NOTE: Using the search boxes above will search a site that requires payment. Please use the resources below if you wish to find free information.
HOME OUR FAMILIES OUR DNA FREE DATABASES RESEARCH TIPS USING YOUR COMPUTER
FREE ONLINE EUROPEAN BIRTH AND BAPTISM DATABASES
This page is a partial listing of free online resources for finding birth records for Europe. Some of the webpages are government or library sites, while others are sponsored by religious or genealogy groups. Some sites, such as the Mormon (LDS) Family History resources and a few government sites, allow their visitors to view and download certificates for free. But, in most cases, you will need to order copies of birth certificates from the appropriate county, state, or national government office.
Many of these sites also allow you to search for marriages and deaths as well, but this page will only discuss births and baptisms.
Many of the databases at FamilySearch which are listed below are indexes of information obtained from records which have been filmed by the LDS church. In those instances where the records are not yet online, films can be viewed at Family History Centers or, to learn how to order very inexpensive photocopies before the records get put online, see our ordering tips page.
If you do not find what you need at the free sites listed below, check out our discussions about other general birth records resources on our main Birth Records Page. You may want to also search the Rootsweb Mailing Lists Archiver to see if anyone has transcribed newspaper birth announcements for the area you are interested in.
For more complete, up to date lists of birth and baptismal databases for Europe at FamilySearch, see the menus for Europe at the Family Search site. If any Family Search menus do not work for you, or you encounter problems using their updated site, please read about the Family Search sites below for more information about the Family Search sites and how to deal with problems using them.
You may also wish to surf through the more comprehensive list of both free and paid birth and baptismal record sites on Cyndi's List.
We have removed the direct links to FamilySearch Pilot and Search Labs search pages for Europe which were previously listed below, because those search pages have all been removed by FamilySearch. If you are unhappy with the new search, the best we can recommend is to write to them, or post a complaint. For more details, see the sections below about the Family Search sites.
If you find, or know of, any free birth index or birth records webpages not listed below, or find any errors or broken links, please email that information to me so we can make this page a more useful resource for everyone. And if you want to learn about what other kinds of truly free genealogy resources there are which you can access from home, see our resources page.
BRITISH ISLES
The entries for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are located on our British Isles birth and baptisms page:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~thecohens/birthindexes-bri.html
CENTRAL, WESTERN AND EASTERN EUROPE
GeneaNet is a family tree site that also has many excellent birth and baptismal records databases. Note that free registration seems to be required. It may take a bit of figuring out, but be sure to visit Geneanet if you have European ancestors.
http://www.geneanet.org/archives/releves/
AUSTRIA BELARUS BELGIUM CZECHOSLOVAKIA DENMARK ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY GIBRALTAR HUNGARY ICELAND ITALY LATVIA LIECHTENSTEIN LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG NETHERLANDS NORWAY POLAND PORTUGAL PRUSSIA RUSSIA SLOVAKIA SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND UKRAINE
AUSTRIA
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
If your ancestors lived in Galicia, also be sure to check the Polish resources section below, since Poland is where records for areas formerly in Galicia and now part by Poland are housed. One example of this is the Roman Catholic Church Books from Tarnow, which include records from both Kraków and Rzsezów.
The Family Search site has an index of selected births and baptisms in Austria occurring primarily between 1651 and 1940.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1520584 (requires Javascript)
Austria, Oberösterreich, Catholic Church Records, 1581-1910. FamilySearch has browsable images of Catholic Church Records from Upper Austria, including baptisms. Most of the records appear to be from the 1800's. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1394580 (requires Javascript)
Austria, Seigniorial Records, 1537-1888. Browse images handwritten in German from Upper and Lower Austria. Along with other records, according to the wiki, this collection includes births, but we could not find any. Maybe you can find birth records here, but we make no guarantees at this point (September 2011). For more details about the collection, which is a work in progress, see it's wiki page. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1929847 (Javascript required)
Wien, Austria - Evangelical-Lutheran Church Records, 1848-1900. Family Search has browsable images of Protestant Church Duplicates for the Evangelische Kirche Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses in Österreich (Evangelical-Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria), including baptisms (Taufen). The records are in German, originals housed in Wein. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1393793 (requires Javascript)
BELARUS
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
The following site contains searchable transcriptions of church parish registers including some from Belarus. To view the site in English through Google's translation engine, click here. And for a translation of the page showing which records are available for what areas, click here.
http://www.geneteka.genealodzy.pl
JewishGen also has indexed many Jewish vital records from Belarus, some in their Polish Records Indexing and others in their Belarus Records databases.
http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl/jriplweb.htm
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/belarus/
BELGIUM
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
The Family Search site has indexed selected Belgian births and baptisms between 1560 and 1890.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1520562 (requires Javascript)
Family Search has Civil Registrations in Belgium 1795-1910, including births in Antwerpen, Brabant, Hainaut, Limburg, Liège, Namur, Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen. These are browsable images that have not been indexed. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1576392 (requires javascript)
Oost-Vlaanderen (East Flanders), Roman Catholic Parish Registers, 1588-1799. Supposedly includes browsable images of baptisms and of indexes, but has been temporarily been removed from FamilySearch to assist the Belgian National Archives. It still may be available at Family History Centers. For more details about this database, see it's FamilySearch Wiki Page.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1393332 (Javascript required)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
The Family Search site has an index of selected births and baptisms in the Czech Republic occurring primarily between 1637 and 1889.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1784129 (requires Javascript)
Trebon State Regional Archive
The Trebon State Regional Archive is digitizing Catholic parish records, primarily from the 1700's thru around 1900, and is a great birth records resource if you have Catholic Czechoslovakian or Southern Bohemian ancestors. You will need to know the name of the parish where the event took place, and then read the entries on each parish register image page, looking for your ancestor.
The following link is for the English version, Czech and German versions are also available. Be sure to start your search by clicking on the gray oval to reach the Parish Register page and choose a letter of the alphabet to reach a list of parish locations starting with the chosen letter. Note that the website cannot look for specific people. Although the webpages will be in your chosen language, the parish register image pages are in Czech with some Latin and German. If you need help with translation, join an appropriate Rootsweb mailing list or post a query to the genforum board for Czech Republic.
http://digi.ceskearchivy.cz/index_main.php?lang=en&doctree=1nr_ requires flash and Javascript
Bohemian and Moravian Church Books
Northern Bohemia: Litomerice Archive Church Books, 1552-1905. Records have been indexed, but are also available for browsing. Includes baptisms and births for various religions. Your initial choices for browsing the database are Catholic and Jewish. Then, after choosing religion, browsing is then by town or region.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1429329 (requires Javascript)
Northern Moravia: Opava Archive Church Books, 1571-1905. Database formerly covered 1650-1900, consists of browsable images of original parish records (not indexed yet). FamilySearch says the database includes birth and/or baptismal entries for Jewish congregations and for Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, and Reformed Church parishes, but your two choices for browsing the database are "Catholic" and "Jewish". (It may be that Christian and Catholic group images are together in the Catholic section.) The next level of browsing is by town or region, within the religious subcategory you chose. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1475346 (requires Javascript)
Southern Bohemia: Trebon Archive Church Books, 1650-1900. Browsable images (not indexed yet). FamilySearch says the database includes birth and/or baptismal entries for Jews and for Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed Church parishes, but your three choices for browsing the database are "Catholic," "Jewish," and "Unspecified". (We are checking into this inconsistency.) After choosing religion, browsing is then by town or region. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1472854 (requires Javascript)
FamilySearch has Czech Republic Church Books (Tschechische Republik, Kirchenbücher), including births and baptisms for about 1552 up to 1905. Text search by name is available, or you can browse the images. The towns we found were from the region of Ústí nad Labem, it is not clear what other regions are in or will be added to this online collection. However, there are Catholic, Jewish and possibly Protestant records, with exact years covered varying by locale and religion. Records are in Czech, German, and Latin. For more information about this database, see it's FamilySearch wiki page. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1804263 (Javascript required)
DENMARK
Great site for Danish ancestral records, including births and other parish records back into the 1600's. Requires Flash and free registration.
http://www.sa.dk/ao/English/default.aspx
FamilySearch has indexed 3,164,156 selected baptisms in Denmark for about 1618-1923. Information in this index comes from a variety of sources, including family records, church records and civil registrations. More recent records may not be available for reasons of privacy. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/s/collection/show#uri=http://search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1778463 (requires Javascript)
ESTONIA
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
Estonia, Church Books 1835-1940. Browsable images of records including baptisms for various churches in about two dozen areas including but not limited to Paldiski, Pärnu Issanda, Pärnu Katariina, Pôltsamaa, Rakvere, and Räpina. Years included will vary by church and parish. To learn more about this collection, read it's wiki page. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1932350 (requires Javascript)
FINLAND
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
Family Search has indexed Baptisms in Finland from about 1657-1890. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1778464 (requires Javascript)
FRANCE
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
The Family Search site has an index of nearly 7 million selected births and baptisms in France from 1546-1896. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1782519 (requires Javascript)
The LDS Family Search site has indexed records from the Coutances Catholic Diocese for 1802-1907. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1408716 (requires Javascript)
Family Search has Protestant Church Records from France including births and baptisms for 1612-1906 - index has less information than the associated images, and database was only 21% completed as of June 2010.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1582585 (requires Javascript)
Family Search has indexed baptisms in the Quimper et Léon Catholic Diocese, 1772-1909 in the department of Finistère. Images of these records are online. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1636101 (requires Javascript)
The Internet Archive has the Jacobite parochial registers of Saint Germain-en-Laye, including births:
http://www.archive.org/details/parochialregiste01sainuoft
GERMANY
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
The LDS site has church and baptismal databases for Germany. For a more complete, up to date list of birth and baptismal databases for Germany at FamilySearch, go here.
Family Search has indexed millions of Births and Baptisms from selected localities in Germany for about 1558-1898. The time period varies by locality. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1473000 (requires Javascript)
Bonndorf Parish, Baden - The LDS site has an index including births recorded in the Church Book Duplicates for 1810-1869. Also includes some entries from Ebnet. For more details about this database, see the Family Search Wiki page about the Baden Church Book Duplicates.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1395660 (requires Javascript)
Germany, Brandenburg, Heegermühle, Church Records, 1664-1824. Protestant Evangelical church records including baptisms (taufen). We found baptisms for 1664-1800. The 1824 date seems to be for marriage records (heiraten). Maybe check back if you are seeking baptisms after 1800, to see if other records have been added.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1968531 (requires Javascript)
Brandenburg, Church book duplicates from Brandenburg for 1794 or 1800 to 1874 - includes births - browse images. For more details about this database, see the Family Search Wiki page about the Brandenburg Church Book Duplicates. Note that this database has been temporarily taken offline to comply with the contractual agreement with t he archive requiring a watermark. See the known issues page for more details.
http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=waypoint&s=waypointsOnly&c=fs%3A1478677&w=0
FamilySearch has indexed Posen, Germany, Church Book duplicates for about 1806-1874, including births. Images wille online. Area covered was also temporarily part of Brandenburg and then given to Poland after World War II. For more details about this database, see the Family Search Wiki page about the Posen Church Book Duplicates. Note that this database has been temporarily taken offline to comply with the contractual agreement with the archive requiring a watermark. See the known issues page for more details.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1491272
Germany, Ludwigshafen Church Record Extractions and Family Registers - created by clergymen who extracted birth, christening, marriage, death and burial information from Parish Registers. Browse images, includes very old records, some back into the 1600's. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1475962 (requires Javascript)
Germany, Hessen-Nassau Civil Registers and Church Books, 1701-1875. This collection was removed from FamilySearch for technical reasons. It consisted of records filmed at the Marburg State Archive. For more information about the collection and a link to the database once it has been restored, visit the following wiki page.
https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Germany,_Hessen,_Marburg_Civil_Registration_and_Church_Books_(FamilySearch_Historical_Records)
FamilySearch has Pomerania, Germany, Church Records, including baptisms from about 1544 onwards into at least the late 1800's. Browsable images. The records currently online are primarily from Protestant churches, including Lutheran and Evangelical, but include some Catholic churches as well. Years covered will vary by location and type of record. To learn more about this collection, see it's Family Search wiki page. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1874205 (requires Javascript)
Germany, Saxony, Bautzen, Church Records, 1699-1915. Browse images of Lutheran Church records for Bautzen, including baptisms from about 1800-1900.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1952867 (requires Javascript)
Family Search's collection of Miscellaneous City Records from the Bavarian Archives in Germany for the period of about 1500-1900 includes Jewish births. These records are basically handwritten in German but Jewish records may have some Hebrew. Note that the collection seems to be a work in progress, with more records being added as time goes on, so check back in a week or two if you do not find what you are looking for here. The Wiki page has more information about this database. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1876416 (Javascript required)
The Baden-Wuerttemberg archives have placed copies of primarily Jewish vital records and family registers from many dozens of towns for about 1808 to 1875 online. There also are Catholic and other births and baptisms for some of these locations. These browsable images are from the Gatermann films of the records which were made during the Nazi era. Start your browsing by clicking on the letter for the town you want to search at the second link below. Website is in German, records are primarily in German and Hebrew. For tips about understanding the records, try reading Jewish civil records of the 19th century in Southern Germany.
Home page https://www2.landesarchiv-bw.de/ofs21/olf/startbild.php?bestand=5632
Start Browsing https://www2.landesarchiv-bw.de/ofs21/olf/struktur.php?bestand=5632
The Mennonite Genealogy site has transcriptions of many Mennonite Prussian births and baptisms 1600s-1800s, including some villages in areas now in Germany
http://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/prussia/#Church
Rootsweb's User Contributed German Records Databases include baptisms for the Schader and Schaider surnames from 1759 through 1856. You may select "baptism" from the dropdown menu to narrow your search.
http://userdb.rootsweb.ancestry.com/deu
GIBRALTAR
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
Family Search has indexed selected births and baptisms in Gibraltar for 1704-1876
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1770864 (requires Javascript)
HUNGARY
Jewish Births in Hungary, transcribed from LDS microfilms, from 1800 up to the 1920's. Requires free registration. If dropdown boxes for narrowing initial search do not work in your browser, click on the List Records box by "Hungarian births" to view your results.
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Hungary/Births.htm
Family Search's collection for Hungary includes images of Civil Registrations, with births for about 1895-1920. Includes records from the counties of Abauj-Torna, Bihar, Borsod, Fejér, Gömör, Hajdu, Komárno, Szabolcs, and Szatmár as well as the city of Budapest including Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kis-Kun district. The most recent records may not necessarily be displayed due to privacy laws. These are browsable images which have not been indexed yet. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1452460 (requires Javascript)
Family Search has also indexed selected baptisms in Hungary between 1704 and 1895. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
Hungary Reformed Church Christenings, 1624-1895. Ongoing indexing project consisting of extracts of christenings in Hungarian, Latin and Greek, nearly 2.5 million names so far. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1858355 (requires Javascript)https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1804226 (requires Javascript)
Hungary Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch is indexing Catholic Church records including christenings. Collection includes events in the 1800's and possibly earlier, eventually can include baptisms from the 1600's and 1700's. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1743180 (requires Javascript)
ICELAND
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
Family Search has indexed Baptisms in Iceland for 1730-1905. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1584974 (requires Javascript)
ITALY
The entries for Italy have been moved to our new special page for free birth and baptismal databases just for Italy:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~thecohens/birthindexes-italy.html
LATVIA
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
Jewish Rabbinate vital records - this great website has transcriptions of Rabbinic vital records from the Latvian State Historical Archives, including births from Riga, Dvinsk (Daugavpils), Libau, Malta (Silmala) and more from around the 1830's thru the early 1900s. The years covered vary for each community.
http://www.premiumorange.com/rigavitalrecords/
LIECHTENSTEIN
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
Family Search has indexed Births and Baptisms in Liechtenstein for 1650-1875. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1708589 (requires Javascript)
LITHUANIA
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
The following site contains searchable transcriptions of church parish registers including some from Lithuania. To view the site in English through Google's translation engine, click here. And for a translation of the page showing which records are available for what areas, click here.
http://www.geneteka.genealodzy.pl
JewishGen's Polish Records Indexing (PRI) project has many Jewish vital records from Lithuania. You will need to sign in to view search results.
http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl/jriplweb.htm (requires Javascript)
The JewishGen Lithuania Database is another project which is indexing Jewish Births in Lithuania, and often contains more detail than is in the PRI index. If you are able to help translate more Polish, Russian, or Hebrew/Yiddish records, visit Litvak SIG's Volunteer Opportunities Page.
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Lithuania/ (requires Javascript)
LUXEMBOURG
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
Index of about 7,800 births and baptisms from a selected localities in Luxembourg for 1662-1840. Years covered vary by locality.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1520578 (requires Javascript)
The LDS site has browsable Luxembourg Civil Registration records from 1793-1923. These are not indexed but do include some births. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1709358 (requires Javascript)
NETHERLANDS
Genlias
Genlias has birth information for all provinces in the Netherlands. its database includes birth records for the period 1811-1903, as well as some parish records of baptisms dating back well beyond 1811.
Home page: http://www.genlias.nl (requires Javascript)
Contents: http://www.genlias.nl/en/page16.jsp
Netherlands Digital Genealogy Portal
The Netherlands Digital Genealogy Portal covers vital records for the Hague and the municipalities of Amersfoort, Delft, Eindhoven, Haarlem, Leiden, and Rotterdam. Each municipality has its own search page, but you can search for all of them through the Netherlands Digital Genealogy Portal. Which records are online does vary by region.
http://www.digitalestamboom.nl/search.aspx?lang=en-US
Note that each of the above municipalities has its own page as well, all of which are individually hyperlinked above.
Family Search - Netherlands
Family Search has both Church Records and Civil Registrations from the Netherlands in several databases. Be sure to check the other databases listed in this section if the records you are looking for do not appear in the first database you search. Also try variant spellings and likely mistransciptions in your searches, you may find the records you are seeking by doing that.
Index to births and baptisms Netherlands in selected locations 1564-1910. The time period covered varies by locality, and more recent records may not be displayed for privacy protection.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1778468 (requires Javascript)
Gelderland Province, Netherlands - Family Search has browsable images of Civil Registrations 1811-1950, including births. Part of this area is now in North Brabant. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1554394 (requires Javascript)
Family Search also has Limberg Parish register transcripts containing baptisms for various towns during the years 1600-1822. Images can be browsed, are not searchable by name. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1404156 (requires Javascript)
Zuid-Holland Province, Netherlands - Family Search has browsable images of Civil Registrations 1811-1942, including births. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1576401 (requires Javascript)
Family Search has indexed births from Civil Registrations in Netherlands from about 1792 onwards. More recent records will not be available due to privacy laws. Online images are available for this collection. To search this database, select the country from your choices on the left, and then narrow your selection further by clicking on the appropriate choices (one at a time) for state or province, city, type of record and possibly time frame. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1831469 (requires Javascript) Problems?
NORWAY
The following is a great site for Norwegian genealogy, and has digitized parish records going back several hundred years.
http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/WebFront.exe?slag=vis&tekst=meldingar&spraak=e
Baptisms in Norway - indexed by the Norwegian Historical Data Centre at the University of Tromsø (UiTø), baptisms from Parish Registers from 1664 to 1929 for selected parishes. Years covered vary for each parish, and this is an ongoing project.
http://www.rhd.uit.no/kirkebok/kirkebok_sok_e.aspx
Index to selected baptisms in Norway 1634-1927. The time period covered varies by locality, and more recent records may not be displayed for privacy protection. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1467014(requires Javascript)
POLAND
The following site contains searchable transcriptions of church parish registers including records from Lodz, Lesser Poland, Mazovia, Subcarpathia, Podlachia, Pomerania, Swietokrzyskie, and Greater Poland. To view the site in English through Google's translation engine, click here. And for a translation of the page showing which records are available for what areas, click here.
http://www.geneteka.genealodzy.pl
All Saints Parish in Warsaw - Ongoing transcription project - includes births and baptisms for 1866-1909. You may wish to visit with a translation engine, such as this Google Translation or paste the following URL of the site, written in Polish, into another engine. However, once you get oriented, you may need to visit the site without the use of a translation engine to view or download the databases because of their size:
http://sites.google.com/site/wszswwawametrykalia/Home/dane-2
Pl/ock - index of birth records from the Roman-Catholic parish registry office from 1826-1907 - ongoing transcription project of the Pl/ock Archives
http://www.archiwum.plock.com/acts_start_en.php
The Pomorskie Province Genealogical Association (Pomorskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne) has a detailed index of baptisms from about 1595 through 1909 for Pomorskie Province. One of their ongoing genealogy database projects. Their home page also has beautiful pictures of old buildings.
http://www.ptg.gda.pl/index.php/certificate/action/searchB/
Radziwie - index of birth records from the Roman-Catholic parish registry office from 1826-1909 - ongoing transcription project of the Pl/ock Archives
http://www.archiwum.plock.com/acts_en_radz.php
JewishGen has indexed many Jewish vital records for Poland and the surrounding countries.
http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl/jriplweb.htm
The Mennonite Genealogy site has transcriptions of many Mennonite Prussian births and baptisms 1600s-1800s, some in villages which are now in Polish territory. They specifically have transcriptions of Mennonite Births for 1787-1817 found in the Catholic Church Records of Culm, West Prussia. Culm was in Germany, has also been referred to as Kulm, and now is in Poland and called Chelmno. (To see the listing of all their Prussian church records, use the second link below.)
http://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/prussia/Culm_Mennonite_Births.html
http://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/prussia/#Church
PolandGenWeb has transcriptions of births and baptisms for many districts, some from as early as the 1600's. They provide a FreeFind search engine box. Be sure to click on the link for "Search hints" to learn about using their wild card options if your first search does not yield the desired results. And check back soon - many people are working on transcriptions for the site.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~polwgw/polandarchives.html
Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books, 1600-1950. FamilySearch has browsable images of Roman Catholic Church Book extracts, including baptisms from Lublin, Gliwice, and Czestochowa. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1867931 (requires Javascript)
Poland, Radom Diocese Church Books, 1654-1946 - this browse-only database disappeared from the menu of online collections at Family Search. It was said to include baptisms, but according to a family search forum post (in Italian), was apparently ONLY available as of January 2011 to visitors with LDS accounts. We also wrote them, and they said this is a "limited collection," but that it should eventually also be available at Family History Centers. For more details, see their Known Issue Wiki Post.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1407440 (collection may only be available at Family History Centers or on film)
FamilySearch's collection of Pomeranian Church Records includes records from Neustattin, Poland. Browsable images. To learn more about this collection, see it's Family Search wiki page. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1874205 (requires Javascript)
Poland, Tarnow Roman Catholic Diocese Church Books, 1612-1900. Searchable name index , no images online. Note the Tarnow Diocese in Poland was formerly in Galicia, Austria. Includes information extracted from baptism records from parishes in many towns in Kraków and Rzsezów. Original records are in Latin. Years of coverage do seem to vary by location, and we only found baptism records for 1704 thru 1900 as of January 2012. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1985025 (requires Javascript)
PORTUGAL
We would like to list more databases for this country. Please do email me if you have any suggestions.
FamilySearch has many more collections in it's menu that contain births and baptisms for Portugal than we have listed below, including ones for Braganca, Lamego, Faro, Leiria, Porto, Setubal, Viana do Castelo and Vila Real. This is because most of them are "limited access" online collections which can only be viewed by LDS Church members. We have placed more information about the restricted collections containing births or baptisms and which do not have open access, on our restricted access collections page. For the complete list of all collections in Portugal, see the Family Search Menu for Portugal.
Family Search: Index to selected baptisms in Portugal for about 1570-1910. Includes baptisms in Beja, Coimbra, Évora, Funchal, Leiria, Lisbon, Portalegre, Porto, Setúbal and Viseu. This collection of over 400,000 records is based on the International Genealogical Index (IGI) and you have the option of searching by batch number. The time period varies by locality.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1520601 (requires Javascript)
Portugal, Catholic Church Records, 1530-1890. Catholic Church parish records from the archives in the districts of Braga and Porto in Portugal including baptisms. Images were browsable, with no text search. NOTE: This collection seems to have been been removed. We will post more details soon as soon as we can.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1850164 (requires Javascript)
FamilySearch has Catholic Church Records from Braga, Portugal (Registros Paroquiais da Igreja Católica, Arquidiocese de Braga) for 1530-1911. Browsable images of records handwritten in Portuguese, includes baptisms. To learn more about their history and about using these records, see the wiki page.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1913410 (Javascript required)
Coimbra, Portugal: Catholic Church Records, 1459-1911. Browse images including baptismal records, currently primarily for 1895 through 1911 from towns in the municipalities of Coimbra, Condeixa-a-Nova, Figueira da Foz, Montemor-o-Velho, Penela, and Vila Nova de Poiares. Original images are from the Archive of the University of Coimbra. Collection is a work in progress, more baptisms records to be added as available.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1928593 (requires Javascript)
PRUSSIA
If your ancestors came from Prussia, finding old country records for them is not likely to be an easy task, as the former Prussian government ruled a large part of Europe, much of which is now in either Germany, Poland, or the Ukraine, as well as in smaller neighboring countries.
But, whatever the faith of your Prussian ancestors, if you know the town or village they came from, then you can search the following database to identify the current ruling government most likely to have any civil records which have survived the ravages of time. This may also help you identify where to hunt for any surviving church records.
http://www.jewishgen.org/Communities/LocTown.asp
If you are looking for Prussian Mennonite births or baptisms, the Mennonite Genealogy site may also have records of interest to you.
http://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/prussia/#Church
RUSSIA
If your ancestors came from Russia, finding old country records for them is not likely to be an easy task, as the Russian government formerly ruled a large part of Europe and Asia, much of which is now in either Germany, Poland, Kazakhstan or the Ukraine, as well as in smaller neighboring countries.
Your first task will be to ascertain where they came from in Russia, so you know where to look for records. If you know when it was that they said they were from Russia, that can give you clues as to whether they were truly Russian, or simply from an occupied territory. Besides old letters or family bibles, good places to look are census records, immigration records, passenger lists, social security and military records. To learn more about many free online resources you can access from home to helo you figure this out, see our online database resources page.
Family Search also has a few databases containing specifically Russian records, and we have listed those in the Asian section of our Birth Indexes Home Page, since the current country of Russia is geographically in Asia.
SLOVAKIA
Slovakia: Presov Region Church and Synagogue Books 1592-1910 - browsable images of births and baptisms in Northeastern Slovakia including parishes for many religions, including Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Evangelical Lutheran, and Reformed Christian parishes, as well as Jewish congregations. The original records are now housed in the State Regional Archive of Presov. Entries are in Latin, Hungarian, Slovak, and German. You may need to sign in to view images.
Hungarian Place Names https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1670491 (requires Javascript)
Slovakian Place Names https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1554443 (requires Javascript)
SPAIN
The Basque national archive website has historical Sacramental Records from the Dioceses of Bilbao, San Sebastian, and Vitoria.
http://www.snae.org/default.en.php
Family Search's collection of Municipal Record images for 1837-1870 from Cadiz, Granada and Malaga includes births and baptisms. Text search available. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1594998 (requires Javascript)
Family Search Index of nearly nine million baptisms in Spain from selected localities for about 1502-1940, including baptisms in Alava, Albacete, Badajoz, Barcelona, Burgos, Cantabria, Ciudad Real, Gerona, Jaén, La Coruña, Lugo, Murcia, Pontevedra, Santander and Valladolid. The time period varies by locality, and more recent records may not be displayed due to privacy laws. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1500692 (requires Javascript)
The Family Search site has Catholic Church Records from Spain for about 1500-1930, which include baptism records from Albacete, Avila, Ciudad Real, Gerona, Murcia, and Salamanca. These records are indexed for searching by name as well as browsable. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1784529 (requires Javascript)
Diocese of Albacete, Spain: Catholic Church Records, 1504-1979. FamilySearch has indexed over a million Catholic church records, some of which are baptisms in the province of Albacete. The images of these records are included, and are primarily in Spanish, with some Latin in the earlier records. Precise years of coverage will vary by parish. The wiki has a more complete description of the collection. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1431011 (requires Javascript)
Diocese of Avila, Spain: Catholic Church Records (Registros Parroquiales de la Diócesis Católica de Ávila, España), 1502-1975. This collection includes images of Catholic church records which have been indexed for searching by name. Years of coverage will vary by parish, we only found baptisms up to around 1900, but you may be able to find more recent baptisms in some parishes. To learn more, read the wiki page. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1449880 (requires Javascript)
The LDS site is indexing Catholic Parish Records from the Lugo Diocese in Spain for 1550-1930. To search Beta, select the country from your choices on the left, and then narrow your selection by clicking on the appropriate choices (one at a time) for state or province, city, type of record and possibly time frame.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1583608 (requires Javascript)
This next page has births in Bezana, Spain from about 1770 to 2000, but very few have actual dates. Although the website disappeared when Geocities shut down, you can still access the site's pages through the Internet Archive. The catch is that none of the links on the pages there will work. If you want to view any other page from the old site, you will need to paste the web address of that particular page into the "Wayback Machine" search box at the Internet Archive. If you find where the site has moved, please email me.
Cache of http://es.geocities.com/bezana_valledevaldebezana/archivosotros/nacimientos.html
SWEDEN
The LDS site has searchable baptisms from selected localities in Sweden from about 1611 onwards. The time period varies by locality. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1520594 (requires Javascript)
Rootsweb's User Contributed Swedish Records Databases include selected births from Orebro: Lindesberg.
http://userdb.rootsweb.ancestry.com/sweden
FamilySearch Collections from the Swedish Archives
FamilySearch has many databases for Sweden which index or link to records from the National Archives in Sweden. The searchable, detailed indexes created by FamilySearch volunteers are free. But we are sorry to say that the images from the Swedish Archives that they list as available for browsing for free, and those which were used to create the searchable indexes, are only available for free at Family History Centers and to "members of supporting organizations". We are still listing the collections below, even though that free access is restricted, so folks looking for them will know whether and how they can access them for free. If you are not able to obtain free access, paid access to the National Archives of Sweden website is available for a fee.
Note that if you click on the words "Learn more" on the opening screens of the collections below, most of them will provide a translated list of Swedish words essential to understand in doing research in the records. The word "socken" means parish, and "signum" means type of record. Birth record books are generally labeled as "Födlese och dopböker" in your browsing choices.
Sweden, Blekinge Church Records, 1612-1916; index 1646-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Blekinge. The Wiki page for this collection includes a list of important Swedish words translated to English. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978771 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Gotland Church Records, 1582-1940; index 1655-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers from birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Gotland. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978340 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Gävleborg Church Records, 1616-1908; index 1671-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers from birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Gävleborg. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978770 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Göteborg och Bohus Church Records, 1577-1932; index 1659-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers from birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Göteborg och Bohus. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978769 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Halland Church Records, 1615-1904; index 1615-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers from birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in Halland county. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978341 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Jämtland Church Records, 1582-1928; index 1642-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers from birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Jämtland. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978136 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Jönköping Church Records, 1581-1935; index 1633-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers from birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Jönköping. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1930273 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Kalmar Church Records, 1577-1907; index 1625-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers from birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Kalmar. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1930243 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Kopparberg Church Records, 1604-1900; index 1628-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Kopparberg. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1977549 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Kristianstad Church Records, 1585-1910; index 1646-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Kristianstad. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978124 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Kronoberg church records to 1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Kronoberg. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978118 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Malmöhus Church Records, 1541-1918; index 1646-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Malmöhus. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1974200 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Norrbotten Church Records, 1612-1923; index 1658-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Norrbotten. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978781 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Skaraborg Church Records, 1612-1921; index 1625-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the former county of Skaraborg. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978775 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Stockholm Church Records, 1556-1939, index 1634-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Stockholm. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1979433 (requires Javascript)
Södermanland Church Records, including selected baptisms for 1640-1860. Indexed, includes links to the images at the Swedish Archive Website. To search this database, select the country from your choices on the left, and then narrow your selection further by clicking on the appropriate choices (one at a time) for state or province, city, type of record and possibly time frame. The index is freely available, but the images are only free under certain conditions.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1647693 (requires Javascript)
FamilySearch has Church Records from Uppsala, Sweden, including extracts of selected baptisms for 1613-1860. An index and links to the images at the Swedish Archive are available. To search this database, select the country from your choices on the left, and then narrow your selection further by clicking on the appropriate choices (one at a time) for state or province, city, type of record and possibly time frame. The index is freely available, but the images are only free under certain conditions.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1647598
Sweden, Värmland Church Records, 1509-1925; index 1640-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Värmland. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978776 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Västerbotten Church Records, 1619-1896; index, 1688-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Västerbotten. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1979430 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Västernorrland Church Records, 1501-1940; index 1650-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Västernorrland. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1949331 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Västmanland Church Records, 1538-1901; index 1622-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Västmanland. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978777 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Älvsborg Church Records, 1642-1897; index 1681-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the former county of Älvsborg. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1978773 (requires Javascript)
FamilySearch has indexed Örebro, Sweden Church Records, including selected baptisms for 1641-1860. An index of these records and links to the online images at the Swedish State Archive are available. To search this database, select the country from your choices on the left, and then narrow your selection further by clicking on the appropriate choices (one at a time) for state or province, city, type of record and possibly time frame. The index is freely available, but the images are only free under certain conditions.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1647578 (requires Javascript)
Sweden, Östergötland Church Records, 1555-1911; index 1616-1860. Browse images of birth indexes and registers in birth and christening books (Födlese och dopböker) kept by the Lutheran church in the county of Östergötland. The images for this collection are only free under certain conditions. See details above.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://www.familysearch.org/searchapi/search/collection/1979429 (requires Javascript)
SWITZERLAND
Family Search has indexed over a million baptisms from selected localities in Switzerland, including baptisms in Baselland, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Genève, Luzern, Switzerland, Thurgau, Vaud, and Zürich from about 1491 onwards. The time period covered varies by locality. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1520585 (requires Javascript)
Family Search also has church record images from Schaffhausen, Switzerland including births and baptisms from about 1540-1875. These are browsable only (i.e., not indexed). You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1498311 (requires Javascript)
Switzerland, Church Book Extracts, 1550-1875 - FamilySearch has browsable images of family register cards, currently at least including information about baptisms in Basel, Bern, Graubünden, Solothurn, Valais and Zürich. Most of the records are from the 1800's. You may need to sign in to view images.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1790933 (requires Javascript)
Switzerland, Church Records, 1277-1992. Family Search has browsable images of church books, from Basel City and Bern, for about 1277-1992. Not indexed for searching by name; database includes images of baptism records (taufen) and of baptism indexes (taufenregister). Precise years of coverage vary by parish. But this is a limited access collection. The images will eventually be available to Family History Center Patrons, but according to the Known Issues Page, they are currently only available to members of sponsoring organizations (e.g., the Mormon Church).
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1640373 (requires Javascript)
UKRAINE
The following site contains searchable transcriptions of church parish registers and has some Ukrainian records. To view the site in English through Google's translation engine, click here. And for a translation of the page showing which records are available for what areas, click here.
http://www.geneteka.genealodzy.pl
Odessa births and baptisms in the 1800s from the St. Petersburg Lutheran Evangelical archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ukrgs/odessa/index.html#Births
Volhynia - births and baptisms from the 1830s to 1885 from the St. Petersburg Lutheran Evangelical archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ukrgs/volhynia/index.html#Births
Ukraine - the LDS Family Search site has indexed about 14,000 births and baptisms from selected localities, including Lviv and Odesa, for about 1784-1879. The time period varies by locality. Click here for how to purchase copies of indexed records if you need them before they go online.
https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/show#uri=http://hr-search-api:8080/searchapi/search/collection/1771086 (requires Javascript)
The Mennonite Genealogy site has transcription of the Mennonite Fuerstenland (Fürstenland) Colony's Baptism Register for 1885-1932
http://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/russia/Fuerstenland_Baptism_Register.htm
JewishGen's Polish Records Indexing project has indexed many Jewish vital records including some Ukrainian births.
http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl/jriplweb.htm
Register of Jews born in Odessa in 1846.
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ukrodess/page5.html
JewishGen's Ukraine Special Interest Group is actively working on procuring and transcribing additional Jewish vital records from Ukraine. For updates or to help, go to the webpage for the UkraineSIG.
Family Search Labs and Pilot
The birth and baptismal databases formerly listed above at FamilySearch Labs and Pilot have been transferred to the main Family Search site, so we have removed the links to the Search Labs and Pilot seasrch pages, as those links now simply take you to the main FamilySearch website search pages.
If any of the above Family Search database links break, you should be able to find the database you want to access at the other links we have provided. In those cases where there is no associated link to the main site, if the Labs link dies, you can visit the current menu for Europe at Family Search to try to locate a replacement.
We will continue to update the links as soon as we know about any changes. But do let us know by emailing us if you find any broken links. Be sure to specify which link on what page or for exactly which database.
But if you are having difficulties with any of Family Search's sites or databases, we strongly recommend you let them know so they know what is giving people trouble or needs fixing. See more about how to do so in the next section about Beta and New Family Search.
Family Search Beta and New Family Search
The links we have provided above for specific European birth and baptismal databases at FamilySearch were the best we could find on a website that is under major revision. The links are likely to change and may not yield narrow enough search results because they are still working on the site. If you find searching there too frustrating, we do recommend you let them know what kinds of problems you have with the site.
For more information about this, see the Family Search section on our Birth Records home page. And remember that even if there are too many or inappropriate results, you should be able to narrow the results by clicking on the selection criteria on the left panel.
If that does not work, you definitely should let them know whether by submitting your problems, constructive criticism and suggested improvements using their feedback links, posting in an online forum, especially http://getsatisfaction.com/familysearch/topics/, or by emailing support@familysearch.org as they will only work on specific issues if enough people complain about them. However, we have found that the first email to them on any particular issue often gets a frustrating generic response. What we suggest is that, if you are not satisfied with the response you get, do write back and emphasize your point or ask for clarification. They do seem to pay more attention and make more sense on followup responses.
If you have an old link to a specific database at Family Search that contained birth or baptism information, and are having trouble getting it to work or finding the replacement database, you might want to scan our lists of old Family Search database links to see if that can help you find a replacement. Feel free to email us if you continue to need help finding its replacement.
We will be updating the links above as we learn about changes. But please do email us if you find any broken links on this page.
This page is http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~thecohens/birthindexes-eur.html
Revised April 9, 2012
Search this site
NOTE: The links below will take you off of our personal family site, to various articles at the Learning Center at http://www.ancestry.com