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  • Marriage records in Germany
    • Main contributor: Craig Kanalley
    Pope Pius IV
    Pope Pius IV, who mandated Catholic parishes to keep registers of marriages in the 1500s. While not all records have survived, that decision led to the regular recording of marriages.

    Marriage records in Germany date back to the 1500s (16th century) with the origin of the oldest surviving German church records. Catholic churches were mandated by the Pope to begin keeping records in 1563, while some Lutheran records go back even earlier.

    Here is the 1563 doctrine from Pope Pius IV relevant to the recording of marriages:

    The parish priest shall have a book, which he shall keep carefully by him, in which he shall register the names of the persons married, and of the witnesses, and the day on which, and the place where, the marriage was contracted.[1]

    The following collections contain marriage records for modern-day Germany:

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    German marriages in parish registers

    The primary source of early marriages in towns, states and regions that belong to modern-day Germany are found in church records. The first step is to identify the parish of origin to locate the records. If a marriage is not found in an expected location, it is worthwhile searching nearby parishes or marriage indexes if available.

    Marriage of Carl Wilhelm Brasch to Anna Elisabeth Grünewald in 1860
    A list of marriages that took place in April 1860 at St. Georgen-Kirche, a Lutheran church in Berlin.

    For Roman Catholic parish registers, it's worth checking Matricula Online to see if your place of interest is digitized. The parishes are sorted by diocese (Bistum). If you're not sure of the diocese name, you can browse the map provided or search by place name at the top of the site.

    For Protestant parish records, including Lutheran and Evangelical-Reformed, Archion is the place to look. While you can see what parishes are available, there is a charge to actually access the digitized records.

    The amount of information provided can vary widely. At a minimum, the groom's name, bride's name, date of marriage, and witnesses should be provided. In some cases, witnesses were left out, depending on the religious official or clerk who recorded the records. Records in the mid-1700s and later are more likely to include the parents' names for the groom and bride, their social status (single or widowed), where they are from (especially if not native to the parish), and occupation for the groom. In some cases, only the father's name is provided for the groom and bride. Records in the mid-1800s and later are likely to include the date of birth and place of birth for the groom and bride.

    Sometimes hidden unless you're really looking for it, marriage records in Germany often specify whether the groom and bride's parents are living or deceased. Look for "p.m." after the father or mother's name, which is Latin for "post mortem" (deceased or literally "after death"). When there are common names involved or if you're looking for an indication when the parents may have died, this can be an invaluable genealogical tip.

    German marriages in civil registration

    A civil marriage record for Max Rudolf Räder in Dresden in 1920

    The German Empire began requiring the civil registration of marriages in 1876, following the German state of Prussia which implemented civil registration in 1874. These records are called "Standesamtsregister" (civil registers), and while they were compiled for legal purposes, they are of immense value for genealogical research.

    Civil marriage records in Germany typically provide the following information, written in German:

    • Groom's name, age, place of birth, occupation, and parents' names
    • Bride's name, age, place of birth, and parents' names
    • Date and place of marriage
    • Witnesses, including their names, ages, residences, and occupations

    The records are written in Kurrent script, old German cursive. Resources to decipher this "Old German" handwriting include the Legacy Family Tree Webinar on working with Old German script, the Script Tutorial from Brigham Young University, this handwriting guide from Germanology Unlocked, and the AI-based tool Transkribus.

    Where to find records

    The Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (Hesse State Archives), which houses civil records and other genealogical records.

    In addition to Matricula Online and Archion for parish records, libraries and archives are excellent places to find civil records for Germany. Some of the best archives for genealogical research include:

    • Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives, located in Koblenz)
    • Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (State Archives of Baden-Württemberg)
    • Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (Hessian State Archives in Marburg)
    • Sächsisches Staatsarchive (Saxony State Archives)
    • Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv (Bavarian State Archives)

    One useful resource for both civil records and parish records is the Meyers Gazetteer. You can search by place name, including with wildcards if you're not exactly sure of the spelling. Once you find the place of interest, you'll see the location of the Standesämter (civil registry office) listed on the main page for the town or village of interest. This is where the civil records are kept and you might follow up directly with that office. Another tip: If you go to the Ecclesiastical tab on Meyers Gazetteer, you will find which Catholic or Protestant parishes are nearby and the distance for each from your place of interest. If your town or village belongs to a parish in another town, that may also be specified at the top of the page.

    See also

    Explore more about marriage records in Germany

    References

    1. ↑ General Council of Trent: Twenty-Fourth Session. 1563. Doctrine on the Sacrament of Marriage.https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-fourth-session.htm


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