Seeking Tips for Locating Ancestors' Graves in Hungary

alisharichellemagda1

Hi everyone,

I’m currently researching my family history and will be visiting Hungary for two weeks in March to attempt to physically locate the graves of my ancestors. I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience or knowledge on the best methods for finding graves in Hungary.

While I have limited information, I do have some details, including my ancestor's place of death and year of death, as well as where and when they were born. Specifically, I’m looking for guidance on:

1. Resources and Tools: What online resources or databases do you recommend for finding burial records or gravestone information?
2. Local Cemeteries: How do I identify which cemeteries to check, especially in smaller towns or rural areas?
3. Research Strategies: What strategies have you found effective when searching for unmarked graves or locations that might not be well-documented?
4. Local Contacts: Are there local organizations, historical societies, or experts that you would suggest reaching out to for assistance?

Any tips, personal experiences, or insights you can share would be incredibly helpful as I prepare for my visit. Thank you in advance for your support!

Best regards,

Alisha Magda

Julia Szent-Györgyi

One: both Find a Grave and BillionGraves have some Hungarian cemeteries. I am not aware of any Hungary-specific cemetery databases.

Two: that's easy. Most places have a single cemetery, or at most an "old" and a "new". You need to be in a city on the scale of Budapest to have any choice in the location of a burial.

Three: I don't have any experience with this, because my cemetery visits in Hungary generally go by (vague) memory.

Four: this varies greatly by specific place, but "at the church" generally works as a starting point. Or, failing that, at the local government office.

I would add, as point zero: gravesites are generally "rented" for a limited time, usually 25 years. If the cemetery is crowded and there is no family left locally to pay up every quarter century, then there may no longer be a grave to find.

alisharichellemagda1

Would they keep record of the people that were there if someone didn’t pay the rent for the plot or would they go undocumented? Also would it be better if I somehow found out away to contact those organizations before going or while I was there?
thank you so much for your help!

Julia Szent-Györgyi

I would assume they keep records somewhere, but I've never dealt with this directly. (My mom's been doing the paying up, up to now.)

I definitely recommend making inquiries before arrival, even if it's just finding the address to show up at when you get there.