How to search in Czech cadastral register

Czech cadastral register (register of houses and plots) is available online. It's very useful when you want to find out who's owning the house today, what's the plot number of the plot where the house is standing and so on. Unfortunately the website is available only in Czech, so I've decided to prepare a short guide to it.

Maps

As you are often doing research in places you have never been to, it's quite important to have good maps to search for the proper towns, villages and other locations. There are many maps and other websites which can help you in your research and which can provide you better idea where your ancestors lived.

Theme for every week: Home Sweet Home

Our first Theme for every week is Home Sweet Home. It could mean any home - home in old country, home in new country, place you once visited and felt home in and so on. As Cheryl with her question about Jindřichov was the first one who send me an e-mail I've decided to tell you her story this week. 

The newest registries in archives, part I

This post is focused on the youngest registries which are available in the archives. The timespan of these registries can be set from 1840 to 1910, in some cases 1930. Parish records contain the largest amount of information during this period and the structure of the records is quite strictly set.

How I found my great-great grandfather

This post is going to be a bit personal - that bit how personal can be a post about one's great-great grandfather. His name was Josef Čudlý (link goes to the MyHeritage website with our family tree, directly to the personal file of Josef Čudlý) and he was born in 1838 in Šach, really small village in southern Bohemia.

Czech Archives dictionary

Not all archives have website translated into English. I've prepared a dictionary of words used on the websites so it's easier for you to search for the village, parish, record and so on. Please be aware that this dictionary is only for the archival websites, not registries and records themselves. The dictionary has two parts - dictionary itself and list of abbreviations used in archives and this blog (both Czech and English).

Czech Registries - basics

As we are researching our family past, it's always good to be aware which registries are available in archives and which are still in municipal office, what types of registries are available and so on. This post focuses on these basic things.

Czech first names

Translation of Czech first names into English is often discussed topic. There are some name which are easy to translate, as Anna, Jan or Zuzana, but there are also other names where translation is not so clear – the most common example is the name Václav, which is widely discussed (there are currently four different names used for translation of name Václav – all of them are based on the immigration records).

Language of Czech registries

The official language of the present Czech Republic is Czech. All the official documents are written in this language since the founding of the republic in 1918 (with pause of the WWII when the country belonged to Germany). The situation was quite different in the past.

Theme for every week...

I have decided to invite you to participate in this blog. Every week I'll publish one post, which is written by you or based on your own research. Is there anything you can't read - and it fits to one of the themes this post? Do you need something translated? Do you need an advice? Or do you want to share your story with others?

Czech Registries - history

The most important source of knowledge for family history researchers are definitely registries, also called parish books, in Czech matriky. This word comes from Latin matricula, which means list of priests

Czech Republic and its territory

Czech Republic is often called "the heart of Europe" as it lies in the middle of this continent. You can see its location on the map below. It's not a large country, it has about 78 thousands square kilometers (abt 30 thousands square miles).

Which parish (and archives) to search?

The most important source for everyone who is researching Czech ancestry are the registries (parish books). Every village was a part of a parish since the middle ages and every parish is stored in some archives, so first of all you need to know to which parish (and archives) the village of your ancestors belonged to. 

Religion - was it really important?

Well, yes, it was. Everyday life was nearly connected to religion, to the church. If you are interested in history you probably know a bit about Czech reformist Jan Hus, about Hussite wars, Czech brothers and so on. But anyway, short overview can make it a bit clearer.

Czech Archives overview

There are eight archives where the catholic and evangelistic registries (parish books) are stored. All these archives are open to public and you can visit them Monday to Thursday (Friday is dedicated to scientists).

CzGfB - ok, but why?

Answer to this question is quite simple - there are many people from all around the world who have their root in Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian part of Silesia. Many people left the area of what is today know as the Czech Republic. They left mostly during the 19th century, but there were also people who decided to leave after the WWII.