Luxembourg Gazetteers

Why Use Gazetteers
A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a country with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town or village where your ancestor lived, the commune the town was or is in, and the commune or parish where records about the person were kept. For example; Luxembourg (country), Luxembourg (district), Luxembourg (canton), Luxembourg (commune), Luxembourg (city). The records should be in Luxembourg (commune), but since it is the largest city in Luxembourg it has several cantons to check. Use the gazetteer to find the commune for civil records and the parish for church records.

Gazetteer Contents
Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:


 * Different religious denominations
 * Schools, colleges, and universities
 * Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
 * The population size.
 * Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
 * Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
 * Longitude and latitude.
 * Distances and direction from other from cities.
 * Schools, colleges, and universities.
 * Denominations and number of churches.
 * Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)

Online Gazetteers

 * Geographical Handbook Series: Luxembourg, Compiled from the US Office of Naval Intelligence geographical handbook series and other unidentified sources]