This database facilitates the easier research of the wills deposited or publicized between the 18th and 20th century in city councils in Buda, courts in Budapest and notarial fonds (cases prior to the 1873 unification of the city are only available here at present because only here were they kept in series and isolated from inheritance cases). Apart from documents created with the specific intention of leaving a last will, there are also inheritance contracts, marriage contracts with inheritance clauses, ’suicide notes’ and records of witness testimonies of last will making acts. We have to note here that those wills deposited at notaries in Budapest which are not parts of a distinct series can be accessed only through the notarial deeds database.

The records contains the testator’ (or the interested party in the inheritance case or marriage contract) data, indicating the date of the will – even if it precedes the public announcement by decades. We have to note that in many cases there were more than one wills (replacement wills, account testaments) registered on the same number if they connected to the same testator (couple). There are currently close to 24,000 records but that means 30,000 testators, since couples typically formed wills, inheritance cases and marriage contracts jointly.

Most of the archival records dated before 1918 have already been digitalized so they can be accessed on the internet through the Hungarian Cultural Heritage Portal with a built-in photo viewer

In any other case the chosen records can be consulted on the basis of their reference code (eg. HU BFL – VII.6.e – 1943 – 045) in the archival research room. Last wills dated after 1924 that contain the personal data of minors are subject to limited research options. About the archival materials affected by the construction of the database and the digitization process you can find detailed information in this table: