Balzers, Liechtenstein Genealogy

Guide to Balzers Community ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Research Methods
The vast majority of your research will be in church records (Kirchenbücher) and civil registration (Zivilstandsregister).

Civil Registration (Zivilstandsregister)

 * Record type: Births, marriages, deaths, family registers.
 * Time period: 1878-present for births, marriages and deaths. 1789-present for family registers.
 * Contents:
 * Births: Name of child, date and place of birth; names, residence, and occupation of parents.
 * Marriages; Names, ages, residences, occupations of groom and bride; sometimes date and place of birth and/or ages, parents' names, date and place of marriage, residences, occupations, names of witnesses and officer who performed ceremony.
 * Deaths: Name, age, date and place of death, occupation, name of surviving spouse, name and residence of informant, cause of death, sometimes date and place of birth, names of parents, names of children.
 * Family registers: Names of parents, children, spouses, dates and places of births, marriage and death, occupation for family members.

Family History Library Microfilm Collection
Many records have been microfilmed. Currently, these microfilms are being digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. These civil registers are microfilmed:
 * 1824-1967 - Balzers Zivilstandsregister, 1824-1967, images.

Contacting the Civil Registry Office
For records from 1967 to the present (or if there is not a convenient Family History Center), you can contact or visit the Liechtenstein civil registry office to request certificates or transcriptions of birth, marriage, and death or family register.

Mail: Liechtenstein Civil Registry St. Florinsgasse 3 Office Postfach 684 9490 Vaduz Liechtenstein

Visitors: Liechtenstein Civil Registry St. Florinsgasse 3 9490 Vaduz Liechtenstein

Telephone: +423 236 69 26 Fax: +423 236 69 29 E-mail:info.zsa@llv.liSt. Florinsgasse 3 Website: http://www.llv.li/#/1569/zivilstandsamt

This German Letter Writing Guide will help with composing a letter or email in German requesting a record.

Church Records (Kirchenbücher)

 * Record type: Births and baptisms; marriages, marriage proclamations; deaths and burials; confirmations; church censuses, memberships, annual masses for the dead, and family registers.
 * Time period: 1675-present.
 * Contents:
 * Baptismal/birth records: Dates and places of birth and/or baptism; names of children, parents; names of godparents.
 * Marriage records: Names of couples, date of marriage and/or date of proclamation; often names of parents, names of witnesses.
 * Death/burial records: Name of deceased, date of death and/or burial; often age and cause of death; often name of spouse, especially of women; names of parents of deceased children.
 * Confirmation records: Name of child, age, place of residence and name of father.
 * Church censuses, membership lists, family registers: Names of married couples, their ages or birth dates and places, sometimes dates of marriage, names of children, ages or birth dates, death or burial dates of children. Sometimes marriage dates and names of spouses of children are given.

Online Research
Although there are indexed records in FamilySearch Historical Records, the collection is so small it should be used with extreme caution. Finding an entry of a person with your ancestor's name does not guarantee that there are not many more people with that name in the thousands of records not represented here.

Family History Library Microfilm Collection
Many records have been microfilmed. Currently, these microfilms are being digitized, and plans are to complete that project by 2020. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. These church records are microfilmed:


 * 1675-1933 - Balzers Katholische Kirchenbuch, 1675-1933, images.
 * Balzers Community Tree: Index - Balzers. Liechtenstein. St. Nicholas Balzers Church. Date range: 1600s-1800s "This community tree has information for all individuals and families in the records of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Nicholas in Balzers, Liechtenstein, which are found in FHL films nos. 1186667 and 1186668. These films contain birth, confirmation, marriage, and death records up to 1838. Individuals have been linked into extended families where possible. Source information is included in the notes for each individual. This community tree contains about 5,300 names."

Writing to or Visiting the Parish for Records
Contact informatioin:

SS Nicholas and Martin Gnetsch 23 Balzers, 9496 Liechtenstein

Phone: 4233841218 E-mail:http://www.erzbistum-vaduz.li

For help with composing a letter or e-mail in German, see the German Letter Writing Guide.

Reading the Records

 * It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French and German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them (such as born, died, mother, father, son, etc.). By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately. Here are some resources for learning to read German records.
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * German Handwriting


 * Online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:
 * Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 1: Kurrent Letters
 * Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 2: Making Words in Kurrent
 * Reading German Handwritten Records Lesson 3: Reading Kurrent Documents. In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial

This converter will show you how any phrase or name might look in German script:
 * Kurrentschrift Converter (enter German genealogical word, click on "convert", view your word in Kurrentschrift (Gothic handwriting)

Latin Records
Records of the Catholic church will usually be written in Latin:
 * Latin Genealogical Word List

Search Strategy

 * There might be a compiled family register for your family in the "Familienbuch" portion of the records. It will be useful as a guide, but could contain errors. Search the actual baptism, marriage, and burial records to confirm the events and relationships.
 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected. When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.