Laufenburg Parish, Aargau, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Laufenburg Parish, Aargau, 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 former municipality of Laufenburg is in the Laufenburg district and the Aargau canton. Laufenburg is the capital of the Laufenburg district. It is located on the left bank of the Rhine river (Swiss section of the town of Laufenburg) and the right bank of Laufenburg (German section of the town of Laufenburg).

Laufenburg (as of 2009) has an area of 2.28 km² (0.88 square miles). The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 16.2% - agricultural purposes
 * 35.1% - forested
 * 39.0% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 7.9% - rivers or lakes

History
In 1207, Laufenburg was first mentioned by the name of Loufenberc. Laufenburg is in the Laufenburg district and the Aargau canton.

On 1 January 2010, the municipality Sulz merged into Laufenburg.

The population history of Laufenburg is: 1803 - 803 inhabitants 1850 - 699 inhabitants 1900 - 1,136 inhabitants 1950 - 1,603 inhabitants 2000 - 1,998 inhabitants 2020 - 3,659 inhabitants

Per the 2000 census:
 * 59.7% were Roman Catholic
 * 14.7% were Swiss Reformed Church
 * 0.38% were Christian Catholic Church

Spiritually, the two sides of Laufenburg has always been separated because the border of the dioceses (Basel and Constance) runs down the Rhine river. Until 1803, the St. John the Baptist parish church was part of the Säckingen convent. In 1912, the reformed community was created. In 1958, the temple was built. In 1963, the parish was established.

Church Records
The parish of Laufenburg has existed since the Middle Ages; its parish church is called Johannes der Täufer. It included the municipalities of Kaisten and Ittenthal until 1804.

The following church records are only available onsite at the Laufenburg municipal archive. Microfilm and digital copies of church records are available online at FamilySearch (with possible viewing restrictions)::
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1596-1683; confirmations 1649-1670 (images 326-572)
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1683-1767; confirmations 1684-1765 (images 574-893)
 * Baptisms, marriages, burials 1768-1784; confirmations 1775-1810 (images 894-991)
 * Baptisms 1784-1831; confirmations 1830-1860 (images 992-1075)
 * Baptisms 1817-1875 (images 4-193)
 * Marriages 1784-1822; selected families 1823-1826 (images 1076-1103)
 * Marriages 1817-1852 (images 677-733)
 * Marriages 1853-1875 (images 774-836)
 * Marriages non-resident citizens 1817-1852 (images 734-773)
 * Burials 1784-1826 (images 1107-1154)
 * Burials 1817-1875 (images 872-1024)
 * Family book 1862 (images 148-194)

Note: Original baptisms, marriages, and burials 1811-1875 are missing.

Post-1875 church records are found onsite at the Laufenburg parish church office.

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

The following censuses are available from FamilySearch for Laufenburg:
 * 1837 (images 670-680)
 * 1850: Form A (images 491-508)
 * 1850: Form B (images 509-512)

Civil Registration
The following records are available onsite at the Laufenburg municipal archive. Microfilm and digital copies of church records are available online at FamilySearch (with possible viewing restrictions):


 * Birth Register A 1876-1894 (images 194-344)
 * Birth Register A 1895-1904 (images 345-473)
 * Birth, marriage, death Register B 1876-1888 (images 513-579)
 * Birth Register B 1891-1904 (images 474-512)
 * Marriage Register A 1876-1899 (images 580-676)
 * Marriage Register B 1888-1905 (images 837-871)
 * Death Register A 1876-1894 (images 4-128)
 * Death Register B 1892-1904 (images 129-147)

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Aargau

Societies
Genealogical-Heraldic Society of Region Basel (GHGRB)