Copenhagen: Church Records

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Church records are probably one of the most vital records to use in Copenhagen Research. With Christening, Marriage and Burial records, entire families can be reconstructed and generations connected.

Background
Up until the 20th century, nearly everyone belonged to a church, resulting in records for each individual. For centuries, the only recognized church in Denmark was the Danish Lutheran Church (Den Danske Folkekirke); however, beginning in the mid-1800s more and more churches were accepted by the Danish government. Even then, up until the 20th century, the majority of Danish citizens belonged to the Danish Church. Copenhagen is different from the rest of the counrty because it is a large port city. As a result, many different religious ideologies have influenced its citizens. Some of the most common denominations have been: -Den Danske Folkekirke (records since 1617) -Roman Catholic (records since 1647) -French Reformed Church (records since 1685) -German Reformed Church (records since 1686) -Anglican (records since 1835) -Methodist (records since 1846) -Latter-day Saint (records since 1850) -Baptist -Jewish

Lutheran Church Records
Throughout Denmark's history, the Danish Lutheran Church has been the largest denomination for centuries. This holds true in the city of Copenhagen. The city is split into many different parishes, although there were originally 7 main churches. For a list of the parishes in Copenhagen see the parish list. Probably the most difficult part of researching in Copenhagen is finding which parish a family belonged to. There are a few different records that can help locate a family such as directories, census, and tax records. Once an address is secured for a family, the parish can be located by either using the Street-Parish Guide, or locating the closest church. After the parish is located, it is simple to obtain the church records. The Lutheran Church kept several different records including christenings, marriages, burials, and confirmations. For a detailed description of Lutheran Church Records see the Denmark: Church Records page. A couple of other tools are helpful in searching through church records. First, the regional archive for Sjælland has published compiled indexes for various Copenhagen church records.

Roman Catholic Church Records
In Denmark, the Reformation took a strong foothold, resulting in the near extinction of Catholicism in Denmark. The few vestiges that did hold, were in the larger cities, including Copenhagen. The church records kept by the Catholic Church are nearly identical to the Lutheran church records. They consist mainly of christenings, marriages, and burials, and a few miscellaneous records such as confirmations. One of the few differences is that the occurance of the Latin alphabet and languageis a lot more frequent than in the Lutheran records.

Latter-day Saint Church Records
The LDS Church first arrived in Denmark in spring 1850 and by the end of the summer that year a small branch was established in Copenhagen. Although records for the early years were not kept very well, subsequent records were kept regularly. The LDS church records include such information as: -names of the individual, spouse, and parents (including maiden names) -birthdate and place -death date and place -baptism and confirmation dates -priesthood ordination dates -divorce information -missionary service These records are available on microfilm up to. ..