How to Find Birth, Marriage, and Death Records for Brandenburg, German Empire

Most of your genealogical research for Brandenburg will be in three main record types: civil registration, church records, and, when available, a compiled town genealogy ("'Ortssippenbuch" or "Ortsfamilienbuch" in German). This article will teach you how to use these records
 * on digital databases,
 * as microfilms,
 * or by writing for them.

Civil Registration (Standesamtsregister, Zivilstandsregister, or Personenstandsregister)
Civil registers are government-kept records of births, marriages, and deaths. In Brandenburg, civil registry offices were introduced on 1 January 1876.

Civil registers can now be found in the local Standesamt, which is either in the registry office or town hall. Copies of civil registers have to be sent to the district registry offices. Records before 110 years ago for birth registers, 80 years ago for marriage registers, 30 years ago for death registers are preserved with the state archives. Study these links to learn what information can be found in them:
 * Births (Geburtsregister)
 * Marriages (Heiraten, Ehen, or Trauungen)
 * Deaths (Sterberegister or Totenregister)

For a comprehensive understanding of civil registration, study the article Germany Civil Registration.

1. Microfilm Copies of Civil Registration From FamilySearch
Try to find records in the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Many microfilms have been digitized for online viewing. Gradually, everything will be digitized, so check back occasionally. Some have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at the Family History Centers near you. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Brandenburg, Germany.
 * b. Click on Places within Germany, Preussen, Brandenburg and a list of towns will appear.
 * c. Click on your town. If the town or village is not listed, find the town in '''Meyer's Gazetteer. See where the Standesamt (StdA.) was. It may have been in different place, because of the size of the town.
 * d. Click on the "Civil registration" topic, if available. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor. "Geburten" are births. Heiraten are marriages.  "Verstorbene" are deaths.
 * f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

2. Writing for Civil Registration Certificates
Civil registration records for Germany can be obtained by writing to the local civil registry (Standesamt) or the district archives. Records may have been lost at one location of the other, so you might end up checking both. The first office you contact might choose to forward your request to the other location if necessary. Write to the district archives if you wish to inquire about more than one town--for example, if you think a couple were married at either the groom's hometown or the bride's, and you want both places searched.

Determining the Location of a Civil Registration Office (for areas of Brandenburg now in Poland)
The online gazetteer Kartenmeister most efficiently tells you the location of the civil registration office:
 * Class: Kartenmeister.com Finding Places in the Former German Area of Poland

Determining the Location of a Civil Registration Office (For Germany Brandenburg)
Research your town name in MeyersGaz.org to find the location of the registry office (Standesamt). It is indicated by the abbreviation "StdA".

However, some of the offices were merged in 1970's, so the record location might be different than that listed in MeyersGaz.
 * For a small town within a larger municipality:
 * To find the current Standesamt, go to the German Wikipedia, and enter the name of the town in the search box. An article about the town will start with a first line such as: "Besse with about 3200 inhabitants is the largest district of the municipality Edermünde in Hessian Schwalm-Eder-Kreis ." It is probable that the Standesamt is now located in the municipality (in this example Edermünde).
 * To e-mail the municipality to verify that the civil registry for your town is there.
 * From the Wikipedia town article, click on the name of the municipality that links to that article.
 * There will usually be an infobox on the right side of page that lists the address and the website of the municipality.
 * Click on the website. Look for "Kontakt (Contact)" information, which should provide an e-mail address.
 * Send a message asking whether you have the correct office for your ancestors' home town. You can also use e-mail to request records and arrange payment.


 * For larger towns which constitute a municipality:
 * To find the current Standesamt, go to the German Wikipedia, and enter the name of the town in the search box.
 * This type of article will not state that the town belongs to another municipality, because it is itself a municipality.
 * The infobox that lists the address and the website of the municipality will appear directly on a this first page that comes up.
 * Follow the above instructions #2-4 above.

Local Standesamt Address
Using this address as guide, replace the information in parentheses:


 * An das Standesamt
 * (Insert street address, if known.)
 * (Postal Code) (Name of Locality)
 * GERMANY


 * Click herefor postal code help for Germany.

Archive Address
Here are the addresses for the national and state archives, should you decide to write there instead of or in addition to the local Standesamt. Brandenburg National Archives Potsdam An der Orangerie 3 14469 Potsdam Germany (Postal address: Postfach 600499, 14404 Potsdam) Tel. 0331/292971, Fax: 0331/292971 Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv Service Am Mühlenberg 3 14476 Potsdam, OT Golm Germany Postal address: Postfach 600449 14404 Potsdam Germany Phone: 0331 5674-0 Fax: 0331 5674-212 E-mail: poststelle@blha.brandenburg.de
 * The archive does not provide search services. See Cyndi's List of German professional genealogists, or visit the archive in person.
 * Advance reservations and advance ordering of records you wish to study is required.
 * Click here to search Brandenburg State Archives holdings. Go to “Suche”. Choose "Full text search. Enter keyword, such as a locality, a name, or both. Click ”Suchen”.

How to Write the Letter
Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus German translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the German Letter Writing Guide.

Church Records (Kirchenbuch or Kirchenbuchduplikate)
See Germany Church Records to learn more. For the provinces of East Prussia (Ostpreussen), Posen, Pomerania (Pommern), Silesia (Schlesien), parts of Brandenburg, and West Prussia (Westpreussen), areas which no longer belong to Germany, the online gazetteer Kartenmeister most efficiently tells you parish information: Church records (parish registers, church books) are an important source for genealogical research in Germany before civil registration began. They recorded details of baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. The vast majority of the population was mentioned. To learn more about the types of information you will find in church records, click on these links: For a comprehensive understanding of church records, study the article Germany Church Records.
 * Entries for baptisms/christenings, marriages, and burials in the local church records are the main source to use prior to 1876, when civil registration began. Often two and sometimes three generations are indicated in the registers, with personal information on the family. Also after 1876, these records might be intact when the civil registers were destroyed, or vice versa. In addition, either the church records and civil records might contain information not it the other record.
 * You should try to determine whether your ancestors were Catholic or Lutheran (Evangelical).
 * You should try to determine where the parish church was that held jurisdiction over your town. Find the town in Meyer's Gazetteer. Click on the "Ecclesiastical"''' link for information in the menu bar. This will tell you whether the town had its own parish church and give you the names of several nearby parish churches and their distance.
 * Class: Kartenmeister.com Finding Places in the Former German Area of Poland
 * Baptisms (Taufen)
 * Marriages (Heiraten)
 * Burials (Begräbnisse)
 * Confirmations (Konfirmationen)
 * Family Registers (Familienbücher)

1. Online Church Records

 * Archion: Evangelical Central Archives, Berlin
 * 1500-1971 - - at FamilySearch — index
 * - at FamilySearch, index and images.
 * Germany, Prussia, Brandenburg and Posen, Select Church Book Duplicates, 1794-1874 - Ancestry.com, index, ($).
 * Brandenburg, Germany, Transcripts of Church Records, 1700-1874 - Ancestry.com, index and images, ($).
 * - at FamilySearch, images only.
 * Virtual parish registers for Koeltschen, Kriescht, Louisa, Woxfelde, and Vietz. Searchable.

2. Microfilm Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Try to find records in the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Many microfilms have been digitized for online viewing. Gradually, everything will be digitized, so check back occasionally. Some have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at the Family History Centers near you. To find records:
 * a. Click on the records of Brandenburg, Germany.
 * b. Click on Places within Germany, Preußen, Brandenburg and a list of towns will appear.
 * c. Click on your town if it appears, or the location which you believe was the parish which served your town or village.
 * d. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * e. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor. "Geburten" are births. Taufen are christenings/baptisms. Heiraten are marriages.  "Tote" are deaths.
 * f. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

3. Writing to an Priest for Church Records

 * Baptism, marriage, and death records may be searched by contacting the local Catholic or Lutheran church or the Catholic diocese archives.

Lutheran Parish Addresses

 * Click here for a searchable address list of Lutheran parishes.

Catholic Parish Addresses for Diocese of Berlin
Brandenburg is in the Diocese of Berlin.
 * Search for parish addresses

Writing to a Local Parish
Write a brief request in German to the proper church using this address as a guide, replacing the information in parentheses:

For a Protestant Parish:


 * An das evangelische Pfarramt
 * (Insert street address, if known.)
 * (Postal Code) (Name of Locality)
 * GERMANY

For a Catholic Parish:


 * An das katholische Pfarramt
 * (Insert street address, if known.)
 * (Postal Code) (Name of Locality)
 * GERMANY


 * Click herefor postal code help for Germany.

How to write a letter: Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus German translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the German Letter Writing Guide.'''

4. Research at a Catholic Diocese Archive

 * You can visit these archives yourself to research the records. Privacy rules apply to birth records more recent than 120 years, marriage records 80 years, and death records 30 years. A day fee of about EU 7.00 is charged to use the records.  Call in advance to make reservations.

Diocesan Archives Berlin Bethaniendamm 29 10997 Berlin (Kreuzberg) Germany Phone: +49 (0) 30 22504580 Fax: +49 (0) 30 22504583 E-Mail: info@dioezesanarchiv-berlin.de The archive does not provide search services. See Cyndi's List of German professional genealogists.
 * Search engine for parish records in holdings
 * '''Official guide to the diocese of Berlin, 22nd edition, Berlin: Germania, 1938.. Lists parish records.

Other Religious Groups

 * To learn how to determine the location of other religious records, namely Jewish, French Reformed, German Reformed, etc., watch Hansen’s Map Guides: Finding Records with Parish Maps beginning at 48:00 minutes, to learn how to locate these congregations. Then go back and watch from the beginning to understand how to use the reference book. This course teaches you how to use a set of reference books found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. If you are not in Salt Lake City, use the Contact Us feature to request information from the books.

Jewish Records

 * See the Wiki article, Germany Jewish Records

Huguenots (French Protestants)
*German Huguenot Society eV, index.
 * See the Wiki article, ’’’Huguenots in Germany’’’

Town Genealogies (Ortssippenbuch or Ortsfamilienbuch )
See the class and the Wiki article, Germany Town Genealogies and Parish Register Inventories on the Internet. Published town genealogies, Ortssippenbuch (town lineage book) or Ortsfamilienbuch (town family book), generally include birth, marriage, and death data for all persons found in the local records during a specified time period, compiled into families based on the opinion of the author. 'If one is available, it should only be used as an index or guide'' to finding the original records. They usually contain errors. Always verify their information in original records.

Finding an OFB

 * Click here to see OFBs at GenWiki. These are indexed and searchable. OFB Instructions.
 * A bibliography of OFBs held by the Central Office for Person and Family History, and available in their archive in Frankfurt am Main-Höchst, is listed here. You can arrange for copied pages to be sent to you for a fee or donation. Use the "Find" function on your keyboard to search the bibliographies, as they are not alphabetical.*A bibliography of OFBs held by the Central Office for Person and Family History, and available in their archive in Frankfurt am Main-Höchst, is listed here. You can arrange for copied pages to be sent to you for a fee or donation. Use the "Find" function on your keyboard to search the bibliographies, as they are not alphabetical.
 * Neumark database and Huguenot pedigrees (Many parish registers in this area have been lost. This data base contains information from many other sources, such as pedigrees, town directories, histories etc.).Searchable.

Reading the Records

 * It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French and German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately.  Here are some resources for learning to read German records.
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * German Handwriting


 * These video webinars will teach you to read German handwriting:
 * Old German Script Part 1
 * Old German Script Part 2
 * Old German Script (German Church and Civil Records) Part 3


 * Also online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:
 * . In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial
 * . In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial

This converter will show you how any phrase or name might look in German script:
 * List of Names in Old German Script A comprehensive list of German given names,  written in old script, with possible variations.
 * Kurrentschrift Converter (enter German genealogical word, click on "convert", view your word in Kurrentschrift (Gothic handwriting)

Latin Records
Records of the Catholic church will usually be written in Latin:
 * Latin Genealogical Word List

Downloadable Handouts

 * Print these handouts for ready reference when reading German Handwriting:
 * Kurrent Letters Handout
 * Numbers Handout
 * Birth Records Handout
 * Marriage Records Handout
 * Death Records Handout
 * Days and Months Handout
 * Common Symbols Handout
 * Common Abbreviations Handout
 * Fraktur Font--Many forms and books are printed in this font.

Feast Dates

 * Calendar Changes in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Low Countries--class
 * Each day of the year had several patron saints and was a feast day to honor those saints. Some vital events are recorded in church records only by the holy day (feast day) on the church calendar. For example, the feast day called “All Saints Day” (Allerheiligentag) is “1 November.” An online feast date calculator may be found at the Albion College website. Simply enter the year and click "Calculate."

Search Strategy

 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find their birth record, search for the births of their brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of their parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * The marriage certificate will show the birth date, birth place, and parents of the bride and the groom. If you only have a church marriage record, calculate the birth date of the parents, using age at death and/or marriage to search for their birth records.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.

Other Resources

 * - at FamilySearch, images only.