Lutzenberg Parish, Appenzell, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Lutzenberg Parish, Appenzell, Switzerland ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Geography
Lutzenberg is located in the former district of Vorderland. It is the smallest parish in Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. The parish consists of two hamlets, Haufen-Brenden and Wienacht-Tobel. The church is located outside of the parish.

Lutzenberg has an area of 2.3 square kilometers (0.89 square miles). The area is used thusly:

55.5% agriculture 25.1% forest 19.4% settlement

Click for a geographical map of Appenzell, including Lutzenberg.

History
Lutzenberg was first mentioned in 1634. It belonged to the political parish of Kurzenberg (then a part of the church parish of Thal, which was disbanded in 1666. It remained part of the church parish of Thal, to which it belongs today.  In 1667, the population was 518.  By 1734, Lutzenberg had 847 residents, which fell to 700 by 1813.  In 1850, Lutzenberg had a population of 908.

Surrounding Parishes
Click for a map showing Lutzenberg in relation to the rest of Canton Appenzell.

Eggersriet (Sankt Gallen) Heiden Rheineck (Sankt Gallen) Rorschacherberg (Sankt Gallen) Sankt Margrethen (Sankt Gallen) Thal (Sankt Gallen) Walzenhausen Wolfhalden

Church Records
Lutzenberg was never its own parish, but belonged to the parish of Thal, which was united with the parish of Rheineck until 1716. The records pertaining to Lutzenberg were filmed by the Family History Library and can be found here. Records held by the Family History Library include baptisms (Taufen) 1761-1868, marriages (Heiraten) 1761-1839, and deaths (Tote) 1761-1866. Records after this time period are available at the Cantonal Archive in Herisau, Switzerland.

Family books (Familienbuch) of Lutzenberg are available in the rectory of Thal:

Volume 1 (1834) - household visitation book Volumes 2-3 (1840) - family register

A family book created about 1740 has been microfilmed by the Family History Library.

Census Records
Census records, taken by the Zürich Synod, exist for Lutzenberg. The census are enumerated under the parish of Thal for the following years:

Genealogies
(see here for article describing Swiss compiled genealogies)

The following genealogies have been researched for Lutzenberg families:

Lutz family, by Julius Billeter (FHL Film 127,973; see also FHL Film 193,478) Niederer family, by Julius Billeter (FHL Film 127,965; see also FHL Film 193,480)

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876. Lutzenberg belongs to the Vorderland Appenzell civil registration district. Records are only available in Switzerland. For further information, contact the civil registry office at:

Zivilstandsamt Vorderland Appenzell Ausserrhoden St. Gallerstrasse 9 Postfach 13 CH - 9038 Rehetobel

Tel: +41 71 878 70 20

email: [mailto:jeannette.eisenhut@rehetobel.ar.ch jeannette.eisenhut@rehetobel.ar.ch]

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

Related Sources
The town's website (in German) is located here.

Societies and Libraries
Cantonal Archive of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden (in German)