverzeichnis to see the districts that are included in this work, http://hov.isgv.de/aemterverzeichnis/ All original volumes of the Staats-, Post- und Zeitungslexikon are available digitally and can be downloaded. See http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorlage:Staatslexikon_Sachsen for links. o	Anhalt o	Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg) o	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) o	Saxe-Meiningen (Sachsen-Meiningen) o	Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) o	Reuss-Gera (Junior Line) o	Reuss-Greiz (Senior Line) o	Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt o	Sondershausen Saxony [Kingdom] (Königreich Sachsen) •	Digital Historical Gazetteer of Saxony (Das Historische Ortsverzeichnis von Sachsen) [in German]. See http://hov.isgv.de/projekt/ .The project is based on the “Staats-, Post- und Zeitungslexikon” published beginning in 1813 (13 main volumes plus 5 supplemental volumes). Use the Ämterverzeichnis to see the districts that are included in this work, http://hov.isgv.de/aemterverzeichnis/ •	All original volumes of the Staats-, Post- und Zeitungslexikon are available digitally and can be downloaded. See http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorlage:Staatslexikon_Sachsen for links. •	Die Kirchenbücher im Königreich Sachsen (parish register inventory) see http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Die_Kirchenb%C3%BCcher_im_K%C3%B6nigreich_Sachsen_(1901) Saxony [Prussian province] (Provinz Sachsen) •	Parish register database can be searched by localities and parishes, see http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/SAC/Kirchen/index.html •	Handbuch der Provinz Sachsen ( 1854), see http://books.google.com/books?id=d9oAAAAAcAAJ •	Handbuch der Provinz Sachsen (1839), see http://books.google.com/books?id=wQs8AAAAMAAJ Schaumburg-Lippe •	Ortsverzeichnis Schaumburg-Lippe / Schauburg-Lippe gazetteer, see http://www.genealogy.net/reg/NSAC/SLP/gaz.html •	see also http://www.blume-gen.de/index-orte.html. Parish listings include links to 19th Century emigrants, census records, pictures, maps, websites. Schleswig-Holstein •	Gemeindelexikon 1897 see http://books.google.com/books?id=FYNAAQAAMAAJ&source=gbs_similarbooks •	Topographie des Herzogtums Holstein (1908), read online or download https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_sWUTAQAAMAAJ Silesia (Schlesien) •	Die Kirchenbücher Schlesiens beider Confessionen (1902),parish register inventory, see http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Die_Kirchenb%C3%BCcher_Schlesiens_beider_Confessionen_(1902) Waldeck-Pyrmont •	Gemeindelexikon 1905, included with Westfalen, see the addendum beginning on page 131, https://books.google.de/books?id=9cEzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA247&lpg=PA247&dq=Gemeindelexikon+Waldeck-Pyrmont&source=bl&ots=Dq1YeAIbz1&sig=ZQu3Sj6wuOlWxU7ywfOMG59VrCo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RvP5VOPmKseRoQSnrIDIBw&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Gemeindelexikon%20Waldeck-Pyrmont&f=false Westfalen •	Gemeindelexikon 1905, digitized together with Hannover and Pyrmont; Westfalen begins with image 245, see https://books.google.de/books?id=9cEzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA249&lpg=PA249&dq=westfalen+Gemeindelexikon&source=bl&ots=Dq1YeAI5wY&sig=PUO5fBSFAp-BsT9eQ5lGabnZ5Ns&hl=en&sa=X&ei=y_D5VKjMKJH0oASEqYK4Bw&ved=0CFQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=westfalen%20Gemeindelexikon&f=false •	Gemeindelexikon Westfalen 1887 see http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Gemeindelexikon_Westfalen_1887 Westpreussen •	Nice gazetteer with records inventory and links to maps (in German). Can search partial place names (at least 4 letters required), see http://www.westpreussen.de/cms/ct/ortsverzeichnis.php Württemberg •	http://www.archiv.elk-wue.de/cms/startseite/kirchenbuchdatenbank/ - database of Evangelical parishes, with links to other related databases •	Hof- und Staatshandbuch für Württemberg – several editions can be viewed or downloaded on GoogleBooks. For the 1901 edition see http://books.google.com/books/about/Staatshandbuch_f%C3%BCr_W%C3%BCrttemberg.html?id=nMsnc6NvbnUC •	Same, 1907 edition see https://archive.org/details/staatshandbuchf01landgoog •	Staatshandbuch 1936 see http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/W%C3%BCrttemberg/Staatshandbuch_1936/ •	http://www.leo-bw.de/themen/ortslexikon does not list parish, but gives history