Santa Maria in Calanca Parish, Graubünden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Santa Maria in Calanca 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 municipality of Santa Maria in Calanca is in the Moesa Region and the Graubünden canton. The village lies on a terrace above the Misox at 949 m.

Santa Maria in Calanca (as of 2006) has an area of 9.3 km2 (3.6 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 5.6% - agricultural purposes
 * 73.2% - forested
 * 1.6% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 19.6% - non-productive

History
In 1219, Santa Maria in Calanca was first mentioned by the name of sancte Marie in Calanca. Before 2017, the municipality of Santa Maria in Calanca was in the Calanca sub-district of the Moesa district district and the Graubünden canton. After 2017, it was part of the Moesa Region.

The population history of Santa Maria in Calanca is: 1808 - 207 inhabitants 1850 - 206 inhabitants 1900 - 163 inhabitants 1950 - 202 inhabitants 2000 - 111 inhabitants 2020 - 115 inhabitants

Santa Maria in Calanca was part of the Municipality of Calanca, 1796-1851 to the Outer Calanca, and has been independent since 1851. Attested to since 1219, the parish church of S. Maria Assunta is the mother church of the entire Calanca Valley and has been the destination of processions since the 17th century.

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

Catholic
The parish of Santa Maria in Calanca was first mentioned in 1219. Originally part of Santa Maria, Castaneda became an independent parish in 1848. Church records begin in 1598. The following volumes are only available on microfilm at the Graubünden State Archives:
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1668-1783
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1784-1837
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1838-1880; confirmations 1844-1868
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1838-1935
 * Status animarum 1672, 1825, 1859

The following volumes are available on FamilySearch:
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1838-1875

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

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Santa Maria in Calanca:
 * 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 Santa Maria in Calanca prior to 1875:

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Graubünden

Societies
Rätische Vereinigung für Familienforschung (RVFF)

Società Genealogica della Svizzera italiana (SGSI)