Parpan Parish, Graubünden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Parpan / Parpaun Parish, Graubünden, 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 former municipality of Parpan (Romansh: Parpaun) was in the district Plessur of the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The village is located in the valley between the cantonal capital Chur and the resort Lenzerheide. Parpan municipality included the Haufendorf village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Parpan.

Parpan (as of 2006) has an area of 9.3 km² (3.6 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 64.9% - agricultural purposes
 * 22.8% - forested
 * 3.1% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 9.1% - non-productive

History
In 1208, Parpan was first mentioned by the name of Partipan.

Parpan merged into the Churwalden municipality on 1 January 2010. Other municipalities merged include:
 * Churwalden
 * Malix

The population history of Parpan is: 1623 - 220 inhabitants 1850 - 92 inhabitants 1900 - 62 inhabitants 1950 - 89 inhabitants 1960 - 99 inhabitants 1970 - 118 inhabitants 1980 - 129 inhabitants 1990 - 175 inhabitants 2000 - 263 inhabitants 2008 - 2008 inhabitants

The chapel of St. Peter was part of Obervaz; St. Anna was constructed at the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century. The parish of Parpan was formed in 1517. In 1560, the Reformation took place.

Church Records
Original church records are held in the local municipal archive or civil registration office. Microfilm copies are available at the Graubünden State Archives.

Digital images of church records are available on FamilySearch. These records have a restriction for use only at a FamilySearch center near you.

Reformed
The parish of Parpan has existed since 1517; it became Reformed in 1560. Church records begin in 1669. The following volumes are available on FamilySearch:
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1669-1833
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1800-1877

Census
(See here for information regarding Graubünden census records.)

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Parpan:
 * 1835
 * 1838
 * 1848
 * 1850
 * 1850, form C

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876.

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Graubünden State Archives. The following records are available:
 * Both A and B registers are available through 1916-1917 and are open without restriction.
 * Family registers are available from at latest 1860 through 1910; these records are viewable but require permission to access. For more information, contact the State Archive.

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Graubünden

Societies
Rätische Vereinigung für Familienforschung (RVFF)

Società Genealogica della Svizzera italiana (SGSI)