Books of testaments are archival materials containing copies of last wills. Copies were entered after the official opening of the sealed testament when it had been submitted by its owner for that purpose after the death of the testator. The Bremen Staatsarchiv keeps safe more than 100 volumes dating from 1599 through 1899.
Bremen books of testaments 1599 - 1899
acquisition of data was mainly conducted by Karl Heinz Windhorn
Our database comprises 7.573 wills from 1599 to 1890 gathered by members of our society. Handwritten notes added to wills of the period between 1684 and 1735 by Dr. Spreckelsen in 1991 had also been incorporated.