Schleswig-Holstein Court Records: Difference between revisions

An Amtsgericht is typically responsible for civil and criminal law cases. Since we do not know if an ancestor was involved in prosecution, the researcher should pay attention particularly to the so called Schuld- und Pfandprotokolle, the precusor to the modern land record office (Grundbuchamt which now is a part of the Amtsgericht). Every city, every cultural area, every Amt and each manor kept such a record, with one page for each owner. A copy of this record was kept as well, the Neben- und Kontraktbücher. They contain the complete text of each contract. We find sales, inheritances, retirement and now and then a marriage contract. Next to church book entries, this is where the genealogist will find pertinent information to trace his ancestors back to early times, since property usually was transferred to children. These records are found today in the Landesarchiv Schleswig-Holstein, stored in Abteilungen (departments) and searchable through Findbücher (archival indexes). The archive catalog is online at