Berlin, Brandenburg, Prussia, German Empire Genealogy

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Introduction
Berlin, the capital of Germany, is also Germany's largest city. Because of its size, research can be time-consuming. In Meyer's Orts und Verkehrs Lexicon published in 1912 we find that at this time there were 70 Evangelical chapels, 15 Catholic chapels, 15 synagogues, 3 Reformed churches and 2 Baptist churches.

Church Records
To help locate Lutheran Parishes in Berlin please go to this link Berlin Evangelical Parish Jurisdictions

For a list of addresses of churches in Berlin this is a helpful site.

For good general information regarding Berlin, please click here

Many parishes in Berlin have been indexed and names appear in the International Genealogical Index. Click Batch number indexes for Berlinto see a list of parishes that have been indexed. This listing may not be complete. Click on the appropriate link in the last column to see the alphabetical list of christenings or marriages. Click on "Nächste Seite" for additional parishes.

Civil Registration
Helpful information on Berlin Civil Registration offices can be found here.

A link to Standesamt Mitte. To order civil registration certificates online click on "Online-anfordern".

Melde Records (moving records) information can be found for the years 1875-1960 in Berlin. However, because of loss and damage from the War it can be missing data for many time periods. Till now people with birthdates prior to 1850 could rarely be found. You must be able to provide the following information:


 * name
 * maiden names of women
 * Name they were known by
 * birthdate
 * occupation

At the above link is the form that needs to be submitted by the requester.

Directories
Images of Berlin city directories can be found at this link. To proceed directly to the lists by year follow this link. Some of the lists are arranged alphabetically by the name of the head of house and others are arranged by the names of the streets and house numbers. By using these directories for various years, you may determine the street address where your ancestor lived in Berlin. This information will help you identify the church and civil registration district to search to find additional information.

Changes in the names of the streets in Berlin can be determined by typing the name of the street in "Berlin from A. to Z" at this link.

Forums
To search for Berlin in the Rootsweb archive click here.

Maps
Map of Berlin in 1907 with street index can be found here. Click on the map to browse images. To locate a specific street, click on "Zum Strassenverzeichnis".

An excellent 1908 map of Berlin (1:20,000) with a street index is available by following this link.

Military
Many military units were stationed in Berlin. This linkwill help you learn about the various Prussian military units.

Periodicals
Link to digitized issues of Mitteilungen des Vereins für die Geschichte Berlinsare available for the years 1884-1943. An index to articles is included.

Stadtbücher
An inventory of Berlin Stadtbücher can be found here.