East Prussia (Ostpreußen) Church Records

Church records (parish registers, church books) are an important source for genealogical research in Germany before civil registration began. They recorded details of baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. The vast majority of the population was mentioned. To learn more about the types of information you will find in church records, click on these links: For a comprehensive understanding of church records, study the article Germany Church Records.
 * Baptisms (Taufen)
 * Marriages (Heiraten)
 * Burials (Begräbnisse)
 * Confirmations (Konfirmationen)
 * Family Registers (Familienbücher)

Online Class on Locating East Prussia Parish Registers

 * German Research: Strategies and Sources for Eastern Provinces. Be sure to download the class syllabus.
 * 1) Watch the General Resources portion, beginning at 13:47 minutes, to learn how to check for parish registers using:
 * 2) The PRADZIAD Database
 * 3) Szukaj w ArchiwachTutorial
 * 4) Archion, Cooperative of protestant archives ($)
 * 5) Archives Portal Europe
 * 6) Watch the East Prussia portion, which begins at 47:58 minutes.
 * 7) Gazetteer: Ostpreussen Places/Info
 * 8) On the Trail of Your Ancestors Left of page > ”Landkreise und Kirchspiele” > Hover over a number to see Kreis name > Click number to see parish map of Kreis > Hover over parish to see alternate names and year of founding.
 * 9) East Prussia Genealogy Sources
 * 10) Select a Kreis from alphabetical list left of map. Click on the Kreis name.
 * 11) For that Kreis, click on “Kirchenbuchbestände” (Parish register inventory).
 * 12) Select parish from alphabetical list left of map.
 * 13) Click on parish name.

Finding Church Records
Church records were kept in the local parish of the church. The term parish refers to the jurisdiction of a church minister. Parishes are local congregations that may have included many neighboring villages in their boundaries. To use church records, you must know both your ancestor's religion and the town where he or she lived. You must also determine in which parish the town was located. Some gazetteers indicate parish jurisdictions.

Church Record Inventories and Gazetteers
Church record inventories are essential tools for finding German records. They identify what records should be available for a specified parish and where to write for information on these records. They list the church records, their location, and the years they cover. Sometimes inventories explain which parishes served which towns at different periods of time.
 * Gemeindelexikon für das Königreich Preußen: East Prussia
 * Tutorial
 * The new Kirchenbuchportal (church book portal) has been created by the Association of Church Archives, ecumenical organization, to facilitate access to German-language church records. As of July 2010 several archives have posted detailed inventories of the parish registers in their collections. Details about the participating archives, including links to posted inventories, are found here. A database of all inventoried records, arranged by archive, is found here.

Consult Kartenmeister for parish information.
For the provinces of East Prussia (Ostpreussen), Posen, Pomerania (Pommern), Silesia (Schlesien), parts of Brandenburg, and West Prussia (Westpreussen), areas which no longer belong to Germany, the online gazetteer Kartenmeister most efficiently tells you parish information:
 * Class: Kartenmeister.com Finding Places in the Former German Area of Poland

Example:

1. Online Records
Online records for East Prussia are found in Archion in the Evangelical Central Archives in Berlin. Among its collections there are about 6,000 church records of Protestant church communities in the former Eastern Church provinces of Prussia. They come from the provinces of East and West Prussia, Pomerania, Posen, Silesia, Brandenburg (east of the Oder and Neisse). Some of the provinces are represented by numerous, others because of the loss of war, with only a few church books.
 * Archion: Evangelical Central Archives in Berlin ($)
 * Szukaj w ArchiwachTutorial
 * Geneteka Instructions

2. Digital Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Try to find records in the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Many microfilms have been digitized for online viewing. Gradually, everything will be digitized, so check back occasionally. Some have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at a Family History Center near you, and/or by members of supporting organizations. To find records:


 * a. Click on the Places within Germany, Preussen, Ostpreussen (East Prussia) drop-down menu and select your town.
 * b. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * c. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor. "Taufen" are baptisms/christenings. Heiraten are marriages.  "Tote" are deaths.
 * d. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

Quick Reference Lists and Links

 * See the listing of Catholic parishes in East Prussia with records available from the Family History Library.
 * See the listing of Evangelical Church parishes in East Prussia with records available from the Family History Library.
 * See the listing of Lutheran Church parishes in East Prussia with records available from the Family History Library.
 * See the listing of Reformed Church parishes in East Prussia with records available from the Family History Library.
 * See the listing of Military Unit and Parish Records in East Prussia with records available from the Family History Library.
 * See the listing of Mennonite Church Records in East Prussia with records available from the Family History Library.

3. Research in Church and State Archives
Church records or duplicates may have been gathered from the local parishes into central archives, either by the churches or the state. Older records are frequently given to these archives for safekeeping. Some gaps in the church records of local parishes could be filled using these records. Archives might be unable to handle genealogical requests, but they can determine whether they have specific records you need, sometimes perform very brief research, such as just one record, or they may recommend a researcher who can search the records for you.

E-mail

 * You can e-mail archives and ask whether they have records for a parish. Also, you should inquire whether they provide research services and what their fees are. You can communicate with the archives in English.

Finding Aid: East Prussia Genealogy Sources
This finding aid will tell you the existing parish registers and the archives where the records are stored. It will describe other records such as military parishes and Jewish records. Notes at the bottom with tell the former parish that served that area before this parish was created. Here is an illustration of a typical parish entry:
 * East Prussia Genealogy Sources
 * 1) Select a Kreis from alphabetical list left of map. Click on the Kreis name.
 * 2) For that Kreis, click on “Kirchenbuchbestände” (Parish register inventory).
 * 3) Select parish from alphabetical list left of map.
 * 4) Click on parish name.

EZA Berlin (Lutheran)
Evangelical Central Archives Berlin ( EZA ) Bethaniendamm 29 10997 Berlin Germany Family Research: Ruf. 030 / 22504-536 E-mail:kirchenbuchstelle@ezab.de Space reservation: Fax. 030 / 22504-540 or Email to reservierung@ezab.de
 * List of holdings

BZ Regensburg (Catholic)
Bishops' Central Archives Regensburg St. Petersweg 11-13 93047 Regensburg Ruf. Germany Telephone: 0941 / 597-2520 Fax. 0941 / 597-2521 E-Mail: archiv@bistum-regensburg.de
 * Website
 * List of holdings

DZfG Leipzig
German Central Office for Genealogy Saxon State Archives State Archives Leipzig Schongauerstraße 1 04328 Leipzig Germany Email: poststelle-l@sta.smi.sachsen.de Telephone: 0341 / 255-5500
 * Website
 * List of holdings

GStA Berlin
Secret State Archives Prussian  Cultural Heritage Archivstraße 12-14 14195 Berlin Germany Email: gsta.pk@gsta.spk-berlin.de Phone: 030/266 44 75 00 Fax. 030/266 44 31 26
 * Website
 * List of holdings

Lithuanian Historical State Archives in Vilnius
Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas Gerosios Vilties g. 10 LT-03134 Vilnius Ruf. Lithuania Phone: +370 /85/213 7482 Fax: 00370/5 278 43 69
 * 

Poland
State Archives of Olsztyn (formerly Allenstein Archiwum Panstwowe w Olsztynie ul.Partyzantow 18 PL-10-521 Olsztyn Poland In the state archive Olsztyn (Olsztyn), the records are available digitized over the Internet. The Diocesan Archives of the City of Olsztyn, Poland Archiwum Diecezji Warminskiy w Olsztynie Copernika 47 PL-10-512 Olsztyn Poland
 * Website
 * Search engine for digitized records
 * The third field, "Nazwa oryginalna" or "Original Name", has a drop-down list of all the localities for which there are records.
 * Archives Website
 * Archives Facebook

State Archives Lyck Archiwum Państwowe w Suwalkach Oddzial w Elku ul. Kapielowa PL-19-300 Elk Poland Birth, marriages and death certificates of the Milken militia from 1874 to 1902.
 * Website
 * List of holdings

Catholic

 * Parish list for Archdiocese of Warmia
 * Map of the Archdiocese of Warmia

Protestant
In Poland approximately 134 protestant parishes exist. Some records formerly found in such parishes may now be archived in local Catholic parishes. For a list of the Protestant parishes in Poland, and their addresses, you can visit the Lutheran Church in Poland for a listing of Lutheran parishes which are in existence today.

Addressing the Letter
Using these addresses as guides, replacing the information in parentheses. If you do not know the street address of a church, you can omit it. For State Archive Urząd Stanu Cywilnego (street name and number) (postal code) (name of locality) POLAND

For a Roman Catholic Parish Parafia Rzymsko-Katolicka (street name and number) (postal code) (name of locality) POLAND

For a Protestant Parish Parafia Ewangelicka (street name and number) (postal code) (name of locality) POLAND

For an Orthodox Parish  Parafia Prawoslawna (street name and number) (postal code) (name of locality) POLAND

Letter Writing Guides
How to write a letter: Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus Polish translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the Poland Letter Writing Guide.''' In some cases, the records are held in archives in Germany. For letters in German, including addressing the letter, plus German translations of the questions and sentences most frequently needed, use the the German Letter Writing Guide.''' Because part of East Prussia is now in Russia, this article may help: Russian Letter Writing Guide

Other Religious Groups

 * To learn how to determine the location of other religious records, namely Jewish, French Reformed, German Reformed, etc., watch Hansen’s Map Guides: Finding Records with Parish Maps beginning at 48:00 minutes, to learn how to locate these congregations. Then go back and watch from the beginning to understand how to use the reference book. This course teaches you how to use a set of reference books found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. If you are not in Salt Lake City, use the Contact Us feature to request information from the books.

German Records

 * It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French and German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately.  Here are some resources for learning to read German records.
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * French Genealogical Word List
 * Latin Genealogical Word List


 * These video webinars will teach you to read German handwriting:
 * Old German Script Part 1
 * Old German Script Part 2
 * Old German Script (German Church and Civil Records) Part 3
 * Reading German Handwritten Records  (Three parts) Practice exercises to build your skills and confidence.
 * German Script Tutorial


 * List of Names in Old German Script A comprehensive list of German given names,  written in old script, with possible variations.
 * Old German Script Transcriber (alte deutsche Handschriften): See your family names in the script of the era. Type your name or other word into the font generator tool. Click on the 8 different fonts. Save the image to your computer and use it as you work with old Germanic records.

Downloadable Handouts

 * Print these handouts for ready reference when reading German Handwriting:
 * Kurrent Letters Handout
 * Numbers Handout
 * Birth Records Handout
 * Marriage Records Handout
 * Death Records Handout
 * Days and Months Handout
 * Common Symbols Handout
 * Common Abbreviations Handout
 * Fraktur Font--Many forms and books are printed in this font.

Latin Records
Records of the Catholic church will usually be written in Latin:
 * Latin Genealogical Word List

Polish
Because part of East Prussia is now in Poland, these articles will help:
 * Poland Letter Writing Guide
 * Polish Word List
 * Poland Language and Languages

Russian
Because part of East Prussia is now in Russia, these articles will help:
 * Russian Letter Writing Guide
 * Russian Genealogical Word List

Feast Dates

 * Calendar Changes in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Low Countries--class
 * Each day of the year had several patron saints and was a feast day to honor those saints. Some vital events are recorded in church records only by the holy day (feast day) on the church calendar. For example, the feast day called “All Saints Day” (Allerheiligentag) is “1 November.” An online feast date calculator may be found at the Albion College website. Simply enter the year and click "Calculate."

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find their birth record, search for the births of their brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of their parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Calculate the birth date of the parents, using age at death and/or marriage to search for their birth records.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.