The present-day country of Austria came into existence in 1918, following the end of the First World War. The previous history of the region can be found in the Austro-Hungarian Empire page.
note: this section is under construction.
A similar society in Germany is
Der Herold Verein für Heraldik, Genealogie und verwandte
Wissenschaften
Archivstrasse 12-14
D14195 Berlin (Dalem)
GERMANY
This society publishes the quarterly Herold and other works.
Note: Parish books and property registers were kept in the old German script, which is not used any more and may be difficult to decipher. It will be necessary to learn this script, either through self-study or from classes offered by German community colleges, to be able to read the entries when visiting an archive. Find out more at the Frequently Asked Questions page for soc.genealogy.german and further tips for Old German Script.
It is suggested that college notebooks or pads should be used instead of taking notes on loose paper slips. Paper is the cheapest material in research work, there is no reason to conserve it. Use a new page for each record and leave the back of the pages blank. Date each entry, the date can be invaluable later for reconstructions. Leave a wide margin at the right of the entries for later additions and notes.
A magnifying glass often helps to decipher the old scripts. When taking notes in archives, use only pencil and never use the old books as a backing when taking notes. Inquire about making photocopies, many archives and parish offices have copiers. It may give an undesirable impression if you carry a laptop computer as this could indicate that you plan to use your research results commercially. This is often frowned upon and the Roman Catholic Church prohibits it explicitly. However, the larger archives (e.g. diocesan archives) allow the use of such laptop computers.
As the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Evangelical Church in Austria do not permit their records to be microfilmed, you may only view documents in its archives or in the parish church on location.
Before visiting an archive, you will need to request a permit for the visit in writing from the relevant diocese. Permits are, as a rule, free of charge for amateur genealogists. At the same time, inquire into the parish office hours. Permits are normally issued for a duration of one year (individual dioceses may have different regulations). As the archives are only accessible under supervision, a small fee will be charged. More easily legible copies have been made of church records of the period between about 1835 to 1959. These can be viewed in the central archives of the bishopric. Another advantage is that these archives contain information from many parishes and expert help is available. Original records date partially back to 16th century, but mostly back to about 1650.
In the Diocese of Burgenland, original records exist back only to about 1805. Before that they are not in the parishes, but instead are collected in the diocesan archive at Eisenstadt.
Further information may be found in private archives, libraries or archives such as the national archives (Staatsarchiv) in Vienna, state archives (Landesarchiv) in the respective local capitals, city archives (Stadtarchiv), the national library in Vienna, the military history archive (Kriegsarchiv) in Vienna, etc.
The following address list of the Austrian archives is presented for the benefit those interested in making contact with the archives:
In Salt Lake City a large center for family history was established. Microfilms and microfiches are kept in the Rocky Mountains in huge underground storage rooms. Duplicates of these materials can be accessed by researchers in numerous Family History Centers (FHCs) around the world, for a small fee.
In Vienna, the FHC is located at:
Böcklinstraße 55
A-1020 Wien
Tel. 0222/7296552
Other FHCs can be found in several provinces of Austria. See Family History Centers in Austria (http://www.ettl.co.at/mormon/english/gen_gy.htm) by Michael Stanek. for addresses, hours, etc.
See also LDS: general information.