How to Find Birth, Marriage, and Death Records for Saarland, Germany Genealogy

Germany &gt; Saarland

(French: Saare)

"Saarland is a historically very young political entity, it was formed in 1920 from formerly Prussian and Bavarian regions. In the 19th century, the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (the exclave of the Principality of Birkenfeld ) and the Duchy of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha ( Principality of Lichtenberg ) also had small shares in areas that today belong to the Saarland. In the time before the French Revolution the political map of the region resembled a patchwork carpet, the four most important masters in the territory of today's Saarland were the county of Saarbriicken, the duchy of the Palatinate -Zweibrücken, The Electorate of Trier and the Duchy of Lorraine." Wikipedia, Saarland

The Prussian / Bavarian period (1815-1871) Source: GenWiki
 * Kingdom of Prussia (Rhine province)
 * Kingdom of Bavaria (Rheinpfalz)
 * Great Duchy of Oldenburg (Kreis Birkenfeld)
 * Temporarily Principality of Lichtenberg (parts of the district of St. Wendel, until 1832, then Prussian)
 * Duchy of Saxony-Coburg (parts of the circle St. Wendel, also to Prussen)

Quick Facts
Smallest one of 16 states ("Länder") of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken.

Bordering: department of Moselle, France (south and west) Luxembourg (west) Rheinland-Pfalz (north and east)

Saarland contains 6 administrative districts ("Kreise"):

Merzig-Wadern | Neunkirchen | Saarbrücken Kreis | Saarlouis | Saar-Pfalz | Sankt Wendel

Earliest known rulers were the Romans (part of province of Belgica). Other known rulers were the Treveri (for the city of Trier/Treves was named) and Mediomatrices and other early Celtic tribes, Kingdom of the Franks, Kingdom of Lorraine (Lotharingia), Duchies of Upper and Lower Lorraine, various local counts, the French Empire (1795-1815 as Department of the Saare and Department of the Forets), (Kingdom of Preussen/Prussia and Kingdom of Bayern and the Duchy of Oldenburg), League of Nations under French and Britain control 1918-1935 as the Saargebiet, returned to Germany's control 1935 until 1945, then under French protectorate until 1956 when it was returned to West Germany 1 January 1957.

The region was fought over through the years by the French and the Germans due to rich iron and coal deposits.

Gazetteers
Rheinland-Pfalz und Saarland; Historical handbook of places in Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland, Germany. pub. Stuttgart : Alfred Kroner Verlag, c1965 FHL Book # 943 E3h v. 5

Stadtebuch Rheinland-Pfalz und Saarland; Historical encyclopedia of cities in Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland. pub. Stuttgart : W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 1964 FHL Book # 943 E5d v. 4 pt. 3

Maps
- showing various rulers in the area.

Websites

 * Saarland GenWeb Project
 * GenWiki for Saarland (in German)