Lachen Parish, Schwyz, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Lachen 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, Lachen has an area of 2.4 km2 (0.93 sq mi). The municipality is situated on a delta of the Wägi river in the upper section of Lake Zurich and is the smallest municipality in the Canton of Schwyz.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 26.7% - agricultural purposes
 * 5.8% - forested
 * 62.1% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 5.4% - non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains)

History
The first mention of Lachen was in 1217–22 as de Lachun.

The population history of Galgenen is: 1850 - 1343 inhabitants 1900 - 1410 inhabitants 1950 - 2299 inhabitants 2000 - 3927 inhabitants

The parish church of St. Martin and Nicholas was first recorded in 1275. A new church was built in 1472-75, then underwent major transformations in 1689. Architect Hans Konrad Stadler directed the building of today's church in 1822-26. In 1355, the collation rights were owned by Gottfried of Habsburg-Laufenburg, who sold them to the dukes of Austria in 1358. Duke Frederick of Austria having been banished from the Empire, Emperor Sigismund took back these rights; between 1417 and 1424, he gave them to Ital Reding the Elder of Schwyz. The parish benefice remained in the hands of the Reding family until 1809, who also furnished the clergyman in Galgenen from 1707 onwards. In 1809, the collation rights were bought back by the parishioners for the sum of 3800 florins. The St. Jost chapel on the old country road (Obergasse) was first mentioned in 1362; consecrated in 1398, and transformed in 1622-1623. In 1927, despite some resistance, a new parish was established for Siebnen-Galgenen.

Surrounding parishes
Altendorf Galgenen Jona (SG) Wangen

Church Records
The parish of Lachen was established in 1520. Records are available from 1638 for baptisms, 1703 for marriages, and 1638 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 Lachen.

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876. Lachen 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 Lachen 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