Hamburg, German Empire Church Records

Church records (parish registers, church books) are an important source for genealogical research in Germany before civil registration began. They recorded details of baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials. The vast majority of the population was mentioned. To learn more about the types of information you will find in church records, click on these links: For a comprehensive understanding of church records, study the article Germany Church Records.
 * Baptisms (Taufen)
 * Marriages (Heiraten)
 * Burials (Begräbnisse)
 * Confirmations (Konfirmationen)
 * Family Registers (Familienbücher)

1. Microfilm Copies of Church Records in the FamilySearch Catalog
Try to find records in the collection of the FamilySearch Library. Many microfilms have been digitized for online viewing. Gradually, everything will be digitized, so check back occasionally. Some have viewing restrictions, and can only be viewed at the Family History Centers near you. To find records: First, consult the maps and list at Hamburg Boundary Change Maps to determine whether your locality was originally in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, or Hannover.
 * a. For church records of parishes that were in the original Hamburg, click here. Open the link Places within Germany, Hamburg'''.
 * For church records of parishes that were previously in Hannover, click here. Open the link Places within Germany, Preußen, Hannover.
 * For church records of parishes that were previously in Schleswig-Holstein, click here. Open the link Places within Germany, Preußen, Schleswig-Holstein.
 * b. Click on your town or parish.
 * c. Click on the "Church records" topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * d. Choose the correct record type and time period for your ancestor. "Geburten" are births. "Taufen" are baptisms/christenings. "Heiraten" are marriages.  "Tote" are deaths.
 * e. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

2. Writing to a Priest for Church Records

 * Baptism, marriage, and death records may be searched by contacting the local Catholic or Lutheran church.


 * Contact links for Catholic Parishes Click on "Parishes and communities."
 * Communities for Hamburg Evangelical-Lutheran Church

Write a brief request in German to the proper church using this address as a guide replacing the information in parentheses:

For a Protestant Parish:


 * An das evangelische Pfarramt
 * (Insert street address, if known.)
 * (Postal Code) (Name of Locality)
 * GERMANY

For a Catholic Parish:


 * An das katholische Pfarramt
 * (Insert street address, if known.)
 * (Postal Code) (Name of Locality)
 * GERMANY


 * Click herefor postal code help for Germany.

How to write a letter: Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus German translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the German Letter Writing Guide.'''

3. Online Church Records

 * 1500-1971 - at FamilySearch — index

3. Church and State Archives
Copies and even originals of some church records are deposited in various archives. Although some general descriptions of which records are in which archives are given here, you can and should e-mail the archive to make certain they have the records you want. The Family Search page of the State Archives gives this explanation of which church records it holds and where to find those it does not. Notice that there are two different groups within the protestant/Evangelical/Lutheran church. A. The Staatsarchiv Hamburg houses the church books of the Protestant-Lutheran church communities in Hamburg before 1866 and the Reformed communities before 1884, the church books of the Mennonite community, and the Jewish communities. Staatsarchiv Hamburg Kattunbleiche 19 22041 Hamburg Germany Phone: 040 115 Fax: 040 4279-16001 E-mail: Poststelle@staatsarchiv.hamburg.de Website: http://www.hamburg.de/staatsarchiv Online database search Family search information and holdings B. The church books of the Evangelical-Lutheran parishes in Alt Hamburg (now at Hamburg-Ost), dating back to 1865 are in this archive: The Lutheran archives over Hamburg supposedly participate in Archion, but only a few military parishes are online there.  Church District Archives Hamburg-Ost''' Höltingwiete 5 21073 Hamburg Germany Tel: 040 519000-975 (Family Research) Fax: 040 519000-970 E-Mail: archiv@kirche-hamburg-ost.de C. The church books of the Catholic church communities are not located in the State Archives of Hamburg, but in the responsible church offices.
 * Holdings list at GenWiki

How to write a letter: Detailed instruction for what to include in the letter, plus German translations of the questions and sentences most frequently used are in the German Letter Writing Guide.'''

Other Religious Groups

 * To learn how to determine the location of other religious records, namely Jewish, French Reformed, German Reformed, etc., watch Hansen’s Map Guides: Finding Records with Parish Maps beginning at 48:00 minutes, to learn how to locate these congregations. Then go back and watch from the beginning to understand how to use the reference book. This course teaches you how to use a set of reference books found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. If you are not in Salt Lake City, use the Contact Us feature to request information from the books.

Jewish Records

 * See the Wiki article, Germany Jewish Records

Huguenots (French Protestants)
*German Huguenot Society eV, index.
 * See the Wiki article, ’’’Huguenots in Germany’’’

Reading the Records

 * It's easier than you think! You do not have to be fluent in French and German to use these records, as there is only a limited vocabulary used in them. By learning a few key phrases, you will be able to read them adequately.  Here are some resources for learning to read German records.
 * German Genealogical Word List
 * German Handwriting


 * These video webinars will teach you to read German handwriting:
 * Old German Script Part 1
 * Old German Script Part 2
 * Old German Script (German Church and Civil Records) Part 3


 * Also online interactive slideshow lessons are available to help you learn to read these records:
 * . In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial
 * . In this lesson, you will explore several types of German genealogical records, including birth, baptismal, marriage, and death records.
 * German Script Tutorial

This converter will show you how any phrase or name might look in German script:
 * Kurrentschrift Converter (enter German genealogical word, click on "convert", view your word in Kurrentschrift (Gothic handwriting)

Latin Records
Records of the Catholic church will usually be written in Latin:
 * Latin Genealogical Word List

Research Strategies
Effective use of church records includes the following strategies:


 * Search for the relative or ancestor. When you find his or her birth record, search for the births of brothers and sisters.
 * Next search for the parents' marriage date and place. The marriage record will often lead to the parents' birth records.
 * You can estimate the ages of the parents and determine a birth year to search for their birth records. If more than one possible candidate is found, search confirmation, marriage, and burial records to determine the correct individual. If available, census-type records or family books can be used as well.
 * Try to find the parents death/burial entries, since these records may give their age at death.
 * Use the above strategies for both the father and the mother.
 * If earlier generations are not in the record you are using, search neighboring parishes and other denominations.
 * Search the burial registers for all family members.


 * German Research Troubleshooting Strategies