Solothurn Canton, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Solothurn canton ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
In 1481,Solothurn obtained full membership in the Swiss Confederation. The medieval cooperative election of the mayor and councillors led to the creation of a nearly hereditary oligarchy by the 15th Century. By the second half of the 16th Century, the political voice of citizens was nearly totally suppressed. By the second half of the 17th Century, the government was run by a small group of patricians and the oligarchs were weakened in the 18th Century, when in 1718-21 the city council managed to regain some powers. Following the French invasion of Solothurn on 2 March 1798, a French General set up a provisional government on the following day. The new government met in April to set up the new constitution. Solothurn is a German speaking canton. e