Kerns Parish, Obwalden, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Kerns Parish, Obwalden, 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 village of Kerns is in the Obwalden canton. It is the largest municipality in the canton. The municipality of Kerns includes the village of Kerns and portions of Dorf, Siebeneich, Wisserlen, Halten and Dietried. It also includes the resort of Melchsee-Frutt and the Sankt Niklausen and Melchtal hamlets. Kerns is located on the southwest slope of the Arvigrat and Stanserhorn mountains in the valleys of Sarneraatal and Melchtal. Kerns (as of 2006) had an area of 92.6 km² (35.8 square miles). The land use was divided up as follows:
 * 46.7% - agricultural purposes
 * 28.8% - forested
 * 2.5% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 21.9% - unproductive land

History
In 1036, Kerns was first mentioned with the name of Chernz. After 1101, it was known as Chernes. Kerns belongs to the Obwalden canton.

The population history of Kerns is: 1744 - 1,820 inhabitants 1758 - 1,695 inhabitants 1799 - 1,999 inhabitants 1811 - 2,236 inhabitants 1850 - 2,509 inhabitants 1900 - 2,392 inhabitants 1950 - 3,406 inhabitants 1960 - 3,553 inhabitants 1970 - 3,881 inhabitants 1980 - 4,200 inhabitants 2000 - 5,101 inhabitants 2007 - 5,523 inhabitants

Per the 2007 census:
 * 83.6% were Roman Catholic
 * 4.5% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 11.9% belong to another church

In 1173, the parish church of Saint-Gall was first mentioned.

Surrounding parishes
Alpnach Dallenwil (NW) Ennetmoos (NW) Hasliberg (BE) Innertkirchen (BE) Lungern Sachseln Sarnen Wolfenschiessen (NW)

Church Records
The church records and family registers for Kerns are located at the Obwalden State Archives. Records begin in 1635.

Genealogies
In the early 1900s, Ephrem Omlin systematically extracted information for Obwalden parishes and compiled these on family group pages organized by surname and parish. These are available onsite at the Obwalden State Archives. Historian Niklaus von Flüe expanded this collection; his notes are also available onsite at the Obwalden State Archives.

Civil Registration
Civil registration began in 1876. Kerns belongs to the Obwalden civil registration district. Records are only available in Switzerland. For further information, contact the civil registry office at:

Zivilstandsamt Obwalden Brünigstrasse 180a CH - 6060 Sarnen

Tel: +41 666 35 65

email: [mailto:zivilstandsamt@sarnen.ow.ch zivilstandsamt@sarnen.ow.ch]

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Obwalden State Archives and are available through 1920. For specific information about duplicate civil registration records, see the archives' online catalog; click the + sign to the left of the folder .02.SCH.Schriften (Zivilstand).

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

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

Libraries and archives
Obwalden State Archives

Societies
Zentralschweizerische Gesellschaft für Familienforschung (in German)