Lübeck, Germany, Marriage Banns, 1811-1871

The Free City of Lübeck is located in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea. It is one of the largest cities in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and is the largest German port on the Baltic. Due to its location, the city was the capital of the Hanseatic League (a trading monopoly comprised of cities and guilds along the northern coast of Europe that existed from the 13th to 17th centuries) for several hundred years.

Historical Background:

Civil registration refers to the vital records kept by the government. Civil registration began at different times for different areas of Germany. In many areas it was begun around the turn of the nineteenth century as Napoleon’s influence extended beyond France. In Lübeck civil registration was established about 1811. In 1876 when Germany became a unified nation civil registration began being kept throughout the whole country.

About the Database:

This database contains civil registration marriage banns from the city of Lübeck for the years 1813-1871.*

Marriage banns declared a man’s and woman’s intentions to marry and were published in the communes of residence of both the intended bride and groom a few weeks before the wedding date. The publication of banns gave people in the community the opportunity to object to the intended marriage. For this, as well as other reasons, sometimes a couple will be listed in the banns but will not be found in the marriage records.

These records may include the following information:

• Date of the proclamation of banns
• Names of bride and groom
• Birth dates of bride and groom
• Birthplaces of bride and groom
• Parents’ names of the bride and groom
• Status of the bride and groom (single, widowed, or divorced)
• Residences of bride and groom

*The 1871 portion of this database is not complete. Part of the records for this year have been indexed and are available in the Marriage Bann database listed on the right.