Fribourg Canton, Switzerland Genealogy

Guide to Fribourg canton ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Getting Started
If you are new to Swiss research, you should watch this introductory course. Then study the articles on church records and civil registration, as almost all of your research will be in those two record groups.
 * Introduction to Swiss Research
 * Switzerland Civil Registration
 * Switzerland Church Records

History
The town was founded in 1157 by Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen. Its name is derived from German frei meaning free and Burg meaning burg. When the treaty with Bern was renewed in 1403 the leaders of the city began a territorial acquisition, in which they gradually brought more nearby land under their control. This laid the ground-work for the Canton of Fribourg. By 1442 the city had control of all the land within about 12 miles, on both sides of the Saane. During the Reformation, Fribourg remained Catholic, although it was nearly surrounded by the Protestant Bern. This led to repeated conflicts over religion in border regions, and in areas controlled jointly by Fribourg and Bern. The city was a major centre of the Counter-Reformation. The invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798 lead to the downfall of Fribourg when it capitulated to the French on 2 March and relinquished leadership of its lands. Its leadership was followed by a new and more liberal constitution. Fribourg was part of the 1845-1847 Sonderbund, this was a separate alliance of Catholic cantons attempting to secede from Switzerland. Since 1848, the new national constitution and the amendment to the Canton constitution has guaranteed every citizen the right to vote. Fribourg is a French and German speaking canton. 

Census

 * 1880 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Reading the Records

 * Reading French Handwritten Records
 * Lesson 1: The French Alphabet
 * Lesson 2: Key Words and Phrases
 * Lesson 3: Reading French Records

Search Strategy
This search strategy will help you determine what to write for. Limit tour requests to just one of these steps at a time. Once you have established that the parish is cooperative and perhaps more willing to do more extensive research (for a fee), you might be able to ask them for more at a time.
 * Search for the relative or ancestor you selected.
 * When you find his birth record, search for the births of his brothers and sisters.
 * Next, search for the marriage of his parents. The marriage record will have information that will often help you find the birth records of the parents.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records.
 * Search the death registers for all known family members.
 * Repeat this process for both the father and the mother, starting with their birth records, then their siblings' births, then their parents' marriages, and so on.
 * If earlier generations (parents, grandparents, etc.) do not appear in the records, search neighboring parishes.