Record Atlas
9 eras · 1563–2026 · 254 places

Old Castile and La Rioja

Burgos, Segovia, Soria, La Granja, Santo Domingo de Silos, Logroño. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
1563–1808 Crown of Castile — Old Castile FamilySearch · PARES

Parish registers run from the Council of Trent (FamilySearch gives 1545 and 1563); most registers over 100 years old were moved to the archive of the parish's diocese. La Rioja's parishes belong to the diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada, whose territory once also took in Álava, Vizcaya and parts of Navarre, Guipúzcoa, Burgos and Soria.
1808–1814 Spain under Joseph Bonaparte — Peninsular War FamilySearch · PARES

Joseph Bonaparte's reign is dated from June or August 1808 depending on the source, to 11 December 1813; the Peninsular War ended on 17 April 1814. An 1810 Napoleonic division of Spain into 84 prefectures is recorded.
1814–1833 Kingdom of Spain — monarchy restored FamilySearch · PARES

The war ended on 17 April 1814 and the Bourbon monarchy was restored; the 1822 division of Spain into provinces, made in the Trienio Liberal, was the predecessor of the 1833 one.
1833–1871 Kingdom of Spain — provinces of Castilla la Vieja FamilySearch · PARES

The royal decree of 30 November 1833 made Burgos, Logroño, Segovia and Soria provinces of Castilla la Vieja, with Ávila, Palencia, Santander and Valladolid.
1871–1931 Kingdom of Spain — civil registration FamilySearch · PARES

Civil registration is dated from 1871 (FamilySearch's church-records page says 1869), with some municipalities holding records from as early as 1837; the records are still in each municipality's archive, and certificates are requested through the Ministerio de Justicia.
1931–1936 Second Republic FamilySearch · PARES

The Second Republic ran from 1931 to the July 1936 coup, when Old Castile and León, described as conservative and Catholic areas, fell quickly to the rebels; conspirators took the command posts in Burgos on 19 July.
1936–1939 Nationalist zone FamilySearch · PARES

Nationalist forces secured the Somosierra and Alto del León passes by 25 July 1936 and the Guadarrama front then held until 1939; La Rioja and Álava are described as Nationalist-leaning areas. FamilySearch notes record loss in the Civil War without listing registers.
1939–1978 Spain — Franco's State, then the transition to the 1978 Constitution FamilySearch · PARES

In 1949 the Condado de Treviño went to Vitoria. Decrees of 2 September and 22 November 1955 adjusted Calahorra to the civil province of La Rioja: Viana and Amescoas went to Pamplona, Yanguas and San Pedro Manrique to Osma, ten parishes to Burgos, and Alfaro, Canales, Ezcaray and Treviana came in; 'Logroño' was added to the diocese's name on 9 March 1959.
1978–2026 Spain — 1978 Constitution FamilySearch · PARES

The diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño now coincides with the autonomous community of La Rioja.

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 1563–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

254 places on this ground

The 200 carrying the most collections are listed; 54 more stand on this ground. Every place has them all.

47 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

All record regions · The map