Liesberg Parish, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Liesberg Parish, Basel-Landschaft, 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 municipality of Liesberg is in the Laufen district and the Basel-Landschaft canton. It is located along the Blauen mountains. The municipality includes the haufendorf village (an unplanned and closely packed village built around a central square) of Liesberg and the Oberrüti and Riederwald hamlets.

Liesberg (as of 2009) has an area of 12.49 km² (4.82 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 36.6% - agricultural purposes
 * 53.3% - forested
 * 8.8% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.5% - rivers or lakes
 * 1.0% - non-productive

History
In 1281, Liesberg was first mentioned by the name of Liesperch. Liesberg is in the Laufen district and the Basel-Landschaft canton.

The population history of Liesberg is: 1771 - 368 inhabitants 1850 - 543 inhabitants 1860 - 542 inhabitants 1870 - 585 inhabitants 1880 - 606 inhabitants 1888 - 592 inhabitants 1900 - 725 inhabitants 1910 - 852 inhabitants 1920 - 891 inhabitants 1930 - 899 inhabitants 1941 - 959 inhabitants 1950 - 1,014 inhabitants 1960 - 1,129 inhabitants 1970 - 1,267 inhabitants 1980 - 1,092 inhabitants 1990 - 1,040 inhabitants 2000 - 1,149 inhabitants 2021 - 1,111 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 74.3% were Roman Catholic
 * 11.4% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 2.26% were Orthodox Church
 * 0.26% were Christian Catholic Church
 * 0.96% were Other Christian Church

In the Middle Ages, the Saints-Pierre-et-Paul church was built. In 1697, it was demolished. In 1707, a new church was consecrated. Between 1529 and 1588, Liesberg was Protestant. In 1964, the Riederwald chapel was built.

Church Records
Traditionally Catholic, Liesberg was Reformed between 1529 and 1588, when it was re-Catholicized. It was attached to Arlesheim until 1631. Parish records for Liesberg are available online from the Basel-Landschaft State Archive. The 6 volumes of digitized records include:
 * 1694-1875 Baptisms at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1698-1875 Marriages at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1698-1875 Burials at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1694-1875 Confirmations at Basel-Landschaft State Archive - with gaps

An additional parish register is found at the local parish office:
 * 1588-1635, 1676-1698 Baptisms at Liesberg Parish Office
 * 1607-1635, 1670-1698 Marriages at Liesberg Parish Office - with gaps
 * 1606-1698 Burials at Liesberg Parish Office

Census
(See here for information regarding Basel-Landschaft census records.)

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Basel-Landschaft

Societies
Genealogical-Heraldic Society of Region Basel (GHGRB)