Oberdorf, Nidwalden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Oberdorf, Nidwalden, Switzerland, ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, parish census, civil census, family history, area history, and military records.



Geography
As of 2006, Oberdorf has an area of 16.2 square kilometers (6.3 sq mi). The municipality is situated near and above the municipality of Stans. It includes the villages and hamlets which are located above Stans (the so-called Upper village or in German Obere Dorf), which include Wil, Ennerberg, and Waltersberg. Further, the hamlets of Büren (nid dem Bach) and Niederrickenbach are included in Oberdorf.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 53% - agricultural purposes
 * 38.3% - forested
 * 6.7% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 1.9% - rivers, glaciers or mountains

History
The first mention of Oberdorf was in 1199 as Obirndorf. In 1275, it was mentioned as Oberndorf.

Oberdorf was established as a municipality in 1850 from Stans.

The population history of Oberdorf is: 1850 - 971 inhabitants 1900 - 1117 inhabitants 1950 - 1455 inhabitants 2000 - 2872 inhabitants

The territory originally housed a dispersed rural habitat. A village center developed around the chapel in Büren, mentioned in 1494 (rebuilt in 1867 and in 1968). Oberdorf is included in the parish of Stans; Chaplainies can be found in Büren and Maria Rickenbach. In 1775, Nidwalden built a granary (today's arsenal) here. The Wiler Allmend has been used for military purposes since the 18th century, as a training and training place (1970-71 new barracks), and since 2003 as a training base for international military operations (Swissint). Niederrickenbach Mountain (at 1160 m) has been a place of pilgrimage since 1529 and the site of Maria Rickenbach Benedictine monastery since 1857.

Surrounding parishes
Beckenried Buochs Dallenwil Stans Wolfenschiessen

Church Records
Oberdorf belongs to the parish of Stans. The parish records for Stans begin in 1581.

These church records can be accessed onsite on microfilm at the Nidwalden State Archives. The archive does not undertake family research for private researchers, but the archive will provide a list of local researchers.

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876. Oberdorf belongs to the Nidwalden civil registration district. Records are only available in Switzerland. For further information, contact the civil registry office at:

Zivilstandsamt Nidwalden Marktgasse 3 Postfach 1244 CH - 6371 Stans

Tel: +41 618 72 60

email: [mailto:zivilstandsamt@nw.ch zivilstandsamt@nw.ch]

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Nidwalden State Archives. The following records are viewable in person:
 * Births before 1900
 * Marriages before 1930
 * Deaths before 1960

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Nidwalden

Societies
Zentralschweizerische Gesellschaft für Familienforschung (in German)