Księgi metrykalne i stanu cywilnego w archiwach państwowych w Polsce: Informator

The book lists names of thousands of parishes for which there are vital records in the Polish National Archive System, either in the main archives in Warsaw or in one of the regional state archives.

Just because your ancestral village is no longer found within Polish borders, it is an excellent idea to consult this text. Many of the records of Polish, Lutheran and Jewish records from localities now located in Ukraine were moved westward to Polish archives following the border changes occurring at the end of the Second World War. Also, many Greek Catholic records also found their way to Polish archives.

With each parish is listed the province (either current, or in the case of lands no longer within Polish borders, the pre-WWII province), county, any records from either the Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Lutheran or Jewish religious centers. With each of these, the record type (birth, marriage, death) and years are listed. Next to each set of records will be a code, which gives the archives and archival catalog code.

Abbreviations used in the catalog

Remember that smaller villages will NOT be listed. You must first know what parish that village belonged to in order to search by the parish.

Once you find the parish, there will be a listing of religions for which there are vital records:

Then under each religious grouping will be the Vital Record Type and years for which there are records.

Next to each grouping of records, there is a box with code numbers. The important first number is the code for the particular archives which houses the records. In the front of the box is a list of code numbers and corresponding archives COMPLETE WITH CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS. Things can’t be made easier!!

Therefore, this is the listing for Biały Kamień, county Złoczów, province Tarnopol (pre-WWII)

Greek Catholic records (church Holy Trinity)
    Birth/Marriage/Death: 1845-1846 are found in archive #56, which is State Archive in Przemyśl
Jewish records, which are found in archive #1, which is Main Archives of Older Records (AGAD)
    Birth: 1879, 1883-1888, 1895-1897; Death: 1862-1876, 1892
Roman Catholic records, which are found in archive #1, which is Main Archives of Older Records (AGAD)
    Marriage/Death: 1748-1782, 1831
    Birth: 1665-1778, 1831

You can check the availability of parish and civil records housed at any of the Polish Regional State Archives (along with the Zabużanski Collection) right on-line yourself!  Visit the Polish State Archive website's searchable database PRADZIAD.  Read the explanation and instructions first, then click "database" at the bottom of the screen to search for your own ancestral parishes' registers!

Go to information on the zabużanski collection

Go to list of archives and addresses