
Welcome to the Black Forest Web Site
The Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, is a section of Southwestern Germany that borders on Switzerland on the south, on the Neckar River to the East and on France to the West. The Northern gate to the Black Forest is Pforzheim (See a map of the area of the Black Forest that this site attempts to cover).
The Black Forest is named for the beautiful mountain landscape with its dense population of pine trees. It is a region of incomparably unspoiled nature with its forests, mountains and meadows.
The Black Forest is known for its half-timber houses many of them 300 years old. The craftsmen of the area are well known around the world for their cuckoo clocks and the Christmas season is never complete without a nutcracker f rom this region. Castles, vineyards and orchards dot the hillsides.
This site is dedicated to genealogy research in this beautiful part of Germany. It is also dedicated to the history and the ancestors that made this region the beautiful place that it is.
A special "Thank You" to all of the people who donated the many hours of typing, translation and research to help create this site. Without all of these volunteers, this site would not be possible.
The information contained in these pages has been donated by researchers who have ancestors who lived in the Black Forest Region of Germany. They have agreed to share the results of their work. Every effort has been made to assure that the information is as accurate as possible however, mistakes do happen, and some information may be incorrect.
The Most Wanted Ancestor database is currently unavailable. We're working on repairs. Please check back.
Many (Ortsfamilienbücher) Heritage Books are online at http://www.online-ofb.de
The Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe is online at: http://www.lad-bw.de
CLICK HERE for a list of often asked questions and answers:
Here are some archive addresses for cities/villages in the Black Forest
- Stadtarchiv Freiburg
Gruenwaelerstrasse Number 15
79098 Freiburg im Breisgau - Stadtarchiv Lahr
Rathhaus
Rathausplatz
77933 Lahr (Schwarzwald) - Stadtarchiv Wolfach
Rathaus
Hauptstr 41
77709 Wolfach - Stadtarchiv Baden Baden
Küferstraße 3
76530 Baden-Baden
Telefon: (07221) 93-22 71
Telefax: (07221) 93-22 77
Email: museum.archiv@baden-baden.de - Stadtarchiv Calw
Bischofstra 48
75365 Calw - Stadtarchiv Pforzheim
Brettener Str. 19
75177 Pforzheim - Stadtarchiv Buhl
Hauptstr 47
77815 Buhl - Stadtarchiv Gernsbach
Stadtverwaltung
Postfach 140
76584 Gernsbach - Stadtarchiv Rastatt
Herrenstr 11
76437 Rastatt
The following are archives on a county level
- Kreisarchiv Calw
Vogteistr. 44 - 46
75365 Calw
Email: 44.Swierczyna@kreis-calw.de
Tel.: 0 70 51/ 1 60 - 3 14
Fax: 0 70 51/ 7 95 - 3 14 - Kreisarchiv fur den Landkreis Rastatt
Landratsamt
Herrenstr 13
Postfach 1863
76437 Rastatt
The following are Church Archives:
- Archives of Catholic Church
Erzbischofliches Archiv Freiburg
Herrenstr 35
79098 Freiburg im Breisgau - Archives of Evangelical Church
Evangelical Church im Rheinland
Archiv
Hans Bockler - Str 7
40476 Dusseldorf - Local offices of the Church of the LDS
Kirche Jesu Christi der HLT
Ernst - Frey - Str. 7
76135 Karlsruhe
att: Gabrielle Hofhansl - Kirche Jesu Christi der HLT
Markgrafenstr 87
79115 Freiburg
Att: Wolfgang Suess - General Land Archives
Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe
Nördliche Hildapromenade 2
76133 Karlsruhe
Telefon: 0721/926-2201 (Lesesaal -2251)
Telefax: 0721/926-2231
Email: glakarlsruhe@la-bw.de - Military Archive
Freiburg im Breisgau. (Bundesarchiv)
Bundesarchiv
Wiesentalstraße 10
79115 Freiburg
Phone: 0761/47817-0
Fax: 0761/47817-900
E-Mail: militaerarchiv@bundesarchiv.de
Archival User Service
Phone: 0761/47817-864
Opening hours
Mon-Thu: 08:00 - 18:00
Fri: 08:00 - 16:00 - Staatsarchiv Freiburg
Colombistr. 4
79098 Freiburg im Breisgau