Bavaria (Bayern), Germany Genealogy

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Bavaria (German: Bayern) named for a Teutonic tribe, the Baiovarii, who defeated the Romans and settled among the Romano-Celtic peoples of the area around the 6th Century of the common era (CE). The Duchy of Bavaria dates back to 562 CE. From1180 the dukes were drawn the house of Wittelsbach, During the Reformation, Bavaria became a centre of the Counter-Reformation. During the Napoleonic period, Bavaria acquired large territories in Franconia and Swabia. Its ally, Napoleon, elevated it to a kingdom (German: Königreich Bayern) through the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805. After the collapse of the German Reich at the end of World War I it briefly became a Republic and in 1919 a German state. At the end of World War II Bavaria's social composition was changed with the influx of 2 million refugees expelled from the east. In 1949, Bavaria became a German federal province.

The capital, Munich (German: München) was originally a small monastic settlement dating from the 8th Century. The origin of the name dates from when a new bridge was built over the River Isar "zu den Munichen" (Old High German meaning ‘to the Monks’).

Getting started in Bavarian research
Before starting your research in Bavaria, you need to know the name of your ancestor in its original or Germanic form, an approximate date when he or she was born, and the village or parish where he or she may have lived in Bavaria.

Civil registration began in Bavaria in 1876. If your research in Bavaria begins after 1876, then you should begin with the records kept by the local authorities of your ancestor's residence. If your research begins before 1876, you should begin with the parish registers for baptisms, marriages and burials kept in the church archives.

Once you have this information, you can search in the local archives for more information about your ancestor.

Research Tools

 * Websites


 * Death notices for the city of Würzburg can be found at this link. These are called the Würzburger Totenzettel.


 * Research Strategies for Bayern

Administrative Districts
Bavaria is divided into 7 (seven) administrative districts, in German Regierungsbezirke (singular, Regierungsbezirk).