Biel-Benken Parish, Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Biel-Benken 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 Biel-Benken is in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland. It is situated in the Leimen valley. It includes the two villages of Biel and Benken, which are separated by the Birsig river. The two villages merged in 1972.

Biel-Benken (as of 2009) has an area of 4.12 km² (1.59 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 53.9% - agricultural purposes
 * 19.9% - forested
 * 25.2% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.2% - non-productive

History
In 1259, Benken is first mentioned by the name of Beinkon. It was also known as Benken maior to distinguish it from Biel which was known as Benken minor, Buelbenken or Benken inferior.

Biel and Benken villages merged in 1972.

The population history of Biel-Benken is: 1699 - 237 inhabitants in Biel only 1699 - 174 inhabitants in Benken only 1770 - 280 inhabitants in Biel only 1770 - 209 inhabitants in Benken only 1850 - 600 inhabitants 1860 - 524 inhabitants 1870 - 515 inhabitants 1880 - 523 inhabitants 1888 - 584 inhabitants 1900 - 587 inhabitants 1910 - 585 inhabitants 1920 - 570 inhabitants 1930 - 559 inhabitants 1941 - 587 inhabitants 1950 - 598 inhabitants 1960 - 682 inhabitants 1970 - 1,293 inhabitants 1980 - 1,892 inhabitants 1990 - 2,229 inhabitants 2000 - 2,679 inhabitants 2021 - 3,577 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 24.5% belonged to the Roman Catholic Church
 * 51.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
 * 0.22% belonged to an Orthodox church
 * 2.09% belonged to the Christian Catholic Church
 * 2.29% belonged to another Christian church
 * 0.26% belonged to the Jewish faith
 * 0.90% belonged to the Islamic faith

The chapels of Saint-Michel (later Notre-Dame) in Biel, mentioned from 1283, and Saint-Antoine in Benken, mentioned from 1302/1304, were part of the parish of Saint-Martin in Weisskirch. After the Reformation in 1528, Biel and Benken formed a common community, school, and church. In 1621, the Biel chapel was destroyed and the parish church in Benken was rebuilt.

Church Records
The Reformed parish of Biel-Benken was established during the Reformation in 1528. Parish records for Biel-Benken are available online from the Basel-Landschaft State Archive. The 13 volumes of digitized records include:
 * 1535-1919 Baptisms at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1530-1907 Marriages at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1567-1904 Burials at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1723-1911 Confirmations at Basel-Landschaft State Archive
 * 1741-1898 Family book at Basel-Landschaft State Archive

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

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Biel-Benken:
 * 1815: Biel (images 547-552)
 * 1815: Benken (images 553-562)

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Biel-Benken 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)