Basel (Land) Canton, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Basel (Land) canton ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Getting Started
If you are new to Swiss research, you should watch this introductory course. Then study the articles on church records and civil registration, as almost all of your research will be in those two record groups.
 * Introduction to Swiss Research
 * Switzerland Civil Registration
 * Switzerland Church Records

History
There are settlement traces on the Rhine from the early 5th century BC which was called the La Tène period. In 1792, the Republic of Rauracia, a revolutionary French client republic, was created and it lasted until 1793. After three years of political agitation and a short civil war in 1833 the disadvantaged countryside seceded from the Canton of Basel, forming the half canton of Basel-Landschaft. Basel has often been the site of peace negotiations and other international meetings. The Treaty of Basel in 1499 ended the Swabian War. Two years later Basel joined the Swiss Confederation. The Peace of Basel in 1795 between the French Republic and Prussia and Spain ended the First Coalition against France during the French Revolutionary Wars. In more recent times, the World Zionist Organization held its first congress in Basel from August 29 through August 31, 1897. Because of the Balkan Wars, the Second International held an extraordinary congress at Basel in 1912. 

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in Baselland Canton in 1827. To understand the records available, read the Wiki article, Switzerland Civil Registration.
 * Addresses for Civil Registration (Zivilstandesamt) Offices (.pdf)
 * You will be able to write your request in German with the help of the German Letter Writing Guide.

Church Records Online at the State Archives of Basel-Land
The state archives of Basel-Land have been digitizing their records and making them available online. The parishes are organized by town and then by religion. To view records:
 * Basel Landschaft Kirchenbücher
 * Click on the archival number before the town name. A PDF will download to your computer.
 * Open the PDF. You will see a list of each volume available for the parish, with a description of the record type and years covered. If the records are available, you will see a blue link stating "zur Online-Version des Kirchenbuches".
 * Click on the blue link; you will be taken to the digitized records.

FamilySearch and Partner Site Collections
Ancestry.com, MyHeritage, and FindMyPast collections can be view free of charge at a Family History Center near you.
 * . FamilySearch Historical Records. Images, no indexes. Incomplete.
 * . FamilySearch Historical Records. Images, no index. Incomplete.
 * Switzerland, Church Book Extracts, 1550-1875. Ancestry.com. images, incomplete.
 * . FamilySearch Historical Records. Index. Incomplete.
 * Switzerland, Baptisms, 1491-1940. MyHeritage.com, ($). Index. Incomplete.
 * Switzerland, Baptisms, 1491-1940. Ancestry.com, ($). Index. Incomplete.
 * . FamilySearch Historical Records. Index. Incomplete.
 * Switzerland, Marriages, 1532-1910. My Heritage.com, ($). Index. Incomplete.
 * Switzerland, Marriages, 1532-1910. Ancestry.com, ($). Incomplete. Index.
 * . FamilySearch Historical Records Index. Incomplete.
 * Switzerland Burials, 1613-1875. MyHeritage. ($). Index. Incomplete.
 * Switzerland Burials, 1613-1875. Ancestry.com. Incomplete. Index. ($).

FamilySearch Microfilmed/Digitized Records
Several parish records have been microfilmed and are currently being digitized. Eventually, all of them will be digitized, so check back frequently.These records may have a restriction for use only at a Family History Center near you. Instructions:
 * 1) Click on Switzerland, Baselland FamilySearch Catalog.
 * 2) Open the list "Places within Switzerland, Baselland". Select your town.
 * 3) A list of record categories will open up. Click on "Church records".
 * 4) A list of available records will appear. Click on the record title you are interested in searching.
 * 5) Scroll down to the list of microfilm numbers. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

Reading the Records

 * German Genealogical Word List
 * Swiss Dialect Genealogical Word List
 * Reading German Handwritten Records
 * Lesson 1: Kurrent Letters
 * Lesson 2: Making Words in Kurrent
 * Lesson 3: Reading Kurrent Documents
 * Old German Script
 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Part 3 (German Church and Civil Records)

Search Strategy
This search strategy will help you determine what to write for. Limit tour requests to just one of these steps at a time. Once you have established that the parish is cooperative and perhaps more willing to do more extensive research (for a fee), you might be able to ask them for more at a time.
 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected.
 * When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.

Research Tools

 * Switzerland, Basel City Local Citizenship Requests - FamilySearch Historical Records
 * Basel (Land), Personal Pages on Family Surnames