Slovenia Census

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Population censuses, in the past also known as “people counts”, were carried out for the practical needs of the state administration, which required various data about its citizens. During censuses the forms with specifically defined headings were completed.

Following censuses for Ljubljana, capitol of Slovenia, formerly Laibach in the Krain province of the Austrian Empire, are available in the Historical Archive Ljubljana and through the Family History Library. Censuses include not only the City of Ljubljana but also the suburbs of Gradišče [Gradischa], Kapucinsko [Kapuzina], Karlovsko [Karlstädt], Karolinsko [Karolinengrund], Krakovsko [Krakau], Kurjavas [Hühnerdorf], Poljansko [Pollana], Trnovsko [Tirnau]. Note: German place names in parentheses.

Indexes have been made for the significant part of the preserved censuses. Persons are listed alphabetically, together with their residence. For censuses for which an index has not yet been made, it is necessary to know where a particular person lived in order to find the census form.

Some forms include extracts from the parish registers, such as birth extract. Text is in German and later also in Slovenian.

Census - 1830
The oldest preserved census in the Historical Archive Ljubljana is 1830 Aufnahmsbogen. This census covers people who then lived within the area of the City of Ljubljana and its suburbs. The headings of the census forms are written in German. The first column contains personal data about householders or family members of specific families. One census form was completed for each individual family. The census forms were filled out in succession by house numbers, first of the City of Ljubljana, followed by the census forms of houses in the Ljubljana suburbs. The first five columns are of most relevance: house number, name of the owner of the house, name of the resident (including relationship to the head of the household), year of birth (occasionally also day and month) and profession.

Census - 1857
The next population census was carried out in 1857. The census forms are called Anzeigezettel and are similarly written in German. The census method was the same as described above (by successive house numbers, first the city, then the suburbs). The columns are: successive number of residents in the context of a single family, names and surnames of residents, date of birth (year, month and day), religion, profession or relationship to the head of the family, status, and citizenship. Census returns are indexed by a card file compiled by the Zgorodvinsky Arhiv Ljubljana included with the census.

Click here to see what records are available through the Family History Library.

Census - 1869
A new general census of Austria was taken in 1869 and does not too much differ in content from the previous one. The census forms, again called Anzeigezettel, were bi-lingual, written in German and Slovene. The headings included the following: successive number of person, name and surname, gender, year of birth, religion, status, profession, place of birth. An important element of this census is the place of birth. It also includes a typed surname index.

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Census - 1880
Following are samples from the population censuses in 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910, 1921, 1928 and 1931. Basically, the headings on the census forms did not change from the previous census. After 1880, when street names were introduced in Ljubljana and its suburbs, census forms were categorized in the alphabetical order of streets, and within that, successive house numbers.

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Census - 1890
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Census - 1900
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Census - 1910
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Census - 1921
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Census - 1928
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Census - 1931
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The census forms described above were the same throughout the Austrian Empire. Unfortunately, only few of them have been preserved, so the census forms preserved for Ljubljana are of an exceptional example in the region of Central Europe. Census records are very important and interesting not just in the genealogical research but also historical research of the social and economic conditions of a particular place at a particular time.

It is important to note that the census forms for the Ljubljana City are preserved in entirety and for other places in the wider Ljubljana region fairly modestly (with few exceptions). Censuses show the situation on the day on which the census was taken.

Websites
Historical Archive Ljubljana and Its Material of Interest in Genealogical Research