A Vienna genealogy trip can fill a week with work that no website can do for you, but only if the days are put in a sensible order. The city holds central state records, the city’s own archive, cemetery databases and offices, and several of them are only a metro ride apart. This guide suggests how to sequence a Vienna genealogy trip, what each stop offers and what to settle before you land. It is a planning aid, not a fixed itinerary, because each family’s records are different.
What Vienna holds that you cannot get at home
- The Austrian State Archives. Central records of the empire and the republic, including the Kriegsarchiv military files, in a central building and a satellite in the old city.
- The Vienna City and Provincial Archives. City and provincial administration records, including the historical residence registration files for the period before 1976.
- Cemetery and burial sources. The city’s cemetery database and burial calendar, the Jewish community’s cemetery database and other tools.
- Registry and religious community offices. The Standesamt for post-1938 entries, the Jewish community’s registers and the Evangelical church office for Lutheran and Reformed books.
A professional researcher based in Vienna observes in a published account that the Catholic parish books before 1938 are online, so the trip is best spent on the offline material. Our Vienna records guide explains the three tracks of church, civil and residence records.
A sample sequence
| Day | Focus | Why in this order |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | City archive: residence files and Vienna-related records | The residence cards give birthplaces and addresses that shape everything else |
| 2 | State Archives: central reading room | Use the details from day 1 to order precisely; allow time for 48-hour waits |
| 3 | Registry office and community offices | Request entries that the first two days showed you need |
| 4 | Cemeteries and addresses | Visit the graves and the buildings you have identified |
| 5 | Reserve day | Collect orders, return to the archive or follow a new lead |
This is one possible order. The principle is to start with the source that tells you where and when, and to leave the visits that depend on that information for later. If your family was Jewish, add a morning at the community’s archive early in the week, since appointments may be needed.
Day by day, in more detail
The city archive
The archive is in Gasometer D at Guglgasse 14, reached through Gasometer A. The city’s information page says the records are meant to be used in the reading room and that the archive handles requests about people who lived in Vienna. The residence registration slips are a key source. FamilySearch publishes the 1850 to 1910 population cards for people born before 1897, and the originals in the archive cover a broader period. A university guide to Vienna’s archives notes the archive’s own online finding system. Book ahead, and bring the full names and birth dates of the people you are researching.
The State Archives
The central building at Nottendorfer Gasse 2 serves most departments, and the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv uses the satellite at Minoritenplatz 1. Order by email with reference numbers at least three working days ahead if you can, since on-site orders take 48 hours to arrive. Our post on visiting Austrian archives sets out the rules. The Kriegsarchiv’s online name registers can tell you which sheet to order before you arrive.
Offices
For civil entries after 1938 and 1939, the City of Vienna website lists the registry offices, and access follows the national periods, with open inspection after 100 years for births, 75 for marriages and 30 for deaths. For Jewish vital records, the Jewish community in Vienna holds registers on site, and the FamilySearch catalogue lists Vienna Jewish vital records for 1835 to 1938. For Lutheran and Reformed books, the Evangelical Oberkirchenrat is the contact. See our post on non-Catholic records.
Cemeteries and addresses
Vienna’s cemeteries have several databases, covered in our post on finding graves in Austria. Pair a cemetery visit with the addresses from the residence cards, since walking the streets where a family lived adds context. Be aware that streets were renamed and renumbered, so use a historical map or an old address book to match the address to the modern building.
Getting around
Vienna’s archives are served by the metro and trams, and the city archive and the central State Archives building are about one metro stop apart, according to a Vienna-based researcher. That makes it realistic to use both on the same day if your orders are ready. The satellite State Archives site in the old city is a different journey, so give it its own half day. Check your route in advance, since the archives are in industrial and residential districts and not in the tourist centre.
Other places worth a stop
The Vienna Library in the City Hall digitised about 6,000 funeral notices, and it also holds printed sources such as address books that can place a family at an address in a given year. These are the kind of supporting sources that fit around a main archive day. Ask at the library what is available to read on site and what has been put online, so you can decide whether a visit is needed.
What to arrange before you land
- Book reading room seats and any archive appointments
- Send email orders with reference numbers to the State Archives
- Write to registry offices and the Jewish community archive about visiting arrangements
- Check opening days, closures and public holidays
- Load a transit map and note the metro lines between the archives
Invented example: Imagine an invented family, the Novotnys, who left Vienna in 1938. On day 1 the city archive’s residence slips give the father’s address and his birthplace in Moravia. On day 2 the State Archives’ files are ordered using references found beforehand, and one arrives the next day. On day 3 the Jewish community’s office provides a register entry. On day 4 the researcher visits the street and a cemetery where an earlier generation is buried. The sequence uses each stop to inform the next. This is a made-up family used to show the plan.
Where to go next
Read the trip planning guide for the overall method and the archives guide for places beyond Vienna. The Austrian genealogy guide maps the record types, and the starter kit includes a day-by-day trip sheet.
Opening hours, access rules and databases change. Confirm every detail before you travel.
