Nidwalden Canton, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Nidwalden canton ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Under the Helvetic Republic imposed in 1798 by French Revolutionary troops, Switzerland became a united country but the ideas of the French Revolution were not popular in Nidwalden. The cantons were accustomed to self-government and many resented the limits on the freedom of worship in particular. When rebel forces threatened the Republic, Nidwalden was attacked by French troops on 9 September 1798 and the canton's infrastructure was badly damaged. After the end of Napoleonic rule in 1814, most of the changes were reverted. Only in 1877 did Nidwalden introduce a new constitution. Nidwalden is a German speaking canton.