Village Lists and Gazetteers
Identifying an ancestor’s village of origin is an essential step to building a several-generation family tree. Many small towns from a century ago no longer exist, or have gone through one or more name changes. The documents and links on this page can help locate old villages and figure out the modern-day names of those locations.
Geographical Dictionary of Hungary (Magyarország Geográfiai Szótára – Fényes Elek, 1851) :
This online database is especially handy if you have Google Translate open in another window. Enter all or part of a village name (with or without correctly accented letters) to see a list of possible options. Simply copy/paste the results into a translate tool to learn the county, diocese, district, and other information.
Lists of Austrian-Hungarian Villages and Church Record Locations
This list contains almost every village and Roman Catholic parish from the counties of Bacs-Bodrog, Baranya, Györ, Moson, Somogy, Vas, Veszprém, and Zala, which covers most of Transdanubia. However, there is no source info, so I’m not quite sure what year this list was compiled or who created it. (If you know its origins, I’ll gladly give credit where credit is due).
Villages Named in the 1828 Hungarian Census:
Burgenland Bunch Page: Villages of Austro-Hungary. Includes both the Austrian and Hungarian names for the portions of Vas and Sopron counties, Hungary that are now Burgenland, Austria. It also contains many bordering Hungarian villages and where to locate the corresponding parish records.
Historical Guides and Compilations
Munich Digital Library: Rare, antique Hungarian (German, and other) texts It’s possible to find books online here (download free pdfs) that can’t be found anywhere else, online or otherwise. I have found books listed on FamilySearch, only available in Salt Lake City, on the Munich online Library for free download.
Burgenland Bunch: Burgenländers Honored and Remembered: Information on nearly 22,000 Austro-Hungarians who settled in the U.S. (You might find your great-grandparents on this list).
Understanding the 1828 Hungarian Census: Tutorial