Feusisberg Parish, Schwyz, Switzerland Genealogy

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



Geography
As of 2006, Feusisberg has an area of 17.5 km2 (6.8 sq mi). The municipality is situated on a terrace below the Etzel mountain and overlooking Lake Zurich at an elevation of between 600–800 meters (2,000–2,600 ft) above sea level. It includes the villages of Feusisberg and Schindellegi as well as part of Biberbrugg. As of 2000, about two-thirds of the population of Feusisberg lived in Schindellegi.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 48.8% - agricultural purposes
 * 41.2% - forested
 * 8.6% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 1.4% - non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains)

History
The first mention of Feusisberg was in 13th Century as Berg and Uffenberg. It is also mentioned in the 16th Century as Fessisskilch and in 1590 as Föussisberg.

The population history of Feusisberg is: 1743 - 649 inhabitants 1850 - 991 inhabitants 1900 - 1276 inhabitants 1950 - 1654 inhabitants 2000 - 3779 inhabitants (more than two thirds of them in Schindellegi)

As part of the courts, Feusisberg was under the land rule of Einsiedeln Abbey and, from 1440, on the governorship of the state of Schwyz. Until 1492, Feusisberg was part of the parish of Freienbach but owned a chapel of Saint-Jacques (mentioned in 1430), with a cemetery. In 1492-93, the current municipal area became a parish, with the abbot of Einsiedeln remaining collator. The first parish church was consecrated in 1509; the current Baroque church was in 1785. Feusisberg was on the pilgrimage road to Einsiedeln and Santiago de Compostela (Jakobsweg).

Surrounding parishes
Einsiedeln Freienbach Hütten (ZH) Oberägeri (ZG) Wollerau

Church Records
The parish of Feusisberg was established in 1492. Records are available from 1647.

Digital copies of the church records can be accessed onsite at the Schwyz State Archives. The archive has an online inventory of the records for Feusisberg.

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

Zivilstandsamt Ausserschwyz Unterdorfstrasse 9 Postfach 140 CH - 8808 Pfäffikon

Tel: +41 55 416 93 00

email: [mailto:zivilstandsamt@Freienbach.ch zivilstandsamt@freienbach.ch]

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Schwyz State Archives. Additionally, the archive has a partial inventory of its holdings. The following records are viewable in person:


 * Births before 1900
 * Marriages before 1930
 * Deaths before 1960

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Schwyz

Societies
Zentralschweizerische Gesellschaft für Familienforschung

Historischer Verein des Kantons Schwyz