Church registers (Militärkirchenbücher) as a source for military history and research on the history of the 11th Regiment of Dragoons in the years 1741-1809

Abstract

The article presents church registers of the 11th Regiment of Dragoons located in the resources of  Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin, which belong to the rich collection of  Militärkirchenbücher. The content of three books, covering the period 1741-1809 and presenting the main elements of the natural movement and manifestations of church procedures: baptisms, marriages and deaths of soldiers of the regiment and their family members, was analysed. The regiment was stationed in Żagań, Zielona Góra, Kożuchów, Bytom Odrzański and Otyń. The connection of the Prussian army with these garrison locations is relatively clear in the source, which renders it of great importance for regional history. However, the source is of much greater value for the analysis of the 18th century military history, i.e. when learning about the functioning of the Prussian army in Silesia until 1809 and, above all, about the specificity of the garrison community.