Digitized Danish Records Online - Arkivalieronline

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About
In the fall of 2002 the Danish State Archives with the support of the Ministry of Culture, began to digitize the Danish Lutheran State Church Parish Records and the National Censuses. Each parish has records digitzed from the earliest records up to the 20th century (dates vary depending on the parish). The images have been scanned from microfilm and microfiche sources. The digital images are available for free through Arkivalieronline on the internet at: [http://www.sa.dk/ao/].

The archives chose to use Java (Sun Microsystems) as the viewer for accessing the digital images. You can download Java for free at: [http://www.java.com/en/]. However it has been announced that sometime during the beginning of 2013, a new version of the website will be released and Java will no longer be used.

You can learn about the project and how to use the website by clicking on “English” from the home page. The homepage itself and all the screens within the website can only be used in Danish.

Using the site.
1. Go to the homepage at: [http://www.sa.dk/ao/]. 2. Click on "Kirkebøger" (Churchbooks).

3. Click on "Søg i kirkebøger" (Search in the churchbooks). 4. Choose the desired "Amt" (County) from the drop down menu. 5. Choose the "Sogn" (Parish) from the drop down menu.

After choosing the parish you will see a table listing the available records with the associated span of years for the desired parish. The "Tabeloversigt" (Key to abbreviations) is listed as: • F Fødte - Birth and Christenings • K Konfirmerede – Confirmations • V Viede – Marriages • D Døde - Death and Burials • J Jævnførelser - General Index • A Afgangslister - Moving out record • T Tilgangslister - Moving In record

The column headings are: • Sogn – Parish • Herred – District • Amt – County • Tekt – Text • Fra – Beginning • Til – Ending

Searching the Images
1. Click on the name of the parish found under the column “Tekst” for the years you need. You will see a notice that Java is running (you might have to click "run" for it to open).

2. The next screen appears as a big blank screen with a column of red dots followed by the word "Opslag" and a number. The Opslag number is a post reference to the image from the microfilm. When you click on a specific Opslag the image downloads to your computer which then appears on your screen. From here you can scroll through each image just as you would on a microfilm. You can zoom the image in and out by changing the number by the '%' symbol. You can save the image to your computer. When finished, close the window.

Most of the time multiple types of records will appear within a single "opslag". Navigating through a single opslag is easier when you understand the order the records will follow. Typically, the births will be listed first. After this will come confirmations, then marriages, deaths, and finally general index and transfer records. It is also helpful to recognize that most of the time, the males and females were recorded in separate books. Therefore, when searching birth or death records, the males will be listed for the entire time period indicated, then the females will be listed for the entire time period.

Tips

 * You can download digital images for the parish you are working in simply by selecting the 'Save Image' button in the top lefthand corner of the screen. It is adviseable to save the images as '.tif' files.
 * There are very detailed instructions (in english) for using Arkivalieronline at: Utilis.dk
 * High speed internet is recommended for optimum performance.
 * You may run into problems with the viewer depending on your operating system.
 * They do not enhance the digital images from the microfilm. If the microfilming was poor, it carries over to the digital image.
 * To learn more about the Danish Parishes see article: Denmark: The Parish (Sogn)