Munich, Bavaria, Germany Genealogy

History And Geography


Munich (München) Germany Bavaria is the capital and the most populated city in the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is also the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, and the 12th largest city in the European Union, with a population of around 1.5 million. The Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 6 million people. Munich lies on the elevated plains of Upper Bavaria, about 50 km (31.07 mi) north of the northern edge of the Alps, at an altitude of about 520 m (1,706.04 ft)

See Wikipedia for more information on Munich.
 * The first known settlement in the area was of Benedictine monks on the Old Salt Route.
 * In 1175, Munich received city status and fortification.
 * In 1180, with the trial of Henry the Lion, Otto I Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria, and Munich was handed to the Bishop of Freising. (Wittelsbach's heirs, the Wittelsbach dynasty, ruled Bavaria until 1918.) In 1240, Munich was transferred to Otto II Wittelsbach and in 1255, when the Duchy of Bavaria was split in two, Munich became the ducal residence of Upper Bavaria.

Online Records

 * Various records can be found through the Meta-Genealogy.net tool on the website of the German Society for Computer Genealogy. Just enter the last name and the town name and it will produce a list of people from that area that are in the data base.
 * Bavaria, Germany, WWI Personnel Rosters, 1914-1918 include soldiers from Munich on Ancestry.com
 * There is some Munich information at Find A Grave
 * This link takes you to the Familysearch Catalog where there is information about the records available on microfilm about Munich. Check with your local Family History Center or affiliate libraries. Eventually these will be digitized and available online.
 * Familysearch Search/Records is also a great resource. You can refine your search in the box on the left.

Civil Registration
Civil archives and private archives are terrific sources of records for the family researcher once he/she has obtained the most genealogically important (baptism, marriage and death) church records for his/her ancestor.

Below is a list of the types of records that might be found in civil archives Address Books (Adressbucher) Apprentice Lists (lehrlingsbucher) Census Returns (Volkszahlungen) City Chronicles (Stadtchroniken) City Directories (Adressbucher) Citizenship )Burgerbucher) Court Records (Gerichtsprotokolle) Emigration Lists (Auswanderung register) Family Books (Ortssippenbucher) Funeral Sermons (Leichenpredigton) Grave Registers (Grabregister) Guild Books (Gilderbucher) Land Records (Grundbucher) Lineage Books (Geschlechterbucher) Newspapers (Zeitungen) Parish Registers (Kirchenbucher)(br) Police Registers (Polizeiregister) Probate Records (Testamente) Tax Records (Steuercbucher) Wills (Testamente) Staatsarchiv München - gives information on the specific holdings of this archive which serves all of Oberbayern Staatsarchiv München Schönfeldstr. 3 80539 München Germany

For mail: Staatsarchiv München Postfach 221152 80501 München Germany Tel. 089/28638-2525 Fax 089/28638-2526 E-mail: poststelle@stam.bayern.de

Landeshauptstadt Munchen Kreisverwaltungsreferat Standesamt Ruppertstr. 11 München Germany Tel.: 089/233-44344 Fax: 089/233-44320
 * The Standesumter (civil registration offices) only began keeping vital records (birth, death, marriage) after 1 Jan 1876. The Munich Standesamt is on-line and records may now be ordered through a web site, but this only applies to those whose ancestors were from the area of Munich itself, and the records are only accessible to direct descendants:
 * You can also contact the Munich Standesamt at the following address:


 * For people with ancestors from other areas of Oberbayern who may have records after 1 Jan. 1876, contact the appropriate Standesamt (usually located at the same place as the city hall) for wherever they lived. Again, records after 1 Jan. 1876 may only be given to direct descendants. For example, you would be able to obtain records for your parents or grandparents but not for aunts, uncles or cousins or great aunts or uncles, etc.

Lutheran Church Records
LUTHERAN records for ALL of Oberbayern can be requested here:

Landeskirchliches Archiv, Kirchenbucharchiv Am Ölberg 2 93047 Regensburg Germany Tel. and Fax: +49 941/52061

Project Wittenberg website

Note: As of January 2003:  For the Lutheran archive to answer genealogical inquiries, they need (as exact as possible) information about name, place of birth or residence and the approximate year of birth, marriage or death of the persons concerned. In general, they only have parish registers. ("Kirchenbuecher") until ca. 1976 for persons belonging to the Lutheran church once having lived within the borders of modern Bavaria. Their main office in Nuernberg only keeps records of Nurnberg and its suburbs. Inquries concerning other places should be sent to the address above. The registers of many parishes, however, are still kept at the local pastorate. A list of those parishes whose church books are kept in their branch office is available on their website. They may give you, free of charge, information about existing registers and the place where they are kept. They are not allowed to sell or to lend out microfilms of fiches of the originals.

Costs: For genealogical investigations, regardless of their success, they charge Euro 25 or Euro 30 (depending on the degree of difficulty) per half an hour of research (maximum charge: Euro 90), plus postage and other fees. You should confirm this at the time of your request. Extra services such as issuing documents of making copies or photos are to be paid in addition, according to their statement of charges. Customers from abroad are requested to send a cheque in advance (currency: Euro) Any information liable to a charge may only be delivered by postal letter. Therefore they ask you to give them you postal address when you make your request or inquiry.

Cemeteries
This is a google website that shows all of the cemeteries in and around Munich, Germany with addresses and web links. Just place the cursor over dot to view data.

Munich Cemeteries If you want to find information on your ancestors in a cemetery, keep in mind that in most Bavarian cemeteries the grave plots are re-used as often as every 25 years. (sometimes 50 -100 years).