Wohlen Parish, Aargau, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Wohlen Parish, Aargau, 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 former municipality of Wohlen is in the Bremgarten district and the Aargau canton. It is located in the valley of the Bünz.

Wohlen (as of 2006) has an area of 12.5 km² (4.8 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 39.5% - agricultural purposes
 * 27.9% - forested
 * 32.1% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.6% - non-productive

History
In 1179, Wohlen was first mentioned by the name of Wolon. Wohlen is in the Bremgarten district and the Aargau canton.

In 1914, the old community of Anglikon was incorporated into the municipality of Wolon.

The population history of Wohlen is: 1798 - 1,397 inhabitants 1800 - 1,397 inhabitants 1850 - 2,430 inhabitants 1900 - 3,274 inhabitants 1920 - 4,705 inhabitants 1950 - 6,670 inhabitants 1970 - 12,024 inhabitants 1975 - 11,837 inhabitants 1980 - 11,826 inhabitants 1990 - 12,480 inhabitants 2000 - 13,268 inhabitants 2020 - 16,881 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 56.5% were Roman Catholic
 * 19.7% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 0.11% were Christian Catholic Church

Wohlen had no church and the people belonged to multiple parishes of Niederwil, Göslikon, and Villmergen. In 1185, the church of Saint-Etienne was mentioned. In 1488, the Saint-Léonard church was built. In 1518, the parish of Wohlen was setup. It was abolished in 1529 with the Reformation. In 1531, another church was built as part of the re-catholicization effort. It was later replaced in 1804. In the 19th century, the Protestants settled in the area and were attached to the parish of Bremgarten.

Church Records
The parish of Wohlen was first established in 1518. It was Reformed between 1529-1531; Wohlen was Recatholicized in 1531. The parish church is called St. Leonhard.

Original church records are located onsite at the Wohlen municipal archive or the Wohlen civil registration office. Microfilm copies of the following church records are available onsite at the Aargau State Archives:
 * Baptisms 1633-1752 (with gaps); marriages, burials 1634-1752; confirmations 1635-1742
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1753-1825; confirmations 1753-1875
 * Baptisms 1817-1861
 * Baptisms 1862-1875
 * Marriages 1817-1852
 * Marriages 1853-1875
 * Marriages non-resident citizens 1817-1875
 * Burials 1817-1875

Post-1875 church records are found onsite at the Wohlen parish church office.

Census
(See here for information regarding Aargau census records.)

Anglikon was a separate municipality until 1014, when it became part of Wohlen. During these censuses, it was enumerated separately. The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Wohlen and Anglikon:

Wohlen

 * 1837 (images 75-102)
 * 1850: Form A (images 706-764)
 * 1850: Form B (images 765-766)

Anglikon

 * 1837 (images 651-658)
 * 1850: Form A (images 294-305)
 * 1850: Form B (image 306)

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Aargau

Societies
Central Swiss Society for Family History (ZGF)