Füssen, Bavaria, Germany Genealogy

History and Geography


Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the Austrian border. It has a population of 15,265. The town is known for its violinmaking industry, and as the closest transportation hub for the castles Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. Füssen is located on the banks of the Lech River, which flows into the Forggensee. The Forggensee is a man-made lake which was built to prevent flooding. It is the catchment area for all the melting snow in the spring, and is drained after the middle of October. Füssen is 808 meters (2,651 ft) above sea level. The castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are located near the town. There is a list at the bottom of the Wikipedia page of the other towns and municipalities of Ostallgau. That page is fairly new so it isn't possible to create a link yet, but do a google search for Fussen and choose the Wikipedia option.


 * Füssen was settled in Roman times, on the Via Claudia Augusta, a road that leads southwards to northern Italy and northwards to Augusta Vindelicum (today's Augsburg), the former regional capital of the Roman province Raetia.
 * Füssen later became the site of the "Hohes Schloss" (High Castle), the former summer residence of the prince-bishops of Augsburg.
 * In 1745, the Treaty of Füssen was signed between the Electorate of Bavaria and Habsburg Austria, ending Bavaria's participation in the War of the Austrian Succession.
 * Since the 1950s the town has been familiar to travellers as the southern terminus of the Romantic Road

Online Records

 * There is information on soldiers from Füssen on Ancestry.com in WWI Personnel Rosters 1914-1918
 * Cemetery records of Füssen are available on Find A Grave
 * FamilySearch Catalog This link takes you to the FamilySearch Catalog list of microfilmed documents for civil records of marriage proclamations, marriage supplements, and permissions to change residence for Füssen, Bayern, Germany. These might be available at a FamilySearch Center, but there are plans to digitize everything in the near future and make them available online.
 * Füssen search results at FamilySearch is also a good source for records on the town of Füssen. You can refine the search by adding more information in the box on the left, then scroll and click on Update.
 * Various records can be found through the Meta Search on the website of the German Society for computer genealogy. If you enter the name of the town in the place box and click it will bring up an alphabetical list by surname of the people from there that is in their database. To do a more specific search also enter the last name of your ancestor in the name box.

Civil Registration
Füssen Standesamt Lechhalde 3 87629 Füssen Germany Website In this city you must use the website Kontadt option to email the records office.

Rathaus is in room B.101

The Standesamts (Civil Registration Offices) at the Rathaus (Town Hall) in most of Bavaria only have records back to the late 1800's. If you are seeking information concerning your family prior to that time it is necessary to go to church records. But this is definitely a good place to start. It is possible to contact them by mail or email requesting information. If you have an opportunity to go there in person it is best to make an appointment to ensure that the person that oversees the civil records will be available to assist you. Most of the time there will be a fee for a copy of any record.

Catholic Church Records
There are several Catholic Churches in Füssen and the surrounding area. This link provides you with a list of them, their addresses and directions to them. Most of the churches in Bavaria only keep current records on site. To do genealogy research it is necessary to go to the archive of that diocese.

Archiv des Bistums Augsburg
Pfarrhausstrasse 4 86154 Augsburg Germany Telefon: 0821 - 3166 8561 Fax: 0821 - 3166 8569 E-Mail: archiv@bistum-augsburg.de Website You can visit these archives yourself to research the records. A day fee is charged to use the records. Call in advance to make reservations.

Lutheran Church Records
Bavaria was and is predominantly Catholic. If your ancestors lived in Fussen, there is a chance they affiliated with the Catholic church. However, if you do not find them in Catholic records, you should search the Lutheran records.

According to Meyer's Gazetteer, there has been a Lutheran Church in Fussen since at least 1871.

Kirchstr. 4 Füssen Germany Tel: 083626177 Fax: 08362940646 E-Mail: pfarramt.fuessen@elkb.de website
 * Many records for the Lutheran (Evangelical) churches in Bavaria are digitized and available online through Archion ($). This is not a free site, but requires registration and a membership fee. This link gives instructions on [[Media:1-Archion-Instruction.pdf|How to Use Archion]]
 * Legacy Tree provides a detailed description of Archion that you may find valuable in deciding if this is a resource you want to use.
 * The Lutheran Archive for Bavaria is in Nurnberg. It is always a good idea to contact in advance and make an appointment to use any archive. You can email to inquire about information for you ancestors.

Veilhofstraße 8 90489 Nurnberg Germany E-Mail: archiv@elkb.de Website

Cemeteries

 * This is the link to Google Maps which shows the cemeteries in Füssen and the surrounding area.

If you want to find information on your ancestors in a cemetery, keep in mind that in most Bavarian cemeteries the grave plots are re-used as often as every 25 years. (sometimes 50 -100 years). When traveling in the area to look for cemeteries, Find A Grave and Billion Graves both have great phone apps to assist you.

Additional Help
We hope that the above information will be useful to those seeking genealogy for their family from Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. If you are still struggling be sure to use the "Bavaria Wiki Topics" guide on the upper right side of this page. Another wonderful resource available on Wiki is the Wiki Wizard German videos.