St. Polten, Lower Austria, Catholic Church Records, 1628-1955

About this collection

This collection contains records and transcripts from numerous Catholic parishes in the Austrian federated state of Lower Austria covering the years 1620 up to and including 1955.

The state capital of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) is St. Pölten. This state is geographically the largest state in Austria and physically surrounds the national capital state of Vienna. Lower Austria's numerous castles, monasteries and ski areas are a popular day trip for residents of Vienna. It borders the Czech Republic to the north and Slovakia to the northeast. Lower Austria is one of the historical "core countries" of Austria and was part of the hereditary lands of the House of Habsburg.

The oldest church records in this collection date from the 17th century. Some registers also date from the period of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). These parish records primarily contain information about births and baptisms, marriages, and deaths and burials. The time periods covered by individual records sets vary.

What you can find in the records

In early Church registers, the records are largely written in Latin. Later records were kept in German. Depending on the time period and on the individual formulations used, you may generally find the following details in these records:

For Births:

• Child: Given Names, Birthdate, Baptism, Witnesses
• Parents: Given Names, Mother's Maiden Name, Parents' residence

For Marriages:

• Groom: Given Names, Last Name, Residence/Birthplace, Age, Parents' Details
• Bride: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Residence/Birthplace, Age, Parents' Details
• Date and Place of Wedding

For Deaths:

• Deceased: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Age, Spouse/Parents, Death Date, Deathplace, Burial Date and Place

More about using this collection

Under "Browse this collection,” select the pertinent Parish or Church, then from the Description list choose the type of book or register desired. The sequence of birth, marriage or death records in the Church registers may not be consistent. Some congregations may have a separate register for each type of event (Birth, Marriage, Death) whereas others may record all events together chronologically in a single book.