Fribourg Canton, Switzerland Genealogy

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

History
The town was founded in 1157 by Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen. Its name is derived from German frei meaning free and Burg meaning burg. When the treaty with Bern was renewed in 1403 the leaders of the city began a territorial acquisition, in which they gradually brought more nearby land under their control. This laid the ground-work for the Canton of Fribourg. By 1442 the city had control of all the land within about 12 miles, on both sides of the Saane. During the Reformation, Fribourg remained Catholic, although it was nearly surrounded by the Protestant Bern. This led to repeated conflicts over religion in border regions, and in areas controlled jointly by Fribourg and Bern. The city was a major centre of the Counter-Reformation. The invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798 lead to the downfall of Fribourg when it capitulated to the French on 2 March and relinquished leadership of its lands. Its leadership was followed by a new and more liberal constitution. Fribourg was part of the 1845-1847 Sonderbund, this was a separate alliance of Catholic cantons attempting to secede from Switzerland. Since 1848, the new national constitution and the amendment to the Canton constitution has guaranteed every citizen the right to vote. Fribourg is a French and German speaking canton. 

Census

 * 1880 - at FamilySearch — index and images