About Civil Marriage in Germany in 19th Century

This is a partner event. In Germany, there are two types of marriage – a civil ceremony performed at the registry office, and a religious ceremony in the Catholic Church. This system has been in place for over 200 years on the western side of the Rhine River, as a result of the occupation and annexation by French forces following their revolution. At that time, it was decreed that a civil ceremony must always precede a religious wedding. On the other side of the Rhine, the old system remained in place, whereby Catholics could only marry in the church. Protestants never married in church, as Martin Luther had declared that marriage was a secular matter. Among Protestants, the couple entered into a formal contract, which was then celebrated in church before the congregation. In his presentation on civil marriage in Germany, Roland Geiger explores this topic in more detail, using examples to illustrate the content of the contracts and marriage records, and the information that can be gleaned from them. Registration.

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