Sachseln Parish, Obwalden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Sachseln Parish, Obwalden, Switzerland, ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, parish census, civil census, family history, area history, and military records.



Geography
The village and municipality of Sachseln is in the Obwalden canton. The municipality includes the village of Sachseln and hamlets of Edisried, Ewil and Flüeli-Ranft. It is located on Sarnen (Sarnersee) Lake. It is the geographical center of Switzerland. Sachseln (as of 2006) had an area of 53.8 km² (20.8 square miles). The land use was divided up as follows:
 * 45.4% - agricultural purposes
 * 39.4% - forested
 * 3.1% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 12.1% - unproductive land

History
In 1173, Sachseln was first mentioned with the name of Saxhslen. Sachseln belongs to the Obwalden canton. The construction of the Brünig road (1860) and the Brünig railway (1888) made Sachseln a holiday resort.

The population history of Sachseln is: 1799 - 1,250 inhabitants 1837 - 1,358 inhabitants 1850 - 1,506 inhabitants 1880 - 1,701 inhabitants 1900 - 1,628 inhabitants 1950 - 2,423 inhabitants 1960 - 2,721 inhabitants 1970 - 3,059 inhabitants 1980 - 3,406 inhabitants 1990 - 3,690 inhabitants 2000 - 4,241 inhabitants 2007 - 4,542 inhabitants 2014 - 5,044 inhabitants 2020 - 5,145 inhabitants

Per the 2008 census:
 * 78.8% were Roman Catholic
 * 6.8% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 14.4% belong to another church

In the 12th or 13th century, a Romanesque church was mentioned. The tower has been preserved. In 1275, the parish church of Saint Théodule and Saint Maurice was mentioned. It was rebuilt between 1672 and 1684.

Surrounding parishes
Giswil Kerns Lungern Sarnen

Church Records
Church records for Sachseln are located at the Sachseln parish office. The family registers are located at Sachseln municipal office or in the Obwalden State Archives (signature P.0043:62).

Genealogies
In the early 1900s, Ephrem Omlin systematically extracted information for Obwalden parishes and compiled these on family group pages organized by surname and parish. These are available onsite at the Obwalden State Archives. Historian Niklaus von Flüe expanded this collection; his notes are also available onsite at the Obwalden State Archives.

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876. Sachseln belongs to the Obwalden civil registration district. Records are only available in Switzerland. For further information, contact the civil registry office at:

Zivilstandsamt Obwalden Brünigstrasse 180a CH - 6060 Sarnen

Tel: +41 666 35 65

email: [mailto:zivilstandsamt@sarnen.ow.ch zivilstandsamt@sarnen.ow.ch]

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Obwalden State Archives and are available through 1920. For specific information about duplicate civil registration records, see the archives' online catalog; click the + sign to the left of the folder .02.SCH.Schriften (Zivilstand).

Surnames
The following surnames held citizenship in Sachseln prior to 1875:

Related sources
The town's website (in German) can be found here.

Libraries and archives
Obwalden State Archives

Societies
Zentralschweizerische Gesellschaft für Familienforschung (in German)