by People across the globe are now able to conduct a research and find more details on their family history, all thanks to the internet. The fact that governments have been registering and keeping these records makes it a piece of cake. One type of these records are known as birth records. This guide is aimed at assisting you on how to find birth records from Switzerland.
Famous for its milky chocolates, Switzerland is a central European country that is mountainous with a number of villages lakes and high peaks of the Alps. Switzerland, as a landlocked country is surrounded by Austria, France, Liechtenstein, Italy and Germany. The country has a population of more than 8 million with 74 % of the population living in urban areas. Switzerland’s median age is 43 years.
There is about 97 % internet penetration in Switzerland. This means that the majority of the population in Switzerland is online making it highly possible that information such as vital records (births, marriages, divorces and deaths) are also available online. This makes it easier to track information such as birth records.
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Finding Birth Information on Social Media in Switzerland
Switzerland’s social media presence is at 86 %. Facebook is by far the most used social media platform in Switzerland. Two thirds of business in the country use Facebook actively. There are about 73 % of people in Switzerland who use Facebook. The next widely utilized social media platform in Switzerland is Twitter with 9 % users. Next is Pinterest with 6 % and Instagram at 6 % also.
Since Facebook is the most commonly used platform in the country, a search for date of birth on someone who is alive in Switzerland would be appropriate. Facebook allow searches to be conducted with a name, username/ nickname or email address. Just enter any of these details on Facebook’s search bar and search.
This will return all results related to your search. Pick the one you are looking for and click on it. The individuals profile will then be revealed to you. Go through it and try to find out if they included the date of birth details in it. Please keep it in mind that Facebook users are not compelled to include date of birth details on their profile. Chances are, it might not be there.
Another idea to try on a Facebook search for a date of birth might be to go through the person’s posts over the past year. Some people normally upload photos of themselves celebrating their birthday on social media. It also happens at times that friends and relatives send complimentary messages on the individual’s date of birth. Going through the post will help you find all this out.
Genealogical Birth Records in Switzerland
There are a number of genealogical birth records that you can perform in Switzerland. Let’s take a look at them below.
Genealogy Records from Switzerland on Family Search
Genealogical records in Switzerland are kept at local level. There are about 26 cantons in Switzerland where you can perform a genealogical lookup of your ancestor’s records on Family Search.
- Aargau (AG)
- Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR)
- Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI)
- Basel-Landschaft (BL)
- Basel-Stadt (BS)
- Bern (BE)
- Fribourg (FR)
- Genève (Geneva) (GE)
- Glarus (GL)
- Graubünden (Grisons) (GR)
- Jura (JU)
- Luzern (Lucerne) (LU)
- Neuchâtel (NE)
- Nidwalden (NW)
- Obwalden (OW)
- Sankt Gallen (SG)
- Schaffhausen (SH)
- Schwyz (SZ)
- Solothurn (SO)
- Thurgau (TG)
- Ticino (TI)
- Uri (UR)
- Valais (VS)
- Vaud (VD)
- Zug (ZG)
- Zürich (ZH)
Select the Canton you would like to lookup the birth details from the list above and click on it. This will take you to its Family Search page where you can look up using details like municipalities, reformed parishes, catholic parishes, census records, emigration records, civil records, church records and more.
Family Search also have the following sources for birth records in Switzerland:
- Switzerland, Church Records (1277 – 1992)
- Switzerland, Catholic and Reformed Church Records (1418 – 1996)
- Switzerland, Baptisms (1491 – 1940)
- Switzerland, Book Extracts (1550 -1875)
- Switzerland, Bern, Civil Registration (1792 – 1876)
State Library of South Australia
If you are looking to find ancestors from Europe or Mediterranean, the State Library of South Australia provide sources and databases that to help you find them.
It covers on links to websites, resources available at the library, databases available at the library and other catalogues where you can search for more information. There are also tips and tricks discussed that can make your search experience smooth and efficient.
Swiss Center of North America
The Swiss Center of North America has clues on how to trace your ancestors from Switzerland. It shows how records and documents, census records, civil and church records can help you uncover information on your ancestors from Switzerland.
The site also covers on sources like passenger arrival records and the facts found in them that can prove helpful. Since a majority of Switzerland speaks German, a number of the old records are in the old German language. The site has solutions on how you can go about solving this impasse.
With these tips on how to find birth records from Switzerland, you stand a chance. The only thing left to do is explore them and find out what they have in store for you.
