Lungern Parish, Obwalden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Lungern Parish, Obwalden, Switzerland, ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, parish census, civil census, family history, area history, and military records.



Geography
The municipality of Lungern is in the Obwalden canton. It includes the village of Lungern and hamlets of Bürglen, Kaiserstuhl and Obsee. Lundern is located in the highest part of the Obwalden canton at an elevation of 750 metres (2,460 ft). It is at the foot of the Brünig Pass on the eastern shore of Lungern Lake. Lungern has an area of 46.33 km² (11,450 acres). The land use was divided up as follows:
 * 55.0% - agricultural purposes
 * 34.5% - forested
 * 3.7% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 6.3% - unproductive land

History
In 1275, Lungern was first mentioned with the name of Lutigern and also as de Lungern. In 1861, the Brünig pass road provided easier access to the village.

The population history of Lungern is: 1709 - 1,234 inhabitants 1850 - 1,413 inhabitants 1900 - 1,828 inhabitants 1950 - 1,878 inhabitants 1990 - 1,859 inhabitants 2000 - 1,965 inhabitants 2005 - 1,950 inhabitants 2006 - 1,975 inhabitants 2007 - 2,023 inhabitants 2008 - 2,035 inhabitants

One Catholic church is about 110 years old. The previous one was destroyed by flood. There are five chapels located in Dorfkapelle, Obseekapelle, Kapelle Bürglen, Kapelle Breitenfeld, and Kappele Krummelbach. In 1275, the old Sainte-Catherine church was mentioned. In 1686, the Chapel of Bürglen-Kaiserstuhl was built.

Surrounding parishes
Brienzwiler (BE) Giswil Hasliberg (BE) Hofstetten bei Brienz (BE) Kerns Meiringen (BE) Sachseln

Church Records
The church records and family registers for Lungern are located at the Lungern parish office.

Genealogies
In the early 1900s, Ephrem Omlin systematically extracted information for Obwalden parishes and compiled these on family group pages organized by surname and parish. These are available onsite at the Obwalden State Archives. Historian Niklaus von Flüe expanded this collection; his notes are also available onsite at the Obwalden State Archives.

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876. Lungern belongs to the Obwalden civil registration district. Records are only available in Switzerland. For further information, contact the civil registry office at:

Zivilstandsamt Obwalden Brünigstrasse 180a CH - 6060 Sarnen

Tel: +41 666 35 65

email: [mailto:zivilstandsamt@sarnen.ow.ch zivilstandsamt@sarnen.ow.ch]

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Obwalden State Archives and are available through 1920. For specific information about duplicate civil registration records, see the archives' online catalog; click the + sign to the left of the folder .02.SCH.Schriften (Zivilstand).

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Lungern prior to 1875:

Related sources
The town's website (in German) can be found here.

Libraries and archives
Obwalden State Archives

Societies
Zentralschweizerische Gesellschaft für Familienforschung (in German)