The DDSS consists of three separate databases containing information extracted from the original Swedish parish church records of births and baptisms, weddings, deaths and burials. Each of these sets of records constitutes a separate database. It is important to know that the Swedish parishes were territorial and included every person living in the area. The databases do not cover the whole of Sweden, being limited to the counties of Skåne and Blekinge. So far only a small number of the records in the approximately 400 parishes in Skåne and Blekinge have been processed (see list of parishes for each database). However, the database is still increasing and new parishes are being added to the databases several times a year. The original records are from the 19th century or older and are kept at the Regional Archives in Lund. Each entry in the database includes a reference to the original, which in most cases also is available on microfiche from SVAR
The history of the DDSS Project, (Demographic Database Southern Sweden) began in 1996. Its predecessor, SDD, (Scania Demographic Database) was initiated in 1983.
The purpose of the DDSS project is twofold. First of all, it was created for genealogists, local historians, and for use in schools and by local historical societies. Secondly, it was created for academic research in demography, medicine etc. The contents and structure of the database reflects this double purpose. All the elements are explained in a catalogue and basic search aid is available.
The database project is administered in close co-operation between the Regional Archives in Lund, the regional state labour market agencies, municipalities, genealogical associations, and other private organisations. This year there are approximately 70 persons working full-time on the project. The project also co-operates with several different departments at Lund University and the Institute of Dialect and Place Name Research (Lund).
The database software was changed from Access to SQL server in July, 2000 and there are several ideas about further improvements.
Swedish parish records
The archives of the parish churches contain many more records that have not been processed. Birth, death, and marriage records were usually preserved from the end of the 17th century. Household records, listing the whole population in southern Sweden, normally date from the beginning of the 19th century and the same is true for migration records and the minutes of parish meetings, which dealt with various local matters. For further information see Landsarkivet i Lund.