Tenna Parish, Graubünden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Tenna Parish, Graubünden, 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 former municipality of Tenna is in the district of Surselva in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a German-speaking collection of small villages on a terrace above the west side of the Safien valley. It includes the village of Tenna which is made up of the sections of Ausserberg, Mitte, and Innerberg as well as the hamlets of Acla and Egschi along the valley road.

Tenna (as of 2006) has an area of 11.3 km² (4.4 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 45.1% - agricultural purposes
 * 34% - forested
 * 1.1% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 19.8% - non-productive

History
In 1398, Tenna was first mentioned by the name of Thena.

Tenna merged into the new Safiental municipality on 1 January 2013. Other municipalities merged include:
 * Safien
 * Valendas
 * Versam

The population history of Tenna is: 1803 - 157 inhabitants 1850 - 162 inhabitants 1900 - 130 inhabitants 1950 - 141 inhabitants 2000 - 79 inhabitants 2010 - 110 inhabitants 2011 - 110 inhabitants

The chapel of Saint-Valentin was part of Valendas; it separated from it at the Reformation (1523).

Church Records
Original church records are held in the local municipal archive or civil registration office. Microfilm copies are available at the Graubünden State Archives.

Digital images of church records are available on FamilySearch. These records have a restriction for use only at a FamilySearch center near you.

Reformed
Tenna became a parish when it became Reformed in 1523. Church records begin in 1629. The following volumes are available on FamilySearch:
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1666-1791
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1837-1875

Census
(See here for information regarding Graubünden census records.)

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Tenna:
 * 1835
 * 1838
 * 1848
 * 1850
 * 1850, form C

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876.

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Graubünden State Archives. The following records are available:
 * Both A and B registers are available through 1916-1917 and are open without restriction.
 * Family registers are available from at latest 1860 through 1910; these records are viewable but require permission to access. For more information, contact the State Archive.

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Graubünden

Societies
Rätische Vereinigung für Familienforschung (RVFF)

Società Genealogica della Svizzera italiana (SGSI)