Gazetteers of Hungary

by Natalie Cottrill, 2004

The most important piece of information needed to trace ancestors in a foreign country is a place name: that is, the village of origin, birth or place of last residence. Information on your ancestor is organized and stored geographically: by country, county, region, village, town, and city name. So, in order to identify and find records pertaining to ancestors, the place name needs to be properly identified.

Gazetteers are extremely valuable for researchers trying to identify the proper place of origin for an ancestor. In Hungary the county (megye) and district (járás) borders were constantly changing, as were the names of many of these villages. It is often difficult to trace these changes. Gazetteers can be helpful in determining if a town or village still exists today, and where it was located within a county or province, or military, ecclesiastical or civil district in a particular time period.

One of the earliest compilations listing place names for Hungary was the Magyarorszag helysegeinek 1773 Official Gazetteer of Hungary, compiled in 1773. It includes Latin, Hungarian, Germanic and Slavic variations of place names. It also shows the different church parishes and the language spoken by the residents of each place. FHL Book 943.9 E5m.

A compilation known as the "Book of Cities" was compiled by Martha Remer Connor for the 1828 Hungarian Land Census. This is available at the Family History Library and can be helpful studying early Hungarian place names. FHL Vault Microfilm 1573245 Item 21.

The 1877 gazetteer titled Magyarorszag Helysegnnevtara Ket Kotethen, and compiled by Janos Dvorzsak (commonly known as known as the "Dvorzsak Gazetteer"), is one important source for this time period for determining where different types records may be located. This compilation is popular because it has been produced on microfiche and made readily available through the Family History Library. The first volume in this publication is an index to all the Hungarian communities, cross-referenced to different official names for the same place. The names of the county and district for the town is in volume two. Volume two also shows the population for each town and the number from religion, as well as the place where their congregation met. People who lived in a town that did not have a church or synagogue that served their religion would attend services in a nearby congregation. This 1877 gazetteer is particularly helpful. Vol. I is on FHL Microfilm 599564, while Vol. II on FHL Microfilm 973041. FHL Microfiche 6000840.

Other resources:

• JewishGen ShtetlSeeker - Town Search (off site)
• 1886 Gazetteer of Hungary (off site)
• 1913 Gazetteer of Hungary (off site)
• 1914 Atlas and Gazetteer of Historic Hungary (book)
• 1990 Listing of Hungarian Towns and Their Counties, in alphabetical order (off site)
• 2004 Hungarian Gazetteer and Maps (off site)

Another Angle on Gazetteers!

E. Wade Hone, 2002

Until 1985, when civil registration began, the church records served as the primary record source for the Hungarian population. It is very important to know if the family was Jewish, Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic or Reformed. An individual may have lived in one town, but the closest meeting for the affiliated congregation was in a neighboring town. The records would not be a part of the town of residence, but rather a part of that neighboring town’s jurisdiction. County boundaries played no role in ecclesiastical affairs. An ancestor may have lived in one county, but the town hosting their religious denomination may have been in another. Thus, religion is often the key element in determining the true origins of records and enabling successful Hungarian family history research.

An 1877 gazetteer titled Magyarorszag Helysegnnevtara Ket Kotethen, by Janos Dvorzsak, is the source most widely used at this time to determine where an ancestor’s records may be located. Though there were numerous similar volumes produced at least as far back as the early 1800s, the reason this particular volume is so popular is that it has also been produced on microfiche and made available through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and its’ branch centers throughout the world. Volume one is an index to all Hungarian communities, with cross-references between different official names for the same locality. Included are the names of the county, district and a number of the town as found in volume two. Under the town in volume two, each religion present is represented with a population count, and the location where their congregation met. 

Other repositories possessing significant collections of gazetteers are the Hungarian National Archives in Budapest, and the county archives for the county of Veszprem in the city of Veszprem. Gazetteer information from the 1877 volume is also included with each Town of the Month for the town of focus.

Watch for an upcoming database to help you define where your ancestors attended services and portray the evolution of the churches being built throughout Hungary.