Basel (Stadt) Canton, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Basel (Stadt) canton ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
The canton of Basel-Stadt was created when the historic canton of Basel was divided in 1833, following political quarrels and armed conflict in the canton. This ultimately led to the separation of the canton Basel-Landschaft from the city of Basel on 26 August 1833. Since then, there has been a movement for reunification. This movement gained momentum after 1900 when many parts of Basel-Landschaft became industrialized. The two half-cantons agreed in principle to reunite, but in 1969, and again in September 2014, the people of Basel-Landschaft voted against this proposal in favour of retaining their independence. 

Research Tools
An index of Basel City baptisms, marriages, and burials can be found from the Basel-Stadt State Archives website. You can access: How to use the Index:
 * Baptisms 1529-1869
 * Marriages through 1869
 * Burials through 1869
 * 1) Click on the link above.
 * 2) In the left sidebar, click on "Localize in archive plan".
 * 3) About halfway down, find these entries: [[File:Index instructions.png]]
 * 4) Click on the white plus sign for the index you want. "Taufen" is christenings/baptisms. "Trauung" is marriages. "Bestattungen" is burials.
 * 5) Click on the year and part of the alphabet you want. [[File:Baselstadt instructions2.png]]
 * 6) Find the section "Digitalisierung". "Yes" means the record is digitized. The link in the next line takes you to the images.[[File:Baselland instructions3.png]]