Nufenen Parish, Graubünden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Nufenen / Nueinas Parish, Graubünden, 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 Nufenen (Romansh: Nueinas / Italian: Novena) is in the Rheinwald sub-district of the Hinterrhein district and the Graubünden canton. It is located on the San Bernardino road. Nufenen was surrounded by 15 isolated farms until the 18th century. The municipality included the haufendorf (unplanned and closely packed village built around a central square) of Nufenen.

Nufenen (as of 2006) has an area of 28.1 km² (10.8 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 54.9% - agricultural purposes
 * 14.8% - forested
 * 0.9% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 29.5% - non-productive

History
In 1343, Nufenen was first mentioned by the name of Ovena. In 1633 as Nufena. Nufenen (Romansh: Nueinas / Italian: Novena) is in the Hinterrhein district and the Graubünden canton. After 2017, Nufenen became part of the Viamala Region.

Nufenen merged into the Rheinwald municipality on 1 January 2019. Other municipalities merged include:
 * Hinterrhein
 * Splügen

The population history of Nufenen is: 1781 - 366 inhabitants 1850 - 344 inhabitants 1900 - 206 inhabitants 1950 - 170 inhabitants 2000 - 127 inhabitants 2010 - 158 inhabitants 2018 - 139 inhabitants 2020 - 139 inhabitants

From 1300, Nufenen was spiritually assigned to Hinterrhein. In 1530, the Reformation was adopted. In 1643, a church was built. In 1696, a parish was established.

Church Records
Original church records are held in the local municipal archive or civil registration office. Microfilm copies are available at the Graubünden State Archives.

Digital images of some church records are available on FamilySearch. These records have a restriction for use only at a FamilySearch center near you.

Reformed
Nufenen originally belonged to Hinterrhein, and became an independent parish in 1696. Church records begin in 1628. The following volumes are available on FamilySearch:
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1643-1790
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1788-1836
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1837-1875

The following volume is only available on microfilm at the Graubünden State Archives:
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1628-1775 (includes entries from Hinterrhein)

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

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Nufenen:
 * 1835
 * 1838
 * 1848
 * 1850
 * 1850, form C

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876.

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Graubünden State Archives. The following records are available:
 * Both A and B registers are available through 1916-1917 and are open without restriction.
 * Family registers are available from at latest 1860 through 1910; these records are viewable but require permission to access. For more information, contact the State Archive.

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Graubünden

Societies
Rätische Vereinigung für Familienforschung (RVFF)

Società Genealogica della Svizzera italiana (SGSI)