Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany Genealogy

History and Geography


Garmish-Partenkirchen is a ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated GAP), in the Oberbayern region, which borders Austria. Nearby is Germany's highest mountain, Zugspitze, at 2,962 m (9,718 ft.). The town is known as the site of the 1936 Winter Olympic Games. Location of Garmisch-Partenkirchen within Garmisch-Partenkirchen district Coordinates are 47°30′N 11°5′E.

See Wikipedia for more information about Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
 * Garmisch (in the west) and Partenkirchen (in the east) were separate towns for many centuries.
 * Garmisch and Partenkirchen remained separate until their respective mayors were forced by Adolf Hitler to combine the two market towns in 1935 in anticipation of the 1936 Winter Olympic games.
 * Today, the united town is casually (but incorrectly) referred to as Garmisch, much to the dismay of Partenkirchen's residents. At least in Polish, however, the abbreviated name is "Ga-Pa".
 * Most visitors will notice the slightly more modern feel of Garmisch while the fresco-filled, cobblestoned streets of Partenkirchen offer a glimpse into times past. Early mornings and late afternoons in pleasant weather often find local traffic stopped while the dairy cows are herded to and from the nearby mountain meadows.

Online Records
Keep in mind that Garmisch and Partenkirchen were two separate towns until 1936. So, it is necessary to research them separately prior to that time for genealogy information.
 * This link takes you to FamilySearch Catalog where there is information about the records on microfilm from Garmisch. Check your local Family History Center to see if they can be viewed there. Eventually these records will all be digitized and they will be available online. Check those that have a camera icon to see if that is possible yet. If not recheck periodically.
 * This link takes you to FamilySearch Catalog where there is information about the on microfilm from Patenkirchen. Check your local Family History Center to see if they can be viewed there.  Eventually these records will all be digitized and they will be available online.  Check those that have a camera icon to see if that is possible yet. If not recheck periodically.
 * The Search Historical Records option of FamilySearch is also a great resource.

Additional Help
We hope that the above information will be useful to those seeking genealogy for their family from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany. If you are still struggling be sure to use the "Bavaria Wiki Topics" guide on the upper right side of this page. Another wonderful resource available on Wiki is the Wiki Wizard German videos.