Baden-Württemberg genealogy relates to the study of family history in the modern-state of Baden-Württemberg, which lies in southwest Germany. It is sometimes referred to as BW or BaWü.
The state was formed in 1952 as a merger of Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württembreg Hohenzollern. It is the only German state created as a result of a referendum.[1]
It is located east of the river Rhine, which forms the border with France. It also shares a border with Switzerland and the German states of Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen, and Bavaria.
It is the 3rd largest state in Germany and home to more than 10 million people.[2] The capital of Baden-Württemberg is Stuttgart.
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History of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg encompasses multiple historical territories: Hohenzollern of Prussia, Swabia, Baden and Württemberg. The region has a long association with Roman Catholicism.
Hohenzollern
Hohenzollern was an old territory in Prussia from 1850 to 1946, made up of lands belonging to the Hohenzollern family with more distant ties to the historical region of Swabia. It lied within the modern territory of Baden-Württemberg.
It included towns like Hechlingen and Sigmaringen, and it was home to Hohenzollern Castle, the ancestral base of the House of Hohenzollern. The last leader of the Prussian branch of this house was Wilhelm II.
After World War II, it became part of Württemberg-Hohenzollern, which merged into the state of Baden-Württemberg in 1952.
Swabia
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Swabia was an old duchy in the Kingdom of Germany. The area was settled by Suebi and Alemanni (Germanic) tribes and it existed beginning in the 10th century.[3] Numerous free cities including Augsburg and Ulm joined together to create a Swabian league.[3]
The league was expanded to include Tirol, Württemberg, Trier, Baden, Ansbach and Bayreuth in 1488. It banded together to supply an army of 13,000 men to aid Emperor Maximilian I of the Roman Empire in the rescue of his son.[3]
Parts of the old historical territory of Swabia lie in modern-day Switzerland and France.
Baden
The old territory of Baden was originally populated by Celts, then Germanic peoples, and it was conquered by the Roman Empire in the 1st century.[4] Baden itself was founded in 1112. It was later divided into Baden-Baden (Catholic) and Baden-Durlach (Protestant).[4] Baden was a satellite of France for a short time beginning in 1796 and became a state of the German Confederation in 1814-15.[4]
Württemberg
The old territory of Württemberg was its own duchy, kingdom and republic in its history before its merger with nearby states.[5] Württemberg suffered greatly during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), allied with France during the time of Napoleon, and it joined the German Empire following the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71).[5]
Geography of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is well-known for its forests, making up 40% of its total area[2], but it has a varied geographic makeup with highlands, meadows, lakes and valleys.[6] It has numerous rivers, most notably the Main, Rhine, Danube, and Neckar. It is home to the Black Forest (Schwarzwald), a densely-wooded area.
The state is located on the ridge of the Alps, and it is home to the Swabian Alps in its east with plains and highlands in the north.[2]
It has land rich for farming and valleys ripe for vineyards and orchards. Over time, its cities grew up in population and became industrial centers, while its capital city of Stuttgart has became a high-tech hub.[6]
Administrative districts
Baden-Württemberg divides into four administrative districts (Regierungsbezirke):
- Freiburg
- Karlsruhe
- Stuttgart
- Tübingen
It breaks down further into 35 smaller districts (Landkreise) and nine independent cities (Stadtkreise). Its largest cities are Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim.
Meyers Gazetteer should be consulted to find information about the town or village of your ancestor. It will be listed under either Baden or Württemberg. The Kreis (Kr) is provided, which can sometimes be helpful to locate genealogical records, as is the Standesamt (StdA), which can be used to find civil records.
Baden-Württemberg surnames
Notable people from Baden-Württemberg
The following well-known people are from Baden-Württemberg:
- Lexi Alexander, film director & kickboxer
- Barbara Auer, actress
- Karl Benz, automobile engineer & inventor
- Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist & scientist
- Roland Emmerich, film director & writer
- Friedrich I, Duke of Württemberg
- Steffi Graf, tennis player
- Jochen Hecht, ice hockey player
- Richy Müller, television & film actor
- Anne-Sophie Mutter, violinist & music pedagogue
- Wilhelm Rapp, editor & journalist
- Sebastian Anton Scherer, organist & composer
Types of records
Families from Baden-Württemberg may appear in these MyHeritage collections:
- Germany, Births and Baptisms (1558-1898)
- Germany, Marriages (1558-1929)
- Germany, Deaths and Burials (1558-1958)
The State Archives of Baden-Württemberg has digitized an index of emigrants from southwest Germany.
Church records
Some Catholic Church records for the state have been digitized at Matricula Online. This includes more than 400 parishes for the Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese.
Evangelical-Lutheran Church records for the state are available at the Landeskirchliches Archivs in Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. Many of the parish books are digitized at Archion.de.
Parishes in Baden and Württemberg created duplicate church registers in the 19th century until the beginning of civil registration. This covers approximately 1810-1870 for Baden and 1808-1875 for Württemberg. The State Archives may have records for this same time period for Jewish communities.
Many parishes in Baden-Württemberg have separate books for Familienregister (family group registers), a wealth of information that lists each family with up to four generations per page.
Some church records have a section called Seelenregiste (soul registers). These were censuses conducted by select localities in Württemberg between the mid-1700s into the early 1800s.
Civil and other records
Civil registration records are held at the local Standesamt for the town or village of interest. Check Meyers Gazetteer to determine the Standesamt, listed as StdA. Once you have that information, look for the official website for that location for contact information.
Consult the State Archives of Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart for more information about genealogical records available for the state.
Numerous trees on MyHeritage contain Baden-Württemberg families. Search those in the box below.
Explore more about Baden-Württemberg genealogy
- Researching German Ancestors on MyHeritage by James Beidler on MyHeritage
- Borders, Maps and Gazetteers for German Genealogists by Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Ask The Expert – German Records by Daniel Horowitz on MyHeritage
References
- ↑ State history. Baden-Württemberg.de. https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/en/our-state/state-history
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The State and its people. Baden-Württemberg.de. https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/en/our-state/the-state-and-its-people
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Swabia, historical region in Germany. Britannica Encyclopedia.https://www.britannica.com/place/Swabia
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Baden, historical state in Germany. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/place/Baden-historical-state-Germany
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Württemberg, historical territory in Germany. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/place/Wurttemberg
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Baden-Württemberg. Britannica Encylopedia. https://www.britannica.com/place/Baden-Wurttemberg