Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany, selected Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1758-1874

About this collection

This collection contains parish registers from selected Protestant communities and military garrisons in Berlin and in the community of Spandau which was independent until 1920. Records from bordering localities in the modern German state of Brandenburg are also included. Some of the churches in these communities no longer exist. They were destroyed in World War Two. The East Prussian town of Insterburg is also included in this collection. In the 19th century it was an important administrative seat and a prominent garrison town of the Prussian army having a railway connection to Berlin.

The oldest church records in this collection date from the 18th century. After the coronation of Frederick I of Prussia as Elector, the kingdom of Prussia became one of the five great European powers, paving the way for a German national state. The records from Berlin date to the second half of the 18th century.

In general, the records from Spandau and other communities end in 1874 because, in addition to records traditionally kept by the Church in Prussian provinces, the State mandated in 1874 that personal and vital statistics be recorded by local registry offices. Prussia as a monarchy existed until the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918.

What you can find in the records

This collection is an index to the names found in the ecclesiatical records. Parish records primarily contain information about births and baptisms, marriages, and deaths and burials. Images of the records themselves are not included. The following details may be found:

• Last Name, Given Names
• Event Type (Birth, Baptism, Marriage, Death, Burial)
• Event Date
• Event Place, Community
• Relatives (usually Parents or Children)

More about using this collection

The indexed records are based on older microfilms of the holdings of Landesarchivs Berlin archives. Search for names, dates or places using the search form.