Switzerland, Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Foreign Language Title
Schweiz, Basel-Stadt Kirchenbücher

Collection Time Period
Records in this collection begin in 1380 and go through 1917. Most of the church records contained in this collection, however, begin in the mid 1500s and end by 1910.

Record Description
This collection contains images of the church books for the Canton of Basel-Stadt. The Canton consists of the city of Basel and the two neighboring communities of Riehen and Bettingen.

The event types you will find in this collection include the following: Taufen (baptisms); Taufenregister (baptism index); Ehen (marriages); Ehenregister (marriage index); Eheverkündigungen (marriage announcements); Eheverkündigungenregister (marriage announcement index); Familienbuch (family book); Familienbuchregister (family book index); Konfirmanden (confirmations); Konfirmandenregister (confirmation index); Toten (deaths/burials); and Totenregister (death index).

Record Content
The genealogical facts found in most of the baptism records are:


 * Names of the child, parents, and witnesses or godparents
 * Date and place of birth
 * Date of baptism (sometimes even the time of birth and baptism)
 * Residence and religion of the parents
 * Occupation of the father and the other males listed
 * Whether the child was legitimate or illegitimate

The genealogical facts found in most of the marriage records are:


 * Names of the bride, groom, their parents (usually the fathers) and witnesses
 * Date and place of marriage and marriage proclamations or banns
 * Residence of the bride, groom, and their parents
 * Occupation of groom and other males listed

The genealogical facts found in most of the burial records are:


 * Names of the deceased (sometimes names of deceased’s spouse and/or deceased’s parents were included)
 * Date and place of death and burial
 * Age and residence
 * Cause of death

How to Use the Record
Records in this online collection can be browsed by locality (Ort) first, then by religion, and are next arranged by the German-equivalent of the event type—for example, baptisms are Taufen—and then chronologically. Name indexes (Namenverzeichnis) and event indexes (e.g. Ehenregister) are included when available. A mixture of record formats may be contained within these records. Use these Basel records.

Record History
In Switzerland, a parish was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction consisting of many villages and hamlets, with one of the villages designated as the main parish town. Swiss church records are typically in German or Latin. Regional dialect may affect the spelling of some German words and the use of vocabulary words.

Evangelical Church records began as early as the mid to late 1500s in Switzerland; most church records, however, began in the late 1600s. Church records continue to be kept in the present day.

These church books cover a majority of the population for the Canton of Basel-Stadt, which includes parishes in the city of Basel and its environs. The city of Basel today is the third most populous city in Switzerland. The old Canton of Basel was split in 1833 to form two independent cantons, Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. Church books from the more rural areas that form the Canton of Basel-Landschaft are not part of this collection.

Event types were often compiled in separate volumes, for instance, baptisms in one volume and marriages in another. In some parishes, however, event types were intermixed and grouped into a volume according to year range. When this is the case, the baptisms, marriages, and burials for one year (e.g. 1785) were grouped together before the baptisms, marriages, and burials for the next year (e.g. 1786), and so on.

Why This Record Was Created
Church records were created to record church sacraments associated with life events (e.g. baptism after birth, burial after death) and those who had received these ordinances. The church records also served as official (civil) records.

Record Reliability
Church books are one of the most reliable and accurate family history sources. Accuracy in the records is, however, dependent upon the accuracy of the informant’s knowledge coupled with the priest recording the information correctly. Ages, birth dates, and birth places recorded in marriage and death entries have a higher probability of being inaccurate.

cords to identify ancestors (individuals, their parents, and their spouses) and make family connections.

Related Web Sites
Switzerland GenWeb Project

Switzerland Genealogy Links

This section of the article is incomplete. You can help FamilySearch Wiki by supplying links to related websites here.

Related Wiki Articles
Switzerland Church Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from the record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find th record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you do not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.

The suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched in found in the Wiki Article: How to Create Source Citations for FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

Examples of Sourch Citations for a Record in This Collection

 * United States. Bureau of Census. 12th census, 1900, digital images, From FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: Setpemper 29.2006), Arizona Territory, Maricopa, Township 1, East Gila, Salt River Base and Meridian; sheet 9B,line 71.
 * Mexico, Districto Federal, Catholic Church Records 1886-1933, digital imagbes, from FamilySearch Internet (www.familysearch.org: April 22, 2010), Baptism of Adolfo Femandez Jimenez, 1 Feb, 1910, San Pedro Apostol, Cuahimalpa, Districto Federal, Mexico Film number 0227023

Sources of This Collection
"Switzerland, Basel City Church Books, 1380-1917," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org); from Staatsarchiv Basel-Stadt, Basel, Switzerland. "Switzerland, Basel City church books." Basel State Archive. FHL microfilm. Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.