Straubing, Bavaria, Germany Genealogy

History and Geography


Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held. It is located on the Danube forming the centre of the Gäuboden. Wikipedia


 * The area of Straubing has been continuously settled since the Neolithic.
 * After the fall of the Roman Empire Straubing became a centre of settlement of the Bavarii.
 * In 1218 a new part of the city (called 'new town') was founded by Duke Ludwig I Wittelsbach of Bavaria.
 * It became the capital of the Duchy of Bavaria-Straubing under Duke Wilhelm I when Bavaria was divided among the sons of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor in 1349.
 * In 1633, during the Thirty Years' War, the Swedish army successfully besieged the city
 * In 1944 and 1945, Straubing suffered from several American air raids. The local military hospital was destroyed to the extent of 80 percent with a loss of 45 patients.
 * In November 2016 a fire destroyed a greater part of the medieval town hall.

Online Records

 * This link takes you to the FamilySearch Catalog where there is information about the records available on microfilm from Straubing. They might be available at a Family History Center,. but there are plans to digitize everything eventually.
 * Bavaria, Germany, WWI Personnel Rosters, 1914-1918 include soldiers from Straubing on Ancestry.com It is sometimes helpful to also do a general search by surname and place.
 * Various records can be found through the Meta-search tool on the website of the German Society for Computer Genealogy.
 * Find a Grave has some information on the Straubing cemetery.

Civil Registration
Straubing Standesamt Stetthaimerpl. 11 94315 Straubing Germany City of Straubing
 * Most civil record offices in Bavaria only have records back to the late 1800's. To find information on family before that it is necessary to go to church records.

Rathaus Straubing Theresienplatz 94315 Straubing Germany Phone +49 9421 9440

Catholic Church Records
There are several Straubing Catholic Churches They are all worth visiting because their of amazing beauty, but not necessary when searching for genealogy since their parish records are at the archive. It is possible that they have recent parish records at the churches, but anything before the late 1800's will be at the archive in Regensburg.

Regensburg Bischöfliches Zentralarchiv - for most of Oberpfalz
St.Petersweg 11-13 D-93047 Regensburg Germany archiv@bistum-regensburg.de

The records in the Regensburg Catholic Archive are on microfiche which takes time and patience to read. It is necessary to make an appointment to use a film reader. There is a 7 Euro fee per day per person to do research and a charge per document you have copied.(I think we paid about 8 Euros per page) This can add up to an expensive way to gather information, however, you can just take a pencil (not an ink pen) and paper and write down what you find. The people that work there don't usually have much time to assist you....so go planning on spending the first half of the day just figuring out how to use their system. Also, if you complete your research at the end of the day they may not be able to have the documents you need copied until the next day. You can return the next day to pick them up or you can pay them to mail them to your home.
 * List of parish registers This link takes you to a listing of the records available on microfiche at the Regensburg Catholic Archive. It is organized in alphabetical order of the towns and villages in the diocese. It also tells you what kind of documents are available in which years. It is good to know that Taufen means baptisms, Trauungen means marriages, and Beerdigungen means burials.
 * Information for requesting research by the archive for a fee. You can also communicate with the archive using the above email address. They are very quick to respond and always helpful.
 * The archive will do genealogical research for you. Requests can be made by mail or email. The fee for genealogical research is Euros 35.00 per half an hour plus postage.

Lutheran Church Records
Bavaria was and is predominantly Catholic. If your ancestors lived in Schönsee, there is a chance they affiliated with the Catholic church because of the prohibitive distance to a Lutheran church. (There is not a Lutheran Church in Schnösee.) However, if you do not find them in Catholic records, you should search the Lutheran records.

Cemeteries
This link is to Straubing Cemeteries However in a city this large walking through cemeteries would be very time consuming, unless you know which cemetery to go to and use the cemetery map to find the grave of your relative. If you are lucky enough to go to Straubing and want to find a cemetery Find A Grave and Billion Graves both have great phone apps to help you locate cemeteries.