Dahme-Spreewald, Germany, Marriages 1874-1928

About this collection

This collection contains marriage records from the modern administrative district of Dahme-Spreewald and covers the years 1874 up to and including 1928. This district is situated in the Spreewald region and is southeast of Berlin in the German state of Brandenburg. It is also known as Wokrejs Damna-Blota in Lower Sorbian, a local Slavic minority language. The archive responsible for these records is located in the city of Luckau. The collection includes records from the communities of Bornsdorf, Langengrassau and Wehnsdorf. Records from the community of Wüstermarke are included under Langengrassau. Records from Wehnsdorf start in the year 1887.

Beginning on October 1, 1874, birth, marriage and death records in the former Prussian provinces, which include the modern district of Dahme-Speewald in Brandenburg, were created by local registry offices.

The collected records are arranged chronologically and usually in bound yearbook form which are collectively referred to as "civil registers." Occasionally, alphabetical directories of names were also created. While churches continued to keep traditional records, the State also mandated that the personal or marital status of the entire population be recorded.

What you can find in the records

Marriage records were created using preprinted forms that were filled in by hand by the registrar. Depending on the individual form or on the formulations used by the registrar, you may find:

• Sequential or Certificate Number
• Marriage Date
• Groom: Occupation, Given names, Last name, Denomination, Age/Birthdate, Birthplace, Residence/Address as well as details about his parents and their place of residence
• Bride: Occupation, Given Names, Last Name, Maiden Name, Denomination, Age/Birthdate, Birthplace, Residence/Address as well as details about her parents and their place of residence
• Witnesses
• Signatures

More about using this collection

Each document has a front and back. These are displayed one ofter the other. Additional events from the life of the couple were sometimes recorded later on in the margins. These notes, sometimes referred to as "narration," can contain very useful information but they have not been indexed. As a result, information from the notes will not found via the search form. The record books for Langengrassau are labeled with "Wüstermarke" because that was the common place name used until an administrative reform in 1950. The place names listed under "Browse this collection” are the current modern names.