Sissach Parish, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Sissach Parish, Basel-Landschaft, 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 municipality of Sissach is in the Sissach district and the Basel-Landschaft canton. Sissach is the capital of the Sissach district. It is located in the valley of the Ergolz river. The municipality of Sissach includes the village of Sissach and the settlements of Itchon, Gruonach, and Wilmatten.

Sissach has an area of 8.87 km² (3.42 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 28.2% - agricultural purposes
 * 46.6% - forested
 * 25.0% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.1% - non-productive

History
In 1225, Sissach was first mentioned by the name of Sissaho. Sissach is in the Sissach district and the Basel-Landschaft canton.

The population history of Sissach is: 1497 - 120 inhabitants 1680 - 684 inhabitants 1774 - 848 inhabitants 1850 - 1,374 inhabitants 1860 - 1,589 inhabitants 1870 - 1,841 inhabitants 1880 - 2,021 inhabitants 1888 - 2,021 inhabitants 1900 - 2,798 inhabitants 1910 - 2,994 inhabitants 1920 - 3,017 inhabitants 1930 - 3,047 inhabitants 1941 - 3,040 inhabitants 1950 - 3,493 inhabitants 1960 - 4,574 inhabitants 1970 - 4,938 inhabitants 1980 - 4,564 inhabitants 1990 - 5,135 inhabitants 2000 - 5,325 inhabitants 2021 - 6,771 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 23.8% were Roman Catholic
 * 55.0% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 0.43% were Orthodox Church
 * 0.24% were Christian Catholic Church
 * 2.59% were Other Christian Church

In 620, the Saint-Jacques church was built. It was enlarged in the 12th and 15th century and in 1525. The Sissach parish included the surrounding villages. In 1529, the Reformation was introduced to Sissach. In 1896, the Saint-Gelterkinden catholic parish was established.

Church Records
The parish of Sissach was first mentioned in 620. It became Reformed in 1529. It includes the municipalities of Böckten, Diepflingen, Itingen, and Thürnen, and included Zunzgen until 1830.

Parish records for Sissach are available online from the Basel-Landschaft State Archive. The 50 volumes of digitized records include:
 * 1548-1911 Baptisms at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1547-1907 Marriages at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1666-1919 Burials at Basel-Landschaft State Archive - with gaps
 * 1740-1917 Confirmations at Basel-Landschaft State Archive - with gaps
 * 1685-1899 Baptisms at Basel-Landschaft State Archive - organized by location

Census
(See here for information regarding Basel-Landschaft census records.)

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Sissach:
 * 1815 (images 239-272)

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Basel-Landschaft

Societies
Genealogical-Heraldic Society of Region Basel (GHGRB)