Kate Pruente

Because of the German heritage, the births, marriages and deaths in the county of Gottschee were microfilmed at the beginning of the Nazi era.

Not only were these vital records filmed, but also mini-censuses of parishes known as Family Books, which listed head of house, spouse, children and pertinent dates.

Languages were Latin, German and Slovenian.  Spelling was by ear, so there are many variations of names. There are gaps in the records which agree with gaps in Ljubljana Church Archives. Presume caused by fire or flood.

All the Gottscheer records end in 1941, but the beginning may be in the late 1600s up to the mid 1800s.

In addition to the traditional Gottscheer parishes, the parishes of Banja Loka, Fara, Semič, Osilnica, Črnomelj and Ribnica were also filmed.  These parishes had large German populations. The Gottscheer border parishes involved many German-Slovenian marriages.