Estonia Archives and Libraries
| Estonia Wiki Topics |
|
| Estonia Beginning Research |
| Record Types |
| Estonia Background |
| Estonia Genealogical Word Lists |
| Cultural Groups |
| Local Research Resources |
In other languages: Eesti- Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm.
- If you plan to visit a repository, contact them and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, and fees. Ask if they require you to have a reader’s ticket (a paper indicating you are a responsible researcher) to view the records, and ask how to obtain one.
- Although the records you need may be in an archive or library, the FamilySearch Library may have microfilmed and/or digitized copies of them.
One difficulty in Estonian research is the dispersal of sources among various archives. Records can be found in the:
- Estonian National Archives
- National Archives of Sweden
- Russian State Archives
- Latvian State Historical Archives
Archives
Estonian National Archives
Estonian National Archives (Rahvusarhiv)
Nooruse 3
50411 Tartu, Estonia
Email: rahvusarhiiv@ra.ee
Telephone: +372 738 7500
Saaga: Online Digital Records
Contact Information
The National Archives of Sweden
The National Archives of Sweden, which is open to the public, has a large genealogical and biographical collection as well as government accounts, land records, tax lists, maps, and pictures. The FamilySearch Library has microfilm copies of many of the National Archives' records.
Latvian State Historical Archives
Latvian State Historical Archives
Slokas iela 16
Riga, LV-1007, Latvia
Telephone: +371 67612406
Email: vestures.arhivs@lvva.gov.lv
Webpage
Latvian State Historical Archives project Raduraksti
Russian State Historical Archives
Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA)
Zanevsky pr. 36
st. Metro Ladozhskaya
195112 St. Petersburg, Russia
Website
- Neither the Federal Archival Agency nor many Russian archives are staffed or equipped to answer extensive genealogical inquires of a "family history" nature.
- Unless the exact archive involved has already been identified, family-history inquiries should normally be addressed directly to more specialized genealogical services.
BLITZ
The Russian Ancestry Research Services: BLITZ Information Center works with the historic archives in St. Petersburg and Moscow and provides genealogy research, document retrieval and translations. BLITZ is located in St. Petersburg and also maintains an office in California. BLITZ provides a preliminary genealogy search for US$80.00.
At the conclusion of this preliminary search, they give you our assessment as to the existence of records of your family and the direction of further research. They will also tell you if there are some documents which you should order. On the other hand, if they believe that further research will be unproductive, they will let you know along with the reasons.
Shefayim Jewish Archives
The Association of Latvian and Estonian Jews Archive holds records at Kibbutz Shefayim. Their website is in Hebrew, but you can use Google Translate to help you navigate the site. To see an online inventory of records available, see the JewishGen Latvia and Estonia Research Division Shefayim Archives page.
Estonian-American Archives
Estonian-American National Council
- "Collecting of Estonian-American materials began before the establishment of the Estonian Archives in the U.S. This included valuable materials from more than a century ago.
- The overwhelming abundance of preserved, collected and deposited materials has come from Estonians who immigrated to America from the Displaced Persons Camps in Germany, 1945-1950.
- As a result of a formal appeal in 1965 for additional material about that the DP period, a substantial collection was in place and archived. This was initially housed for safe keeping in numerous Estonian-American homes."
- The Estonian Archives in USA has gathered in its facility in Lakewood, NJ, a large amount of archival materials documenting both the lives of individuals and the activities of various Estonian American organizations.
Libraries
National Library of Estonia
Tõnismägi 2
Tallinn, Estonia
Phone: +372 630 7600
Email: info@nlib.ee
Website
Museums
Estonia National Museum
Muuseumi tee 2
60532 Tartu, Estonia
Ticket information: +372 736 3051
Phone: +3727363000
Email: erm@erm.ee
Website
Record Offices
Civil registration records are usually located in the civil registration offices at the local governments of the counties (maakonnakeskuste omavalitsuste). Refer to the list below to locate contact information for the county government that your ancestor lived in:
In some cases, civil registration documents may be obtained from the Archives of the Department of Population Operations of the Ministry of the Interior.
For those born in the city of Tallin, civil registration records may also be available at the Tallin Vital Statistics Office.