User:Amberannelarsen/sandbox144

For information about records for non-Christian religions in Sweden, go to the Religious Records page.

Online Resources
Birth/Baptism Marriage Death/Burial Household Examinations
 * ArkivDigital ($) - color images of Swedish church books
 * Riksarkivet - Swedish National Archives
 * 1451-1943: Sweden, Church Records, 1451-1943 at Ancestry ($), index and images
 * 1611-1920: at FamilySearch, index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1611-1920: Sweden, Select Baptisms, 1611-1920 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1611-1920: Sweden, Baptisms, 1611-1920 at MyHeritage ($), index
 * 1859-1947: Sweden, Indexed Birth Records, 1859-1947 at Ancestry ($), index and images
 * 1901-2006: Sweden, Births from the Swedish Death Index, 1901-2006 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1630-1920: at FamilySearch, index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1630-1920: Sweden, Select Marriages, 1630-1920 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1630-1920: Sweden, Marriages, 1630-1920 at MyHeritage ($), index
 * 1860-1947: Sweden, Indexed Marriage Records, 1860-1947 at Ancestry ($), index and images
 * 1649-1920: at FamilySearch, index - How to Use this Collection
 * 1649-1920: Sweden, Select Burials, 1649-1920 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1649-1920: Sweden Burials, 1649-1920 at MyHeritage ($), index
 * 1840-1947: Sweden, Indexed Death Records, 1840-1947 at Ancestry ($), index and images
 * 1840-1947: Sweden Household Examination Books, 1840-1947 at MyHeritage ($), index and images
 * 1880-1930: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1880-1893: Sweden, Selected Indexed Household Clerical Surveys, 1880-1893 at Ancestry ($), index and images

Church Records by County
Gävleborg Göteborg och Bohus Halland Jönköping Kalmar Kopparberg Kronoberg Norrbotten Stockholm City Södermanland Uppsala Västerbotten Västernorrland Västmanland Älvsborg Örebro Östergötland
 * 1616-1908: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1577-1932: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1615-1904: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1615-1860: Halland, Sweden, Church Records, 1615-1860 at Ancestry ($), index and images
 * 1581-1935: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1633-1860: Jönköping, Sweden, Church Records, 1633-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1633-1860: Sweden, Jönköping Church Records, 1581-1935; index 1633-1860 at MyHeritage ($), index
 * 1577-1907: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1625-1860: Kalmar, Sweden, Church Records, 1625-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1604-1900: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1628-1860: Kopparberg, Sweden, Church Records, 1628-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1589-1921: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1612-1860: Kronoberg, Sweden, Church Records, 1612-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1612-1923: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1658-1860: Norrbotten, Sweden, Church Records, 1658-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1546-1927: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1604-1900: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1640-1860: Södermanland, Sweden, Church Records, 1640-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1640-1860: Sweden, Södermanland Church Records, 1604-1900; index 1640-1860 at MyHeritage ($), index
 * 1308-1901: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1613-1860: Uppsala, Sweden, Church Records,1613-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1613-1860: Sweden, Uppsala Church Records, 1308-1901; index 1613-1860 at MyHeritage ($), index
 * 1619-1896: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1688-1860: Västerbotten, Sweden, Church Records, 1688-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1501-1940: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1650-1860: Västernorrland, Sweden, Church Records, 1650-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1650-1860: Sweden, Västernorrland Church Records, 1501-1940; index 1650-1860 at MyHeritage ($), index
 * 1538-1901: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1642-1897: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection
 * 1681-1860: Älvsborg, Sweden, Church Records, 1681-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1613-1918: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection<Br>
 * 1635-1860: Örebro, Sweden, Church Records, 1635-1860 at Ancestry ($), index
 * 1635-1860: Sweden, Örebro Church Records, 1613-1918; index 1635-1860 at MyHeritage ($), index
 * 1555-1911: at FamilySearch, index and images - How to Use this Collection

Historical Background
The origin of the Swedish Church Records (of the Lutheran State Church) dates back to the church law of 1686 which became effective in 1688. Prior to this many parishes were keeping church accounts books which date back to medieval times.

Eventually the bishops of a few dioceses took the initiative to start keeping other church records. One such bishop was Johannes Rudbeckius in Västerås Stift who in 1622 decided that more records were to be kept for the parishes in his diocese. He is attributed for creating the earliest Household Examination record in the 1620’s. This influence is why you can search the Household examinations in Dalarna and Västmanland back to the 1620’s compared to the rest of the kingdom that generally begin in the 1720’s. The oldest Swedish church record is a death record of 1608 – 1615 from the parish of Helga Trefaldighet in Uppsala diocese.

Areas of modern Sweden that historically belonged to Denmark such as Skåne and Jämtland often have church records dating back to 1646 when a similar law was passed by the Danes.

Church Law of 1686
The church law of 1686 stated that the parish priest was to maintain:


 * Birth and christening records (födelse och dop anteckningar)


 * Engagement and marriage records (lysnings och vigsel anteckningar)


 * Death and burial records (död och begravning anteckningar)

These 3 records are often called Ministerial books.

He should also maintain:


 * Household Examinations (Husförhörslängder also called Skriftebok)

In early times the household examination record might just be a Communion record. After 1895 these were replaced by the Församlingsböcker.


 * Moving in and out records (Inflyttnings- och Utflyttningsländer)

But there was no centralized instruction as to how the books were to be kept. This became a concern for every diocese to regulate which lead to a wide diversity of record keeping all over the kingdom. For example, moving in and out records were not generally kept before the 1800’s. Starting in 1860 we see standardized printed forms in the church records yet even these vary diocese to diocese. It wasn’t until 1894 that standard forms were used kingdom wide for the church records.

In early times it is common that all 3 Ministerial records were kept in one book called the church book (kyrkboken). Often you will find other records there too such as the Sockenstämmoprotokoll (a record of parish decisions and affairs), and the Kyrkoräkenskaper (a parish financial record). In some parishes you might find a Konfirmationsbok (confirmation record) was kept. Eventually these records became separate books altogether.

All of the original church books before 1895 have historically been kept by the Regional archives (the Landsarkiv). When there are gaps in the record collections of a parish, it is most likely that the original records did not survive (although it is always good to check the parish records for the parishes in the same pastorat to be sure.)

Information Recorded in the Records
Extracts from Church Books (Utdrag ur Ministerialböcker) Beginning in 1860 records of births, marriages, and deaths were extracted from all the parish church books in the province. These were compiled yearly and sent to the Central Bureau of Statistics (Statistiska Centralbyrån). They are a primary source of birth, marriage, and death information in Sweden in lieu of the original records. They identify names of parents and also provide place of residence. As they are extracts from the parish registers the information they contain is not as complete as the original parish register entry.

Births (Födelseböcker)

 * Names of person
 * Date of birth
 * Legitimacy
 * Names of parents
 * Father's occupation and residence
 * Sometimes age of mother, number of siblings and parents’ year of marriage.

Marriages (Vigsellböcker)

 * Names of bride and groom
 * Their ages
 * Places of residence
 * Date of marriage
 * Sometimes names of parents

Deaths (Dödsböcker)

 * Name of the deceased
 * Date of death
 * Age
 * Place of residence at time of death
 * Occupation
 * Cause of death.