Depending on the time period, records may be in several languages: German, Hungarian, Hebrew, or Latin.
By decree of the Austrian Emperor, in 1787 all Jews within the Empire were required to adopt German surnames.
Although the Emperor also required the rabbi in each Jewish community to maintain registers of births, marriages, and deaths, before 1848 the rule was often ignored.
Austrian State Archives (Österreichisches Staatsarchiv)
Nottendorfer Gasse 2
A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 (1) 79540-0
E-mail: gdpost@oesta.gv.at
The Austrian State Archives holds material about people who worked for the supreme bodies and central authorities (ministries) of the Hapsburg territories and the Republic of Austria since 1526, as well as about people who were in contact with these authorities as a result of civil law or probate matters.
https://www.statearchives.gv.at/ [English-language website]
Austrian National Library (Österreichisches Nationalbibliothek)
Josefsplatz 1
Postfach 25
1015 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43(1) 534 10
Fax: +43 (1) 534 10-280
Email: onb@onb.ac.at
The Austrian National Library has vast holdings of Austrian name dictionaries, gazetteers, maps, directories, and historical newspapers.
http://www.onb.ac.at/en [English-language website]
Austrian War Archives (Kriegsarchiv)*
Nottendorfer Gasse 2
A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 (1) 79540-452
Fax: +43 (1) 79540-109
E-mail: ka@oesta.gv.at
The Austrian War Archives holds Austro-Hungarian military records through the fall of the Empire in 1918. https://www.statearchives.gv.at/ [English-language website]
*English-language guides to the holdings of the Austrian War Archives are available at http://ahmilitary.blogspot.com and https://www.statearchives.gv.at/family-research/kriegsarchiv.html.
Vienna Municipal and Provincial Archives (Wiener Stadt- und Landesarchiv)
Gasometer D, Guglgasse 14
A-1110 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 1 4000-84808
Fax: +43 1 4000-84809
E-mail: post@ma08.wien.gv.at
The Vienna Municipal and Provincial Archives holds many historical records from the city and province of Vienna, including residence registration records, coroner records, and probate records.
https://www.wien.gv.at/english/history/archives [English-language website]
Archives of the Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien)*
Seitenstettengasse 4
A–1010 Vienna, Austria
Tel.: +43/1/531 04-0
Fax: +43/1/531 04-108
E-mail: office@ikg-wien.at
The Archives of the Jewish Community of Vienna’s collections include birth, marriage and death registers of the Jewish population in Vienna and of some former Jewish communities in Lower Austria and Burgenland, 1784-1938, as well as other extensive sources regarding the Holocaust and the history and development of the Jewish community in Vienna.
http://www.archiv-ikg-wien.at [German only]
* Viennese Jewish birth, marriage, and death registers, 1784-1911, may be viewed (but NOT searched) online at https://familysearch.org/search/collection/2028320. Viennese Jewish birth and marriage registers through 1938 and death registers through 1931 are available on microfilm at the Leo Baeck Institute at the Center for Jewish History (see “Archival Collections” section below).
The Family History Library has microfilmed many genealogical records from across Austria. To find microfilms relevant to your family history, go to the FHL Online Catalog, https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog, and search by “Places” for a town or county of origin.
The Family History Library is in the process of digitizing and indexing their collections. Many record collections are already available on their website, as either images only, indexes only, or both images and indexes, including Viennese meldezettel (population cards), 1850-1896, and Viennese Jewish birth, marriage, and death registers, 1784-1911. To browse their digitized collections from Austria, visit https://familysearch.org/search/collection/location/1927070?region=Austria.
The FHL is no longer lending microfilm. However, the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute at the Center for Jewish History already has over 2,400 microfilms available for on-site use (on long-term loan from the FHL). For a complete list of these, please visit http://www.jgsny.org/index.php/ny-area-research/ackman-ziff/lds-films.
