Karlskrona City, Blekinge, Sweden Genealogy

Guide to Karlskrona City, Sweden ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

History
Karlskrona Municipality is a municipality in Blekinge County, in southern Sweden. It borders the following municipalities, Emmaboda, Torsås and Ronneby. The city of Karlskrona is the seat of the municipality. Like most Swedish municipalities it was created during the municipal reform in the early seventies, combining several earlier local government units of urban and rural type, among them the City of Karlskrona. More information about the history of the area is found on the wikipedia page listed here for Karlskrona. 

Census Records

 * Sweden Household Examination Records (Husförhörslängder)--explanation of this church record which is functionally the census of Sweden.
 * Sweden Household Examination Books, 1880 - 1920, ($), index and images. Also on Ancestry.com, ($), Arkiv Digital ($), and at Riksarkivet.

Online Database Church Records
The easiest way to access the Swedish Church Records is through the internet, using these five sites (see links to specific collections below). Four of these sites require a subscription for access. (ArkivDigital, Ancestry.com, and MyHeritage.com  are available at a FamilyHistory Center near you free of charge.)
 * at FamilySearch.
 * MyHeritage.com ($),
 * Ancestry.com ($),
 * Arkiv Digital ($), and
 * SVAR at Riksarkivet.

Help Using ArkivDigital: Online Databases for Sweden

 * These lessons will teach you how to use ArkivDigital:
 * Use the Full Scope of Arkiv Digital for Swedish Genealogy
 * Use the Full Scope of Arkiv Digital for Swedish Genealogy


 * Riksarkivet. "Karlshaamn Church Archives - Index" Nationell ArkivDatabas (NAD).

Other Congregations

 * Karlskrona Congregation (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Family History Library Records
Click Sweden, Blekinge Records for a full listing of microfilmed records (some digitized online) at the Family History Library, that may be digitized. Check back occasionally to see if your records have become available. In the meantime, some of them might be available at a Family History Center near you. Click on "Places within Sweden, Blekinge" and then select your parish.

Military Records

 * Sweden Military Records
 * Central Soldiers Register InstructionsSearch Engine

Related Sources
Sweden Online Genealogy Records Ask the Community
 * Karlshamn City at Ostkanten


 * Karlskrona City at Ostkanten
 * Karlskrona Map 1855 at Ostkanten 100% 200% 300 %
 * Karlskrona Map 1877-1882 at Ostkanten 100% 200% 300 %
 * The Transformation - NavalCityKarlskrona at YouTube
 * Visit Karlskrona - Promotion Video at YouTube

Societies and Libraries

 * Blekinge Släktforskarförening

Help Reading Swedish Records

 * You do not have to be fluent in Swedish to read these records! They have a limited vocabulary: mother, father, born, bride, groom, married, etc. The rest of the content will be names, dates, and places, which do not need translation.
 * This Swedish Word List covers typical terms found in the records.
 * Swedish Historical Dictionary Database, SHDD: This interactive dictionary allows you to enter a word in the search box and receive the translation.
 * Feast Day Calendar (Moveable) and Feast Day Lists (Fixed and Moveable) will help you translate dates written in feast day form.
 * Sweden surnames are patronymic and change every generation, so carefully study Sweden Names, Personal.
 * For help with reading the column headings found in more recent records, see [[Media:Swedenish_Par_Reg_and_Exam_headings.pdf|Swedish Parish Register and Household Exam Roll Headings]].
 * Instructions, document examples, and translations are given for Reading Swedish Birth and Christening Records 1717, 1752, 1771, 1792, 1803, 1834, 1854.

Help Reading Old Handwriting

 * Reading Gothic Handwriting for Swedish Genealogy, Lesson 1
 * Spelling and Phonetics for Swedish Genealogy, Lesson 2 — Names, dates, and key genealogical words
 * Reading Gothic Handwriting for Swedish Genealogy: Put It All Together, Lesson 3
 * Birth and Christening Records for Swedish Genealogy


 * Reading Scandinavian Gothic Handwritten Records: (free, online lessons at FamilySearch):
 * , and
 * , and

Help With Research Objectives and Strategies

 * First find the birth and baptism record of your ancestor. Once you know his date and place of birth and his parents' names, you can locate the family in the Household Examination Records.
 * Search every Household Examination Record that your ancestor appears on (from birth to death). You will pick up valuable clues along the way, find children who died young, and establish correct family member relationships.
 * All birth, marriage, or death dates found in Household Examination Records need to be verified in the actual birth, marriage, or death records.
 * Pay attention to relationship titles, occupations, military status, and remarks. See word list for Vocabulary for Household Examination Records.
 * Dates are written in the European order of day, month, and year.

See Sweden Research Strategies for locating various records in specific time periods.