Poland Archives and Libraries

Online Records
Search in the National Archives on-line archival collections (Szukajwarchiwach.pl)

Archives
In genealogical research, you can use many types of archival materials, e.g. record files, marital status records, church records, censuses, court and notary records, records of universities, schools and various educational institutions, as well as records of parties and associations.

Polish Roots

 * Polish Roots: comprehensive archive address listScroll down to "Poland Archives.

National Archives
'''National Archives of Poland

Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Panstwowych ul. Dluga 6 00-950 Warszawa skr.poczt. 1005 Poland Fax: 48 22 831-75-63 E-mail: ndap@archiwa.gov.pl Website]


 * Genealogy

Regional State Archives

 * Biernata, Andrzeja and Anny Laszuk. Archiwa panstwowe w Polsce, Przewodnik po zasobach (State Archives in Poland, Guide to Resources). Warszawa: "DiG," 1998. (FHL book 943.8J54a 1998.)


 * Laszuk, Anna. Ksiegi metrykalne i stanu cywilnego w archiwach panstwowych w Polsce, Informator (Parish and Civil Registration Records at State Archives in Poland, Directory).Warszawa: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Panstwowych, 1998. (FHL book 943.8 J53k.)

Provincial or County Archives
In Poland many provinces have their own repositories for records pertaining to their area that are separate from those of the national government.

Many records of genealogical value are kept by these archives, including:


 * Birth, marriage, and death records
 * Census records (when available)
 * Land records
 * Some church records

The provincial archives of Poland are not open to the public. Limited access is offered only to scholars and those who have received specific permission in writing from the Polish Directorate of the Polish State Archives in Warszawa.

Church Archives
Church archives collect records generated by the church, such as parish registers. Each diocese has its own policies regarding gathering records into the archive of the diocese. Generally, older records are found in the diocesan archives; more recent records are found at the local parish.

Some Catholic dioceses have gathered older records into a diocesan archive. You can write to these archives and request brief searches of their records. See Poland Church Records.

Protestant church records can be difficult to locate in Poland. Many have been lost due to wars and boundary changes, especially so in former Pomerania regions. Many other records have been filmed and are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog. In a few cases, records still exist in the local church but have not been microfilmed (e.g. Lublin Lutheran). For a complete listing of Protestant Church archives and repositories, see references in Poland Church Directories. Some Lutheran records for former Prussian regions are held in Lutheran Church Archives in Berlin. Protestants should not hesitate to look into Catholic records for their information. If no Lutheran or other Protestant church existed in a particular area, the residents would have been civilly obligated to register their b/m/d at the nearest Catholic Church.

Many church records are kept by local parishes, which may also have earlier records. You can write to local parishes and church archives for information. See Poland Church Records.

Genealogical Societies with focus on specific regions of Poland can often help to find records that may be particularly elusive.

Catholic Archives Addresses
BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING POLISH CHURCH ARCHIVES Basic information on Polish Church Archives including postal and email addresses, prices for vital records and research services and bank details. Please note that this page will be updated often.

Libraries
Some useful sources, such as local histories, city directories, maps, newspapers, and genealogies, are available in major libraries in Poland and the United States. Contact these libraries and ask about their collection, hours, services, and fees.

Local Civil Offices
In Poland, records created by the local government less than 100 years ago—including birth, death, and marriage records—are kept in local offices. These records are not available to the public. For more information about these offices (which are comparable to county courthouses and town halls in the U.S.) and their records, see Poland Vital Records.

You can get information about records kept at local civil offices by writing to them. See Poland Letter Writing Guide.Poland Language and Languages

Historical and Genealogical Societies
Very few historical and genealogical societies exist in Poland. Such societies may maintain libraries that collect genealogical records. Some North American societies are also working at indexing and/or extracting data from Polish records of various types. For more information, including addresses of some societies, see Poland Societies.

Inventories, Registers, and Catalogs
Many archives have catalogs, inventories, guides, or periodicals that describe their records and how to use them. If possible, study these guides before you visit an archive so that you can use your time more effectively.

The Family History Library has copies of several published inventories, catalogs, directories, and guides of other libraries. These records are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under:

POLAND - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

POLAND, (COUNTY) - ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES

Websites

 * Poland Library of Congress


 * The Archives Portal Europe provides access to information on archival material from Poland as well as information on archival institutions throughout the continent

Polônia Arquivos e Bibliotecas