Matricula online is the platform for research in church books of Austria. There are also several documents for Germany (Bisphoprics Hildesheim, Magdeburg, Münster and Passau) and Poland (State Archive of Breslau/Wroclaw) available.
Some weeks ago, Matricula online introduced a new design. (The “old design” can be used until the end of 2017).
I did work with the new design in the mean time. There are great new functionalities and working with the new design is very efficient.
Now, there are three ways to get to a specific church book:
Matricula Online, Menu Bar
- Fonds: you can search the whole database of available documents
- Map: This completely new functionality is great. By searching a village/city on the map, you can see all parishes close by and enter directly into the list of available church books for this parish. This functionality is particularly helpful, if you came to a brick wall in a parish, as you can quickly see what other parishes are near ans continue searching there.
(Blue marks on the map show the place you were looking for, red marks show parishes. By clicking on their name, you immediately get to the list of available church books of this parish.) - Search for Places: The functionality to search for places was significantly improved:
There is now the possibility to restrict the search to specific dioceses or specific dates. If a place is entered, the list of results will include all possible results with notes of the parish.
The overview page of a parish also looks differently now. A photo of the parish church was added and there is also an up-to-date as well as a historic map (from mapire, a page with historic maps). With this additions, you can easily get an impression of the local area.
There is a possibility to show only specific types of books and to restrict the date of books.
When you found the curch book you were looking for, there are two possibilities:
- Using the book symbol, you will be shown details on the book.
- Using the camera symbol, you will directly get to the church book.
There are also some new functions for the navigation with church books.
Most functionalities are self-explanatory, but here are some additional notes:
- The symbol of the house resets all changes.
- Using the symbol with the square and arrow, you will receive the direct link to the page which can be copied using the right mouse button.
- Using the book symbol, you can remove the side bar with the page numbers.
- This info symbol gives detailed information on the currently opened book. This information was permanently given in the upper right corner in the earlier version of Matricula, which was actually better.
UPDATE 8.6.2017: As I just saw, the information in the upper right corner was reinstated and gives now the parrish, the type of book with its reference number as well as the years which are covered in the book.
There is a navigation bar in all overview and church book pages which enables a quick navigation through the pages.
Matricula online Navigation Bar
Matricula online is available in German and English. Language can be set in the upper right corner.
What is still missing is the possibility to download single pages, as it is offered at family search for example. You have to continue working with screenshots.
Overall, I have to say that I really like the new functionalities of Matricula which make it a great basis for research in church books.
Additional tipps for working with Matricula online and Church books, can be found in my earlier posts:
- Working with Austrian Church Books – Part 1: Finding the right Diocese
- Working with Austrian Church Books – Part 2: Finding the right Parish
- Working with Austrian Church Books – Part 3: Finding the Right Book
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