Altendorf Parish, Schwyz, Switzerland Genealogy

Description: Guide to Altendorf Parish, Schwyz, Switzerland, ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, parish census, civil census, family history, area history, and military records.



Geography
As of 2006, Altendorf has an area of 20.5 km2 (7.9 sq mi). The municipality is situated on the Obersee section of Lake Zurich. It is located along the rail line Pfäffikon-Lachen and on the A3 motorway. It includes the village of Altendorf and the hamlets of Seestatt along the lake and the hamlets of Muschelberg, Mittlisberg, Schlipf and Vorderberg in the pre-alpine hills as well as a suburb of Lachen, the hamlet of Steinegg.

The land use is divided up as follows:
 * 52.6% - agricultural purposes
 * 37.5% - forested
 * 9.4% - settled (buildings or roads)
 * 0.4% - non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains)

History
The first mention of Altendorf was in 972 as Rahprehteswilare.

The population history of Altendorf is: 1743 - 745 inhabitants 1799 - 978 inhabitants 1850 - 1403 inhabitants 1900 - 1279 inhabitants 1950 - 2079 inhabitants 1970 - 2348 inhabitants 2000 - 4638 inhabitants

Altendorf is first mentioned in 972 in Emperor Otto II's diploma in favor of the Einsiedeln monastery, the first landlord. Above the village was the residence of the future counts of Rapperswil, a town they established by transferring their seat there shortly after 1200. In 1449, the old family seat became Alt-Rapperswil, and the village became Altendorf. Spiritually, Altendorf was originally part of the parish of Ufenau. The parish of Altendorf was first mentioned in 1275. Lachen, which was of growing political and economic importance because of the market, was detached from it in 1520. The lords of Rapperswil had a private church in the village of Altendorf, probably built at the end of the 11th century, as proven by excavations in 1960-1961. The substructure of today's tower from the second church of the 13th or 14th century is still maintained. The current Saint-Michel church, from 1464, was refurbished around 1790, in 1844-1845, 1960-1961, and in the 1990s. The St. Anna cemetery chapel was constructed around 1503 as an ossuary.

Surrounding parishes
Einsiedeln Freienbach Galgenen Jona (SG) Lachen Rapperswil (SG) Vorderthal

Church Records
The parish of Altendorf was established in 1275. Records are available from 1691 for baptisms, 1641 for marriages, and 1636 for burials.

Digital copies of the church records can be accessed onsite at the Schwyz State Archives. The archive has an online inventory of the records for Altendorf.

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

Zivilstandsamt Ausserschwyz Unterdorfstrasse 9 Postfach 140 CH - 8808 Pfäffikon

Tel: +41 55 416 93 00

email: [mailto:zivilstandsamt@Freienbach.ch zivilstandsamt@freienbach.ch]

Duplicate civil registration registers are located at the Schwyz State Archives. Additionally, the archive has a partial inventory of its holdings. The following records are viewable in person:


 * Births before 1900
 * Marriages before 1930
 * Deaths before 1960

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

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

Libraries and archives
State Archives of Schwyz

Societies
Zentralschweizerische Gesellschaft für Familienforschung

Historischer Verein des Kantons Schwyz