Austria, Upper Austria, Linz Citizen Rolls - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record
Österreich, Oberösterreich, Linz Bürgerbücher

Record Description
This collection of citizen records includes the years 1658 to 1937.

This collection of citizen records for the city of Linz may give the name, residence, age, occupation, and tax information for each citizen. The text is handwritten in German. Some documents are written in ledger type format, others in narrative style. The collection also includes citizen land registers (burgerkataster), tax invoices (rechnungen), orphan books (waisenbuch), lists of proprietors (hauserverzeichnis), and certificates of family origin (heimatschein).

This collection has a variety of legal records, all relating to citizen records of residence status, property, taxes, heirs, etc.

These records were created to track the identification, property, and taxes of all citizens and people applying for citizenship.

Citizen records are reliable, but keep in mind that these do not have as much information as church and civil records. Use these records when vital information can’t be found elsewhere.

For a list of records by date or locality currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Citizen lists usually include the following information:


 * Date issued
 * Name of principal
 * Occupation
 * Marital status
 * Residence
 * Age
 * Physical description
 * Spoken language

Outstanding tax records usually include the following information:


 * Name of person
 * Marital status
 * Place of residence

Citizenship and oath of allegiance lists usually include the following information:


 * Name of person
 * Age or date of birth
 * Place of residence
 * Occupation
 * Signature of person swearing the oath
 * Name of representative, if any

Inheritance tax records usually include the following information:


 * Name of the deceased person
 * Names of heirs
 * Taxes information

How to Use the Record
To search the collection: ⇒ Select the "Browse" link in the initial search page ⇒ Select the "Item of Interest" which takes you to the images.

Indexes are available on some of these groups of images. If indexes are available, check these for the name first. Indexes are usually located at the beginning of a group of images or at the end. Find your ancestors name and look for the locator information next to the name (such as page, entry, or certificate number). This will help you find the record you are looking for in the collection.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine which one is your ancestor. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to make this determination.

For Help Reading the Records
These records are in German. For help reading the records, see the following wiki article: German Word List

Related Websites

 * Austrian Citizenship
 * Citizenship Act
 * Obtaining Austrian Citizenship
 * Austrian Nationality Laws
 * Oberosteriches Landesarchiv

Related Wiki Articles

 * Austria
 * Austria Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Citations for individual image records are available for this collection. Browse through images in this collection and click on the "Show Citation" box: Austria, Upper Austria, Linz Citizen Rolls, 1658-1937

When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Records collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.