Guide to the Lviv Archives for Genealogy Research

1. Why the Lviv Archives Matter

For anyone researching Ukrainian ancestry from Galicia (Western Ukraine), the Lviv State Historical Archives (Tsentralnyi Derzhavnyi Istorychnyi Arkhiv Ukrainy u Lvovi, or TsDIAL) is the single most important repository of genealogical records.

Galicia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1772 to 1918, and the Austrians were meticulous record-keepers. Church metrical books, land registers, tax records, and court documents from this period survived in remarkable quantities and are now housed primarily in Lviv.

For Ukrainian Canadians, this is especially significant because the vast majority of first-wave immigrants (1891-1914) came from Galicia. If your ancestors were part of this wave, the Lviv Archives almost certainly hold records about them and their families going back generations.

2. What Records Are Available

Church Metrical Books (Metrychni Knyhy)

The most valuable genealogical records in the archives are church metrical books — registers of births (baptisms), marriages, and deaths kept by parish priests. These records cover:

• Greek Catholic (Uniate) parishes — the predominant church in Galicia, covering the majority of Ukrainian villages
• Roman Catholic parishes — primarily Polish, but also serving some mixed communities
• Armenian Catholic records — from the historic Armenian community in Lviv
• Jewish community records — birth, marriage, and death registers

The metrical books typically begin in the late 1700s (after Austrian authorities required churches to keep registers) and continue until civil registration was introduced. They record:

• Full name of the child and parents (including mother’s maiden name)
• Date and place of birth and baptism
• Names of godparents
• Occupation and social status of the father
• Village of residence

Land and Property Records

• Cadastral records — detailed property surveys showing who owned which plots of land
• Tax records (Josephine and Franciscan Cadastre) — listing all taxpayers and their property
• Land transfer documents — sales, inheritances, and divisions of property

Administrative Records

• Court documents — civil and criminal cases, including inheritance disputes
• Census materials — population counts and registers
• Military records — conscription lists and service records from the Austrian army
• Emigration records — some documentation of those who left for the Americas

School Records

• Student registers — enrollment records from schools across Galicia
• Teacher records — employment files that can help identify family members in education

3. Preparing for Your Research

Before attempting to access the Lviv Archives — whether in person, by mail, or through a researcher — you need to gather specific information.

Essential Information to Have

1. The ancestral village name — this is critical. Without knowing the village, finding records in the archives is nearly impossible
2. Approximate time period — at least the decade, ideally specific years
3. Religious denomination — Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, or Orthodox
4. Names and name variants — remember that Ukrainian names were written differently in Latin, Polish, German, and Cyrillic scripts

Finding the Village Name

If you don’t yet know your ancestral village, work through Canadian sources first:

• Immigration records often list the village of origin
• Church records in Canada may reference the home parish
• Community history books frequently identify where settlers came from — see our community histories directory
• Family oral tradition remains one of the most reliable sources

Use our map resources guide to locate the village precisely once you have a name.

Understanding the Parish System

In Galicia, church records were organized by parish (parochiya), not by village. A single parish often served multiple villages. To find records for a specific village, you need to know which parish it belonged to.

Resources for identifying parishes:

• Schematismus — annual directories of the Greek Catholic Church listing all parishes and their villages
• Josephine Cadastre — identifies the parish for each village
• FamilySearch catalog — organized by locality and parish

4. How to Access the Archives

Option 1: Visit in Person

Visiting the Lviv Archives in person offers the most complete access to records. If you are planning a trip to Ukraine, this travel guide can help you prepare for the journey.

Practical information:

• The archives are located in central Lviv
• You will need to register as a researcher and present identification
• A basic knowledge of Ukrainian or Polish is extremely helpful
• Staff can assist with locating specific funds and files
• Photocopying and digital photography are available for a fee
• Plan to spend at least one full week for meaningful research

Option 2: Hire a Professional Researcher

If you cannot travel to Lviv, hiring a local professional genealogist is the next best option.

Benefits:

• Professional researchers know the archive system intimately
• They can read records in Latin, Polish, German, and Ukrainian
• They can often accomplish in days what would take a visitor weeks
• Many offer package rates for specific types of searches

Tips for hiring a researcher:

• Ask for references and examples of previous work
• Provide all the information you have — village name, time period, names
• Agree on scope and fees before work begins
• Request copies or photographs of original documents, not just transcriptions

Option 3: Remote Research

Increasingly, records can be accessed without traveling to Ukraine:

• FamilySearch.org — many Galician church records have been microfilmed and are available for free online
• Written requests — the archives accept inquiries by email, though response times can be long
• Digitization projects — an ongoing effort is making more records available online each year
• Genealogy societies — organizations like the East European Genealogical Society can assist with research

5. Reading the Records

Language Challenges

Galician records present unique language challenges:

Common Terms in Latin Church Records

• Natus/Nata — born (male/female)
• Baptizatus/Baptizata — baptized
• Copulati — married
• Mortuus/Mortua — died (male/female)
• Parentes — parents
• Patrini — godparents
• Locus — place
• Agricola — farmer
• Vidua — widow

Name Variations

Be prepared for your ancestors’ names to appear in many different forms:

6. Other Important Ukrainian Archives

While the Lviv Archives are the primary resource for Galician research, other archives may hold records relevant to your search:

For Western Ukraine (Galicia)

• Ternopil State Archives — records from the eastern part of Galicia
• Ivano-Frankivsk State Archives — records from the Stanislaviv region
• Przemyśl Archives (Poland) — some Galician records remained in Poland after border changes

For Other Regions

• Kyiv Central State Archives — records from across Ukraine
• Zhytomyr State Archives — Volhynia region records
• Chernivtsi State Archives — Bukovina records

Online Resources

• FamilySearch.org — the largest free collection of Ukrainian church records online
• Geneteka — Polish-language database with indexed Galician records
• JRI-Poland — Jewish Records Indexing, which also covers Galician records

For the forms and tools you’ll need to organize your findings from these archives, consult our resource page.

7. Tips for Successful Archive Research

1. Be patient — archival research takes time, and records may be difficult to read
2. Document everything — record the archive, fund number, file number, and page for every document you examine
3. Photograph original documents — transcription errors happen, so always keep images of the originals
4. Search broadly — look for your surname in neighboring villages and parishes, as families moved within the region
5. Check godparent records — godparents were usually relatives or close family friends, and their records can reveal additional family connections
6. Follow women’s lines — maiden names in marriage and baptismal records connect you to entirely new families
7. Learn basic Latin, Polish, and Ukrainian — even a small vocabulary makes reading records much easier
8. Connect with other researchers — someone else may have already transcribed the records you need

The Lviv Archives and Ukraine’s other archival repositories hold the keys to centuries of Ukrainian family history. With proper preparation and patience, they can help you trace your roots back to the very villages where your ancestors lived, worked, and worshipped.

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