Austria, Evangelical-Lutheran Church Records, 1783-1991

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of church book duplicates from the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria (Evangelische Kirche Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses in Österreich) and records from 1848 to 1900. The collection also includes records from the parishes of the Evangelical Church of the Helvetic Confession (Evangelische Kirche Helvetisches Bekenntnisses in Österreich). Original records are located in the Evangelischer Oberkirchenrat A.u.H.B., Vienna.

The collection includes records such as: Taufen (baptism), Trauungen (marriage), Sterben (death or burial), Toten (death or burial), Taufregister (baptismal index), Trauungsregister (marriage index), and Sterberegister (death or burial index). The text of the records is in German. In the Description, a two-letter abbreviation is listed (either AB or HB).

There are two different Evangelical churches in Austria. One belongs to the Evangelisch Lutheran tradition and is called the Lutheran Church A.B. (Augsburg Confession); the other one is part of the Evangelisch Reformiert Reformed Lutheran Tradition and is marked by the label, H.B. (Helvetic Confession). In the records, the abbreviation AB follows the city name. The combined membership of the Lutheran churches in Austria make up close to 5% of the total Austrian population. The Lutheran Church has approximately 356,500 members; the Reformed Lutheran Church has approximately 19,500 members.

The church books stored at the archive in Vienna are duplicates of the originals. The originals are still in parishes around the country. Often the originals include records for earlier years than the duplicates because the order to duplicate the church books was not given until 1848.

Church records were created to record church sacraments associated with the life events of the parishioners, such as baptism, marriage, and burial. This collection of church books is a reliable and accurate source for genealogical research. Accuracy in the records for such information as dates, ages, and places is dependent upon the accuracy of the person giving the information and the accuracy of the recording by the ecclesiastical.

For a list of localities currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

Reading These Records

These records are written in German. For help reading them see:

• German Genealogical Word List
• Germany Handwriting
• Brigham Young University Script Tutorial: German

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for Austria, Evangelical-Lutheran Church Records, 1848-1900.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The following information may be found in these records:

Birth or Baptism Name of baptized child Date and place of birth Date of baptism and location Gender Parents' names, status, place of birth, religion Names of godparents Whether child was legitimate or illegitimate or stillborn Additional remarks

Marriage Date and Place of Marriage Groom's Age, Marital Status, Occupation and Residence Names of Groom's Parents, including Maiden Name of Mother Bride's Age, Marital Status, Occupation and Residence Names of Bride's Parents, including Maiden Name of Mother Birthplaces of Bride and Groom Witnesses' Names, Age and Occupation

Death and Burial Date and Place of Death and Burial Name and Age of Deceased Cause of Death Father of Deceased and his Occupation Date and Birthplace of Deceased Marital Status of Deceased If Married, the Name of the Spouse

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1896 Birth/Baptism Record

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  1877 Marriage Record

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  1839 Death Record