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In German with English translation © Copyright 1996-1998: text by Gordon McDaniel; web coding by John Movius, all rights reserved 1. What is it? Rudolph's Ortslexikon is a major source for locating places within Prussia, the Austrian (or Austro-Hungarian) Empire, and other German lands during the 19th century. The full title is: Vollständigstes geographisch-topographische-statistisches Orts-lexikon von Deutschland, sowie der unter Österreichs und Preussens Botmässigkeit stehenden nichtdeutschen Länder. Von H. Rudolph. The most complete geographical, topographical and statistical gazetteer of Germany, as well as non-German lands governed by Austria and Prussia. By H. Rudolph. Names are listed predominantly in German, but if no German name existed for a place, the name is given in the local language, which may include Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Croatian and Italian. A typical entry includes the name of the place, type of place (estate, village, etc.), administrative jurisdiction, location in reference to some other place, and population. Entries often include the name of the nearest post office or administrative office. Examples: Here are the entries for the three places named Hammermühle in West Prussia. 1. Hammermühle, Mhle., Pr., Westpr., Rgbz. u Kr. Danzig, zu Staszyn geh. 2. Hammermühle, Etabl., ebd., Rgbz. Marienwerder, Kr. Flatow, bei Vandsburg; 25 E. 3. Hammermühle, 2 Hsr., ebd., Kr. u 1/4 Ml. SO v. Marienwerder; 18 E. Place (1) is a mill in Prussia, province of West Prussia, administrative area and district of Danzig, belongs to the commune of Staszyn. Place (2) is a business establishment, also in Prussia, province of West Prussia, but in the administrative area of Marienwerder, district of Flatow, near Vandsburg, with 25 inhabitants. Place (3) is two houses, also in Prussia, province of West Prussia, administrative area of Marienwerder, in the district of Marienwerder, and located 1/4 German mile (about 2 km) southeast of Marienwerder, with 18 inhabitants. Note on direction: Rudolph's uses a 32-point compass, with the following usage counter-clockwise from north ( where O = East, g = by) : N............................O..........................S...........................W NgO.......................OgS.......................SgW.....................WgN NNO......................OSO......................SSW.....................WNW NOgN....................SOgO....................SWgS....................NWgW NO........................SO.........................SW.......................NW NOgO....................SOgS....................SWgW....................NWgN ONO......................SSO.....................WSW......................NNW OgN.......................SgO......................WgS.......................NgW 2. Where can I find it? At your nearest LDS Family History Center. LDS microfilm numbers:
3. Why should I use it? Because it covers ALL Germanic locations in the German AND Austro-Hungarian Empires. This contrasts with Meyer's Ortslexikon which is less complete and covers only the German Empire. 4. How do I read it? There is a list, given below, of abbreviations as used in the Ortslexikon. In general, administrative jurisdictions are abbreviated. Not all of those abbreviations are listed below, i.e., Mähr. = Mähren = Moravia. Abbreviation (Rudolph).....German full text (Rudolph).....English translation (McDaniel) a. ..........am..........at the, on the A. ...........Amt..........jurisdiction, office a.d. .........an der, den..........at the, on the adel. ..........adeliges..........noble Ahpt. ..........Amtshauptmannschaft (Sachsen)..........captaincy (Saxony) b. ..........bei..........near Bauersch. ..........Bauerschaft..........farm Bay. .........Bayern..........Bavaria Böhm. .........Böhmen..........Bohemia Brandenb. ..........Brandenburg..........Brandenburg Braunschw. ...........Braunschweig.........Braunschweig Bza. ..........Bezirksamt (Oestreich.)..........district office (Austria) Cant. ..........Canton (Bayern, Hessen, Luxemb.)..........canton (Bavaria, Hesse, Luxembourg) Col. .........Colonie..........colony Com. ..........Comitat (Ungarn)..........county (Hungary) d. ...........der, dem..........of the D. ..........Dampfschiffstation..........steamship station Df. ..........Dorf..........village Dfch. ..........Dörfchen..........small village Dfr. ..........Dörfer..........villages Dfthl. ..........Dorftheil..........part of a village Distr. ..........Distrikt..........district Dom. ..........Domaine..........domain, government-owned estate Donaukr. ..........Donaukreis (Würtemberg)..........Donaukreis (Würtemberg) Düsseld. ..........Düsseldorf..........Düsseldorf E. .........Einwohner..........inhabitants Eb. ...........Eisenbahnstation..........rail station ebd. ..........ebendaselbst..........in the same place* e. Hsr. ..........einige, einzelne Häuser.......... single houses eig. ..........eignes (Gut)..........own (freehold) Einfl. ..........Einfluss..........influx (of river) Einsch. ..........Einschichte..........wilderness or desolate place Etabl. ..........Etablissement..........business establishment Fabr. ..........Fabrik..........factory Forsth. ...........Forsthaus.........forester's house Frankf. ..........Frankfurt..........Frankfurt Fürstenth. ..........Fürstenthum..........principality G. A. ..........Gerichtsamt (Sachsen)..........judicial office (Saxony) Galiz. ..........Galizien..........Galicia geh. ..........gehörig..........belongs to gleichnam. ..........gleichnamig..........of the same name Gmde. ..........Gemeinde..........community, congregation Gmdeth. ..........Gemeindetheil..........part of a community, congregation Gr. ..........Gross..........large, great (part of place name) Grafsch. ..........Grafschaft..........county Hannov. ..............................Hannover...................................Hannover Hausruckkr. ........................Hausruckkreis (Oestreich)...........Hausruckkreis (Austria) Herrsch. ..............................Herrschaft.................................estate Herrschger. .........................Herrschaftsgericht......................estate court Hildesh. ..............................Hildesheim..................................Hildesheim Hohenz. ..............................Hohenzollern...............................Hohenzollern Hsr. ....................................Häuser.......................................houses i. .........................................in..........in Innkr. ..................................Innkreis (Oestreich)....................Inn district (Austria) Innsbr. ................................Innsbruck (Oestreich)..................Innsbruck (Austria) j. L. .....................................jüngere Linie (Reuss).................younger line (Reuss) Jaxtkr. .................................Jaxtkreis (Würtemberg)..............Jaxtkreis (Würtemberg) Kdf. ....................................Kirchdorf...................................church village Kl. ......................................Klein..........................................small, lesser (part of place name) Königsb...............................Königsberg................................Königsberg Kr. ......................................Kreis.........................................district Krsger. ...............................Kreisgericht...............................district court Kroat. .................................Kroatien....................................Croatia Kroat. Slavon. Militär. ..........Kroat.-Slav. Militärgrenze..........Croatian-Slavonian Military Frontier Kwlr. ..................................Kirchweiler...............................church hamlet l. ..........................................links.........................................left Ldg. ....................................Landgericht...............................county court Ldhs. ...................................Landhaus..................................country house Ldr. .....................................Landdrostei (Hannover)...........bailiwick Ldrbz. ..................................Landrathsbezirk (Hessen).........magistracy district (Hesse) Lomb. ..................................Lombardie................................Lombardy Lüneb. .................................Lüneburg..................................Lüneburg Luxemb. ..............................Luxemburg................................Luxembourg m. ..........mit..........with Magdeb. ..........Magdeburg..........Magdeburg Manuf. ..........Manufaktur..........factory Mecklenb. ..........Mecklenburg..........Mecklenburg Merseb. ..........Merseburg..........Merseburg Mfl. ..........Marktflecken..........small market town Mhl. ..........Mühle..........mills Mittelfr. ..........Mittelfranken (Bayern)..........Middle Franconia (Bavaria) Mittelrhnkr. ..........Mittelrheinkreis (Baden)..........Middle Rhine district (Baden) Ml. ....................Meile..........(German) miles (1 mile approx 7.5 km) Mrlbad. ..........Mineralbad..........mineral spa Mrlql. ..........Mineralquelle..........mineral source Mühlkr. ..........Mühlkreis (Ostreich)..........Mühl district (Austria) Musikinstr. ..........Musikinstrumente..........musical instruments N. ..........Nord..........north N. Br. ..........nördlicher Breite..........north latitude Neckarkr. ..........Neckarkreis..........Neckar district Nied. ..........Nieder..........lower Niederb. ..........Niederbayern..........Lower Bavaria Niederh. ..........Niederhessen..........Lower Hesse O. ..........Ost..........east O. A. ..........Ober-Amt (Würtemberg)..........district office (Würtemberg) Ob. ..........Ober..........upper ob d. K. ..........ob der Kans (Oestreich)..........Ob der Kans (Austria) Oberb. ..........Oberbayern..........Upper Bavaria Oberfr. ..........Oberfranken (Bayern)..........Upper Franconia (Bavaria) Oberh. ..........Oberhessen..........Upper Hesse Oberpf. ..........Oberpfalz (Bayern)..........Upper Pfalz (Bavaria) Oberrhnkr. ..........Oberrheinkreis..........Upper Rhine district Ob. M. B. ..........Ober-Manhartsberg (Oestreich)..........Upper Manhartsberg (Austria) Ob. W. W. ..........Ober-Wienerwald (Oestreich)..........Upper Wienerwald Austria) ö.L. ..........östlicher Länge..........east longitude Oestr. ..........Oestreich..........Austria Ortsch. ..........Ortschaft..........village Ostfriesl. ..........Ostfriesland (Hannover)..........East Frisia (Hannover) Ostpr. ..........Ostpreussen..........East Prussia P. ..........Postanstalt..........post office Papierm. ..........Papiermühle..........paper mill Patr. Ger. .........Patrimonialgericht..........patrimonial court Pfr. ..........Pfarrei..........parish Pfrdf. .........Pfarrdorf..........parish village Pfrhof ...........Pfarrhof..........parish manor Pfrwlr. ..........Pfarrweiler..........parish hamlet Pom. ..........Pommern (Preussen)...........Pomerania (Prussia) Potsd. ..........Potsdam..........Potsdam Pr. ..........Preussen..........Prussia Prov. ..........Provinz..........province r. ...........rechts..........right Rgbz. ..........Regierungsbezirk..........administrative area Rgmtsbz. ..........Regimentsbezirk (Oestreich)..........regimental area (Austria) Rheinh. ..........Rheinhessen..........Rhine-Hesse Rheinpr. ..........Rheinprovinz..........Rhine province Rittg. ..........Rittergut..........noble estate s. ..........siehe..........see S. .........Süd oder San..........south or San (St. = Saint) Sach. ..........Sachsen..........Saxony Salzb. ..........Salzburg..........Salzburg Schäf. ..........Schäferei..........sheepfarm Schaumb. ..........Schaumburg..........Schaumburg Schl. ..........Schloss..........castle Schles. ..........Schlesien..........Silesia Schönb. ..........Schönburg (Sachsen)..........Schönburg (Saxony) Schwarzb. ..........Schwarzburg..........Schwarzburg Schwarzwaldkr. ..........Schwarzwaldkreis..........Black Forest district Seekr. ..........Seekreis (Baden)..........Seekreis (Baden) Siebenb. ..........Siebenbüurgen..........Transylvania St. ..........Sanct..........saint Starkenb. ..........Starkenburg (Hessen)..........Starkenburg (Hesse) Stbz. ..........Stadtbezirk (Ungarn)..........ward, district Steierm. ..........Steiermark..........Styria Szt. ..........Szent (Ungarn, Siebenb. Kroatien)..........saint (Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia) T. ..........Telegraphenstation..........telegraph station u. ...........und..........and üb. d. M. ..........über dem Meere..........above sea level Ung. ..........Ungarn..........Hungary Ungar. ..........Ungarisch..........Hungarian Unt. ..........Unter..........lower, below unt. d. E. ..........Unter der Enns (Ostreich)..........Below the Enns (Austria) Unterfr. ..........Unterfranken (Bayern)..........Lower Franconia (Bavaria) Unterrhnkr. ..........Unterrheinkreis (Baden)..........Lower Rhine district (Baden) Unt. M. B. ..........Unter-Manhartsberg (Oestreich)..........Lower Manhartsberg (Austria) Unt. W. W. ..........Unter-Wienerwald (Oestreich)..........Lower Wienerwald (Austria) unw. ..........unweit..........near v. ..........von..........from Vened. ...............Venedig......................................Venice, Veneto Vorw. ..........Vorwerk..........farmstead vorzügl. ..........vorzüglich..........principal W. ..........West..........west Web. ..........Weberei..........weaving mill Wend. ..........Wendlicher Kreis (Mecklenburg)..........Wend district (Mecklenburg) Westph. ..........Westphalen (Preussen)..........Westphalia (Prussia) Westpr. ..........Westpreussen..........West Prussia Wirthsh. ..........Wirthshaus..........inn Wlr. ..........Weiler..........hamlet Woiwod. ..........Woiwodina (Oestreich)..........Vojvodina (Austria) Würtemb. ..........Würtemberg..........Würtemberg Note: * = used by Rudolph to repeat political jurisdictions from the preceding entry |