Bern Canton, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Bern 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
In 1353, Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of the eight cantons of the formative period of 1353 to 1481. Bern invaded and conquered Aargau in 1415 and Vaud in 1536, as well as other smaller territories and become the largest city-state north of the Alps by the 18th century. Bern was occupied by French troops in 1798 during the French Revolutionary Wars, when it was stripped of parts of its territories. It regained control of the Bernese Oberland in 1802, and following the Congress of Vienna of 1814, it newly acquired the Bernese Jura. At this time, it once again became the largest canton of the Confederacy as it stood during the Restoration and until the secession of the canton of Jura in 1979. Bern was made the Federal City within the new Swiss federal state in 1848. Bern is a German speaking canton. 

Civil Registration Online

 * 1792-1876 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * To understand the records available, read the Wiki article, Switzerland Civil Registration.

Church Records Online
Bern parish church records have been digitized online, so you can access the records from home.
 * 1277-1992 - Schweiz, Kirchenbücher, 1277-1992, Bern at FamilySearch —images.
 * For information on the coverage, content, and locating of church records, read Switzerland Church Records.

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, Bern FamilySearch Catalog.
 * 2) Open the list "Places within Switzerland, Bern". 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.

Writing for Church Records

 * You will be able to write your request in German with the help of the German Letter Writing Guide.

Reading the Records

 * 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 Bern Gazetteers, a list of municipalities (civil communities) and corresponding parishes in Canton Bern.
 * Genealogy on the Internet, links to various resources and indexes.