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Czechia Land and Property: Difference between revisions
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== Land Books (Pozemkové knihy) == | == Land Books (Pozemkové knihy) == | ||
<br>Czech Land Books include declarations of land and property possessed, land transfers and inheritances. The Czech name of these records has varied over time | <br>Czech Land Books include declarations of land and property possessed, land transfers and inheritances. The Czech name of these records has varied over time.These records are now called ''pozemkove knihy.'' In the past they were sometimes called ''gruntovní knihy'', ''purkrechtní knihy, urbani knihy, registra trhova, Schoppenbuch, ''and ''Gerichtsbuch. ''These books initially started being kept on the landhold level. They were later broken down to villiage, then farm level. These books were kept by a district administrator and his scribe. | ||
'''Categories of Land'''<br>There were four main types of Czech land holdings during the middle ages. These were:<br>-Domanial, belonged to the Lord or Dominus<br>-Community land farmed in common<br>-Parish land gifted to the church by peasants or local authorities<br>-Peasant holdings | |||
Historically, most land was owned by the nobility. The most basic of land records are the land tables [''zemské desky''], dating from the 13th century, which record the actual ownership of land plus purchases, cessions, and exchanges of free estates. These have lesser genealogical value and could be categorized as nobility records. | |||
The land records of greatest genealogical significance are the land books [''pozemkové knihy''] which record landholders and land lease titles. These date from about 1600. The oldest land books [''pozemkové knihy''] listed the location of the property along with the financial obligations of the landholder to the estate owner. Buildings on these lands were often listed by type in land books (cottage, blacksmith’s forge etc).Starting in the mid 1600s some records began differentiating by categories of farmers. These categories were sedlak; serfs who did not own their land, chalupnik; gardeners who owned their domicile and a small amount of land surrounding it, and zharadnik; cottagers who owned somewhat larger tracts of land. After the Thirty Years War killed many people, everyone tried to get more land and gardener and serf classes decreased. | |||
'''Serfdom'''<br>Although serfs were assigned land which was mostly theirs to manage and live off of, there were also many heavy restrictions of serfs. One of these was called Odumrt or escheat reversion. This meant on death of a peasant, the lord could take a share of his possessions. Also at any time the lord could confiscate land with or without compensation. Sometimes this confiscation was a result of serf mismanagement or bad behavior, but other times it simply suited the needs of the lord. Serfs needed the lord’s permission to move, because that affected his income from taxes and rent. However farmers did move within the lord’s holdings frequently. Serfs were also required to labor on lord’s farm. | |||
<br>'''Raabization-'''This idea was put forth by Councilman Frantisek Antonian Raab, an Austrian national economist in mid 1700s. In his plan churches and other large landholders would rent family sized plots to serf farmers (these farmers were called familanti) and could buy themselves out of required serf labor. This idea did not enjoy widespread success. Some records exist from the Raabization period | |||
'''Abolition of Serfdom 1848'''<br>One of the important aspects of the abolition of serfdom which generated many records was the process of Land Releasment. In this process, the government and the serfs each paid part of the price to buy their land and compensate lords for lost labor, land, and duties.<br>Also during this time, court and land records moved from estates to government, leaseholders became owners and peasants got equal rights and new land registers were created. All changes regarding real property, owners, or burdens were recorded at this time.No entry was allowed to be made in the books without the approval of the lord of the estate or of the city council in urban areas. These records are generally available for all of the Czech lands. | |||
<br>'''Contents of Czech Land Books: '''These records provide location and description of land and property, names of property owners and family members. Rural peasants with land rights and family members are also listed with the amount of financial obligations of the landholder toward the estate owner. Special books were sometimes included regarding marriages, wills, orphans, obligations and instrumentals. These records may show surname changes, which happened frequently, and family relationships. '''<br>Location: '''District archives [okresní archívy]. Some are in state regional archives [státní oblastní archívy].<br>'''Research use: '''With the exception of church registers and civil registration, land records are the single most important source for genealogical research. In most instances the land records provide exact family relationships. Land books identify individuals in connection with their residence. They enhance the use of church registers and can be used to bridge gaps and are often essential for linking generations. When persons with the same name need to be sorted out, this can be done by house numbers and house ownership. A study of the records of a specific piece of property can give the sequence of generations of the family surname, as ownership was usually passed from father to son. Where names change from generation to generation, land books are helpful in making proper family connections.<br>'''Accessibility: '''Through correspondence with archives in the Czech Republic, a local agent or by personal search. These books are located in various archives and collections, and sometimes locating a particular one requires thorough research. Some of these books have been destroyed, but many still survive.<br><br><br> | |||
==Cadastral Surveys== | ==Cadastral Surveys== | ||