Sweden Gazetteers

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Gazetteers

Online Gazetteers

• FamilySearch Places
• Konungariket Sverige : en topografisk statistisk beskrifning med historiska anmärkningar Volumes 2 & 3 (vol 1 is currently print only)
• Sweden, official standard names approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names
• Rosenbergs geografiska lexikon
• Sveriges församinligar genom tiderna (Swedish Parishes throughout Time)
• Swedish Parishes
• Ortnamnsregistret The Institute for Language and Folklore (Institutet för språk och folkminnen or Isof) is a Swedish government authority that has identified, and collected knowledge about Sweden’s place names, language and culture.
• Tour of Sweden. Listing of All Small Places in Sweden by proximity to each other. This resource will help you to recognize the "farm" names of small places, one of the key data points for uniquely identifying a Swedish person.
• Geografiskt-statistiskt handlexikon öfver Sverige. Carl Martin Rosenberg, Geografiskt-statistiskt handlexikon öfver Sverige, Stockholm, Sweden : A.V. Carlsons förlag, 1882-1883, volumes 1 and 2. This gazetteer is excellent for showing the spellings of Swedish place names prior to the spelling reform which took place in 1906. Some of the main points in the 1906 spelling reform to keep in mind in searching for a place name are:

• f, fv, fw, hv, and hw as signs of the V-sound were replaced by V.
• DT was changed to T or TT
• C was in most places replaced by K and is used today mostly to make a double K, which is written CK.

Helpful vocabulary:

Gård Farm
By Village
Socken (Sn) Parish
Härad (Hd) District
Län County

Print Only Gazetteers

• Svensk ortförteckning : till bruk för trafikverken och deras kunder Sverige, Postverket. Televerket och Statens Järnvägar, Svensk ortförteckning : till bruk för trafikverken och deras kunder, Stockholm, Sweden : Svensk ortförteckning, 1935-1980
• Gazetteer of Sweden : names approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names US Board on Geographic Names, Gazetteer of Sweden : names approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names, Washington, D.C. : Defense Mapping Agency, [1989]
• Konungariket Sverige : en topografisk statistisk beskrifning med historiska anmärkningar Magnus M Höjer, Konungariket Sverige : en topografisk statistisk beskrifning med historiska anmärkningar, Stockholm, Sweden : Jos. Seligmann, 1875-1883, Volume 1
• Svenska orter, atlas över Sverige med ortbeskrivning Karl D P Rosén, Svenska orter, atlas över Sverige med ortbeskrivning, Stockholm, Sweden : Generalstabens Litografiska Anstalt, 1932-
• Sverige från A till Ö Hans Harlén, Sverige från A till Ö, Stockholm, Sweden : Kommentus, c2003
• Sverige, geografisk beskrivning : under medverkan av flera författare Otto Sjögren, Sverige, geografisk beskrivning : under medverkan av flera författare. Stockholm, Sweden : Wahlström & Widstrand, 1929-1935
• Sweden's Little Places Nell J Bennett and Beth Marlow, Sweden's Little Places, Orem, Utah : Bennett, Nell, c2003
• Rötter bokhandeln Sverige's Släktforskarförbund (Swedish Family Research Association)

Why Use Gazetteers

A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a country with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town where your ancestor lived, the state the town was or is in, and the jurisdictions where records about the person was kept.

Gazetteer Contents

Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:

• Different religious denominations
• Schools, colleges, and universities
• Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
• The population size.
• Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
• Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
• Longitude and latitude.
• Distances and direction from other from cities.
• Schools, colleges, and universities.
• Denominations and number of churches.
• Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)