Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1870-1945

About this collection

This collection contains Civil Registry records from the German city of Waldshut-Tiengen covering the years 1870 up to and including 1945. The city (originally the twin towns of Waldshut and Tiengen) is situated about 40 miles southeast of Freiburg im Breisgau on the Rhine River at the edge of the Black Forest. It is located along the Swiss boder in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Waldshut was first mentioned in a document from the year 1256 and Tiengen in a document from 858. Waldshut's best known landmark is the Upper Gate or "Schaffhauser Tor," a city gate used until 1864 as the town jail. Tiengen's most notable landmark is the residential portion of the old Tiengen Castle. During the time period of this collection, until 1918, Waldshut and Tiengen were part of the Grand Duchy of Baden. The collection includes records from 9 additional communities which are today boroughs of Waldhut-Tiengen. The date ranges of records from these communities may vary. Some end before 1899.

Beginning on February 1, 1870, birth, marriage and death records in the former Grand Duchy of Baden were created by local registry offices. The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually bound together in the form of yearbooks. These are collectively referred to as "civil registers." Occasionally, alphabetical directories of names were also created. While churches continued to keep traditional records, the State also mandated that the personal or marital status of the entire population be recorded.

What you can find in the records

Birth, marriage and death records were created using preprinted forms that were filled in by hand by the registrar. In each record the birth date and the death date usually differ from the date they were registered. Depending on the individual form or on the formulations used by the registrar, you may find:

For Births:

• Sequential or Certificate Number
• Registration Date
• Informant: Given Names, Last Name, Age, Occupation, Residence
• Mother: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Age, Residence
• Child: Birth Date, Time of Birth, Sex, Given Names
• Signatures

For Marriages:

• Sequential or Certificate Number
• Marriage Date
• Groom: Given names, Last Name, Occupation, Residence, Birthdate and Birthplace, details about his Parents
• Bride: Given names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Occupation, Residence, Birthdate and Birthplace, details about her Parents
• Witnesses
• Signatures

For Deaths:

• Sequential or Certificate Number
• Registration Date
• Informant: Given Names, Last Name, Occupation
• Deceased: Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Occupation, Age, Residence, Birthplace, Spouse/Parents
• Place/Date of Death, Time of Death
• Beginning in 1938, the records may also cross reference to corresponding birth and/or marriage registers
• From 1938 to 1957, the Cause of Death is often included
• Signatures

More about using this collection

After the introduction of a uniform format in 1876, each Birth or Death record comprises an entire page. The records for Marriages comprise two pages which are displayed one after the other in our images. Additional events from the life of the Child, Couple or Deceased, or corrections made later by the registrar were sometimes recorded in the margins. These notes, sometimes referred to as "narration," can contain very useful information but they have not been indexed. As a result, information from the notes will not found via the search form. The “Informant” was usually a relative.

Images for individual year-ranges may be displayed by selecting the Civil Registration Office in the box "Browse this collection,” then by selecting the Register Type and the Year Range desired. For some communities, birth, marriage and death records (Geburts-/Heirats-/Sterberegister) are found in the same volume (Band).