Greece Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

*[http://arxeiomnimon.gak.gr/ '''Genika Archeia tou Kratous (GAK or GSA)''')]

*[[Media:GAK - How to Navigate.pdf|'''How to Navigate the Website of the General State Archives of Greece''']]

Known as ''Genika Archeia tou Kratous''. The exact translation of this title from Greek into English is "General Archives of the State," and is referred to as the General State Archives of Greece. The Greek government collects records relating to Greek history, culture, and people. Records of genealogical value at general archives include:  

:'''Genika Archeia Tou Kratous (General State Archives)'''<br>Central Office<br>Dafnis 61, P.O. 154 52<br>Psychiko, Greece<br>Δαφνης 61, Τ.Κ. 154 52,<br>Ψυχικό, Ελλάδα<br>Tel: (01) 210-6782 200<br>Fax: (01) 210-6782 268<br>

====Writing to the General State Archives of Greece====

Includes the General State Archives of Greece and its regional offices. Information on addressing the letter and a form letter in Greek, with its English translation, are found in this .pdf:

**Requesting Marriage information

**Requesting information about the family structure and death of an ancestor

====Branches of the GAK====

Military archives include various types of information, including pension, recruiting, and so on. The recruiting records are particularly valuable as they include a register of all males by year of birth. You may need to write to the recruiting office of the Ministry of Defense main office for information as to the location of these records in local archives:  

The Greek Government Gazette (Efimeris tis Kyverniseos) has recruiting lists with information for each person, such as birthplace, father's name, and year of being responsible for duty.  Serving in the armed forces was and still is mandatory in Greece.  All male Greek citizens, aged between 19 and 45, are required to serve in the Armed Forces.  Many issues of the Government Gazette have been microfilmed by the FamilySearch Library, and are listed under locality search - Greece, at FamilySearch.org.

Greek Orthodox church records of marriages are kept in bishops’ offices (episkopi). A church officer called a metropolite is over a diocese (metropolis). There are 77 dioceses in Greece. Besides these, there is an archdiocese in Athens and in Crete, and an Exarchate on Patmos. You should write any request for information directly to the metropolite of the local diocese. For best results, keep the request simple. See [[Greece Church Records]]. The address for the archdiocese in Athens is:  

For addresses to other dioceses, you do not need a street address. Addressing the letter to the city where the diocese is located will be sufficient. See [[Greece Gazetteers]] and [[Greece Genealogy]] for more information.

Some of the sources you will want to use are also available in major libraries in Greece and in other countries. Contact these libraries and ask about their collections, hours, services, and fees.  

The National Library has a collection of published genealogies, manuscripts, histories, directories, maps, and newspapers.