Helpful International Websites

Introduction

Many informative websites for international family history research are found on the Internet. Depending on the country, they may include research instructions, reference material, indexes to church-, civil-, and other records, document images, and transcriptions. This article provides a small selection of useful websites. Interested visitors may be able to obtain more information on the FamilySearch Wiki or at the respective reference counter in the Family History Library. For European and Hispanic visitors the new FamilySearch site may be helpful. For many countries new names have been added that have never been online before. Go to FamilySearch.org  and click on “Advanced search“to access better search functions for names. Record Collections for different countries are found under the tab “all collections”. Online family history courses for various countries are available on FamilySearch.org. To access, go to FamilySearch.org , click on “learn” [top left], the on “research courses”.

General information

• Website addresses change frequently. If an address no longer works, use a search engine to locate the site at a different address, if possible.
• Foreign-language sites can be navigated more easily with Google translate. Type “translate.google.com” in your Internet browser, then choose the “translate from/ to languages. If you paste the foreign site’s Web address in the “translate” field and click “enter”, the site will come up translated. You can also copy text from the site and paste it in the “translate” window. Google Chrome detects non-English language Web sites and asks if you would like a translation.

NOTE: It is not a good idea to use electronic translators for correspondence, such as a request for    information. In those cases it’s best to find someone who can help you write a letter, or to write the request in simple English.

• A good starting point for any country or family history topic is Cyndi's List

WESTERN AND SOUTHERN EUROPE

Austria

• http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~autwgw/ - Austrian GenWeb arranged by ancient Crown land 
• http://www.genteam.at – various indexes for Vienna and surrounding area, and a gazetteer for modern-day Austria plus Bohemia and Moravia. Requires free registration and a user-name and password. 
• http://www.friedhoefewien.at/ - Index to cemeteries in Vienna

Belgium

http://geneaknowhow.net/ portal to digital resources for Belgium and the Netherlands. Click on “digital resources”.

France

• www.geneanet.org/ - You can search this database by name and town.
• http://www.francegenweb.org/~archives/archivesgenweb/?id=carte – Click on a department to get the link to the on-line archive. Each department works differently. Departments with online archives are coded in blue. Not all have online archives
• http://www.francegenweb.org/ - Portal to French genealogy websites 
• http://www.geopatronyme.com/ - All about French surnames and surname distribution 

 www.geneafrance.org – provides information about different record types, research information, how to order certificates.

Germany

• www.genealogy.net – in German: www.genealogienetz.de , Internet portal for German research (both links open the home page. (For the English-language home page, use www.genealogy.net/genealogy) – includes a Wiki, digital library of genealogical resources, several databases, and close to 300 online town genealogies.
• http://adressbuch.zlb.de/ - Berlin address book from 1799-1943 available with images.
• http://www.kartenmeister.com/preview/databaseuwe.asp - Tools for genealogy east of the Oder-Neisse river

Italy

• http://lancione-laura.tripod.com/italian_genealogy_links.htm - Italian genealogy links, surname boards and more.
• http://www.sersale.org/comunes.htm (transcribed vital records of Italian towns - This list is specifically composed of websites or email addresses that represent the transcription of hundreds or thousands of records; birth records, marriage records, death and baptisms all over Italy. Occasionally, digital images are provided. A great website!)
• http://italia.indettaglio.it/eng/cognomi/cognomi.html (Italian surname search engine. For each province all of the towns will be listed where the surname occurs, ordered via a numerical value representing the estimate of the number of individuals having the requested surname.)
•  http://www.operaduomo.firenze.it/battesimi/ (Scanned images of baptisms from Florence from 1482-1900 – just for fun)

Luxembourg

• http://www.roots.lu - Genealogical data from Luxembourg • http://www.luxracines.lu/ - genealogy and local history in Luxembourg

The Netherlands

• www.genlias.nl nationwide indexes to civil registration records, with abstracts [not complete, has English interface]
• https://www.familysearch.org - Images of civil registration records for some areas 
• www.cbg.nl - Central Bureau for Genealogy 
• www.archiefnet.nl portal to city-, state-, and other archives 
• http://www.gemeentearchief.rotterdam.nl – Rotterdam City Archive digital pedigree- look for “genealogy” or “stamboom”.

Many other provincial or city archives have put indexes and records online. Check the Archiefnet.nl website for archive addresses of interest.

Spain

• https://www.familysearch.org - Access images of Roman Catholic church records and municipal records (civil births, marriages, deaths) for several provinces

Switzerland

• http://www.ghgrb.ch/researchCorner/billeter.html - index to genealogies compiled by Julius Billeter [note: Billeter’s compilations have all been filmed and are available at the Library. Check the surname in the FHLC for film numbers.
• http://www.swissgenealogie.ch/index.html - Swiss genealogy on the Internet  
• http://www.svjg.org/ - Swiss Society for Jewish genealogy