Genealogical research
Numerous sources accessible in public archives provide information about family history. The Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen preserves a rich fund of authentic evidence of the past, containing countless data on baptisms, births, marriages and deaths. These documents are primarily located in the civil status archives in Duisburg (for the North Rhine region) and Detmold (for the Westphalia and Lippe regions).
To get started
Are you looking for your ancestors? The Westphalia-Lippe and Rhineland civil status archives are the right place for you if your ancestors were born, married or died in NRW.
For advanced users
Although church records and civil registers are the most prominent sources for genealogical research, in principle other archival records are also suitable for genealogical research.
Holdings for genealogical research
Which archival records are suitable for family research? Here you will find a brief overview with initial pointers.
Digital genealogy
The Provincial Archives are endeavouring to gradually digitize their family history holdings. The sources that have already been digitized can be viewed in the reading rooms of the Landesarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen and partly also on the Internet. The large volume of records and legal restrictions place limits on this intention. An overview of the holdings that can be viewed online can be found below.
Dr. Mathias Schafmeister mathias.schafmeister[at]lav.nrw.de
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