Wangen Parish, Schwyz, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Wangen 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, Wangen has an area of 8.5 km2 (3.3 sq mi). The community, including the villages of Wangen, Nuolen, and Siebnen, is surrounded by the Buechberg, the Zurich Obersee, the Wägitaler Aa, and the villages of Schübelbach and Tuggen and lies on the alluvial land of the Aa.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 64.9% - agricultural purposes
 * 10.3% - forested
 * 21.3% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 3.6% - non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains)

History
The first mention of Wangen was in 844 as Wangas.

The population history of Vorderthal is: 1743 - 469 inhabitants 1799 - 700 inhabitants 1850 - 1345 inhabitants 1900 - 1527 inhabitants 1950 - 2284 inhabitants 2000 - 4540 inhabitants

The church of Saint-Colomban (recorded in 844, redone in 1613-1614, 1639-1642, 1872-1873 and 1931-1932) was consecrated to Saint Jacques from 1419, then again to Colomban in 1932. The right of the tenants of Wangen took shape around 1400; a corporation of users (Allmeind-Genosssame), mentioned in this context, took more and more autonomy from the parish in modern times. Wangen was a municipality in the district of Schänis under the Helvetic Republic from 1848.

Surrounding parishes
Galgenen Jona (SG) Lachen Schübelbach Tuggen

Wangen
The parish of Wangen is ancient. Records are available from 1628 for baptisms, 1731 for marriages, and 1733 for burials.

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 Wangen.

Nuolen
The parish of Nuolen was established sometime in the ninth or tenth century. Records are available from 1628 for baptisms, 1663 for marriages, and 1662 for burials.

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 Nuolen.

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876. Wangen 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 Wangen 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