Norway Archives and Libraries

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Archives collect and preserve original documents of organizations such as churches or governments. Libraries generally collect published sources such as books, maps, and microfilm. This section describes the major repositories of genealogical and historical records and sources for Norway.

If you plan to visit one of these repositories, contact the organization and ask for information about their collection, hours, services, and fees. When writing to an archive in Norway, you may write in English.

Although the records you need may be in an archive or library in Norway, the Family History Library and the Norwegian American Genealogical Center (NAGC) (see the "Societies" section) may have a microfilm copy of them. The Family History Library has copies of many records from Norwegian archives and libraries.

In Norway there are several major types of genealogical repositories:


 * National archives
 * Regional archives
 * Church parish offices
 * University and public libraries
 * Historical and genealogical societies

National Archives
The Norwegian government collects records relating to Norwegian history, culture, and people. Records of genealogical value at the national archives include census records, military records, and emigration lists. The National Archives of Norway is open to the public. You may purchase microfilms or request photocopies of the records by using forms obtained from the archives.

Riksarkivet (National Archive) Folke Bernadottes vei 21 Postboks 4013, Ullevål stadion 0862, Oslo Norway Phone: 47 22 02 26 00 Fax: 47 22 23 74 89 E-mail: [mailto:riksarkivet@arkivverket.no riksarkivet@arkivverket.no] Internet:http:www.riksarkivet.no

DIGITALARKIVET (The Digital Archives)
The digital Archives is a public service from the National Archives of Norway. Transcribed, indexed, and original records can be serached for free. http://digitalarkivet.uib.no

Regional Archives
In Norway there are nine regional archives. They serve as repositories for records of their particular areas. Records of genealogical value at regional archives include birth, marriage, and death records (church records); land records; and court records. The regional archives of Norway are open to the public. The regional archives may also have records on microfilm for areas that are not under their jurisdiction. The archives also have much of the printed genealogical material such as farm books (bygdebøker) that pertains to hte area they cover. Check what hours they are open before you visit. Hours of operation are usually shorter during the summer.

The regional archives for the various counties [fylker] are listed below.

For Østfold, Akershus, and Oslo counties (Fylker)
Statsarkivet i Oslo (State Archive in Oslo) Folke Bernadottes vei 21 Postboks 4013 Ullevål stadion 0862 Oslo Norway

Phone: 47 22 02 26 00 Fax: 47 22 23 74 89 http://www.riksarkivet.no/oslo/om.html

E-mail: [mailto:statsarkivet.oslo@arkivverket.no statsarkivet.oslo@arkivverket.no]

For Buskerud, Vestfold, and Telemark Counties (Fylker)
Statsarkivet i Kongsberg (State Archive in Kongsberg) Frogsvei 44 3611 Kongsberg Norway

Phone: 47 32 86 99 00 Fax: 47 32 86 99 10 http://www.riksarkivet.no/kongsberg/om.html

E-mail: [mailto:statsarkivet.kongsbert@arkivverket.no statsarkivet.kongsberg@arkivverket.no]

For Oppland and Hedemark counties (Fylker)
Statsarkivet i Hamar (State Archive in Hamar) Lille Strandgate 3

(Postboks 533) 2304 Hamar Norway

Phone: 47 62 55 54 40 Fax: 47 62 52 94 48 http://www.riksarkivet.no/hamar/om.html

E-mail: [mailto:statsarkivet.hamar@arkivverket.no statsarkivet.hamar@arkivverket.no]

For Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder counties (Fylker)
Statsarkivet i Kristiansand Märthas vei 1 4633 Kristiansand Norway

Phone: 47 38 14 55 00 Fax: 47 38 14 55 01 http://www.riksarkivet.no/kristiansand/om.html

E-mail: [mailto:statsarkivet.kristiansand@arkivverket.no statsarkivet.kristiansand@arkivverket.no]

For Rogaland County (Fylke)
Statsarkivet i Stavanger (State Archive in Stavanger) Bergjelandsgate 30 4012 Stavanger Norway

Phone: 47 51 50 12 60 Fax: 47 51 50 12 90 http://www.riksarkivet.no/stavanger/om.html

E-mail: [mailto:staatsarkivet.stavanger@arkivverket.no staatsarkivet.stavanger@arkivverket.no]

For Hordaland, Bergen, and Sogn og Fjordane counties (Fylker)
Statsarkivet i Bergen (State Archive in Bergen)

Årstadveien 22 5009 Bergen Norway

Phone: 47 55 96 58 00 Fax: 47 55 96 58 01 http://www.arkivverket.no/bergen/om.html

E-mail: [mailto:statsarkivet.bergen@arkivverket.no statsarkivet.bergen@arkivverket.no]

For Møre og Romsdal, Sør-Trøndelag, Nord-Trøndelag, and Nordland counties (fylker)
Statsarkivet i Trondheim (State Archive in Trondheim) Maskingata 1 7042 Trondheim Norway

Phone: 47 73 88 45 00 Fax: 47 73 88 45 40 http://www.riksarkivet.no/trondheim/om.html

E-mail: [mailto:statarkivet.trondheim@arkivverket.no statarkivet.trondheim@arkivverket.no]

For Troms and Finnmark counties (Fylker)
Statsarkivet i Tromsø (State Archive in Tromsø) Breivika 9293 Tromsø Norway

Phone: 47 77 64 72 00 Fax: 47 77 64 72 01 http://www.statsarkivet.no/tromso/om.html

E-mail: [mailto:statsarkivet.tromsø@arkivverket.no statsarkivet.tromsø@arkivverket.no]

Samisk Arkiv (The Sámi Archives)
Ájastealli 3 9520 Kautokeino Norway

Phone: 47 78 48 50 11 Fax: 47 78 64 48 50 42 E-mail: os@arkivverket.no

Archives in the United States
The archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has many of the Norwegian American Lutheran Church records on microfilm. For information about the Norwegian American Lutheran church records in the United States write to:


 * Archives ELCA

8765 West Higgins Road

Chicago, IL 60631

Visit by appointment only


 * ELCA Archives

321 Bonnie Lane

Elk Grove Village, IL 60007

Phone (847) 690-9502       E-mail:  [mailto:archives@elca.org archives@elca.org]       Hours of operationL  2:30-5:00 M-F

Church Parish Offices
Church records containing an entry dated less than 80 years ago are kept at the local parish office. All others are sent to the state archives for the area. It is possible to write to local parishes and do so in English. See also the "Church Records" section for more information.

Church records

Libraries in Norway
Some of the sources you will want to use are also available in major libraries in Norway and in the United States. Contact these libraries and ask about their collection, hours, and services. The Nasjonalbiblioteket is the largest library in Norway and its function is similar to that of The Library of Congress. By law they are to receive a copy of everything that is published in all media formats in Norway.

Nasjonalbiblioteket, avdeling Oslo*

Henrik Ibsens gate 110

0255, Oslo, Norway

Write to: Nasjonalbiblioteket

Postboks 2674, Solli

N-0203, Oslo, Norway

Phone: 47 81 00 13 00

Fax: 47 23 27 60 50

E-mail: [mailto:nb@nb.no nb@nb.no]

Internet: http://www.nb.no


 * National Library of Norway, Oslo Division

The main public libraries in Oslo and Bergen have large collections, and the collections of family histories, local histories, and biographical works are extensive.

Deickmanske Bibliotek

Arne Garborgs plass4

N-0179 Oslo Norway

Write to:

Deickmanske Bibliotek

Postboks 1453, Vika Oslo, Norway

Phone: 47 23 43 29 00

Fax; 47 22 11 33 89

E-mail: [mailto:deichman@deichman.no deichman@deichman.no]

Internet: http://www.deichmanske-bibliotek.oslo.kommune.no

Norsk Lokalhistorisk Institutt (Norwegian Local History Institute)

Observatoriegate1b

0254 Oslo, Norway

Write to: Postboks 8045

Dep., 0031, Oslo, Norway

Phone: 47 22 92 51 50

Fax: 47 22 92 51 30

E-mail: [mailto:nli@lokalhistorie.no nli@lokalhistorie.no]

Internet: http://www.lokalhistorie.no

Bergen Offentlige Bibliotek Strømgaten 6 5015 Bergen Norway Phone: 47 55 56 85 60 Fax: 47 55 56 85 70 http://www.bergen.folkebibl.no/

E-mail: [mailto:fido@bergen.folkebibl.no fido@bergen.folkebibl.no]

There are several libraries in Norway that have genealogical information that may be searched on the Internet at:

www.bibsyst.no/bibliofil/bibilitek.html Arkivnett Norge (Norway archives on the net) is another useful site: www.arkivnett.riksarkivet.no/

The Memorial Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has one of the largest collections of Norwegian local histories in the United States, and these histories contain much genealogical information. Dennis Auburn Hill has published a bibliography of their holdings:

Norwegian Local History: A Bibliography of the Material in the Collections of the Memorial Library (Jefferson, NC, USA: McFarland, 1989; FHL book 977.583/M1 A3hi;

Other libraries that have large collections of Norwegian local histories include: Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota—Grand Forks Mikkelsen Library, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota Rølvaag Library, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota Luther College, Decorah, Iowa Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota

Historical and Genealogical Societies
Norway has some organized historical and genealogical societies. Some maintain libraries or archives that collect valuable genealogical records. For more information, including addresses of some societies, see the "Societies" section.

Archives in the United States
The archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have microfilm copies of most of the Norwegian-American Lutheran church records. The copies can be loaned via the mail for a nominal fee. The ELCA is divided into nine regions. The regional archives may have additional information.

To contact staff with questions about he Norwegian Lutheran church records in the United States, go to: http://www.elca.org/ScriptLib/CO/Staff/Default.asp?app=staff&amp;page=2&amp;Unit=AR&amp;Firstname=&amp;Lastname=&amp;Title =

You may visit the ELCA archives in person by appointment only: ELCA Archives 321 Bonnie Lane Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 Phone: 1-847-690-9410 http://www.elca.org/archives/

Other records of Norwegians in America are kept at the National Archives. These include service and pension, naturalization, immigration, and homestead records. For information, write to:

The National Archives of the United States Washington, D.C. 20408 http://www.archives.gov/ Other United States records are kept on a state and county level.

Computer Networks and Bulletin Boards

Computers with modems can be useful tools for obtaining information from selected archives and libraries. In fact, computer networks themselves serve as libraries. The Internet, certain computer bulletin boards, and commercial online services help family history researchers:


 * Locate other researchers
 * Post queries
 * Send and receive e-mail
 * Search large databases
 * Search computer libraries
 * Join in computer chat and lecture sessions

You can use online services to find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Norway in many sources at local, provincial, national and international levels. The list of sources is growing rapidly. Most information is available at no cost.

Internet sites that include information about archives, censuses, church records, probate records, and military records are found in various sections of this outline. Some sites that act as an index to many useful Norwegian genealogical sites include:

National Archive in Norway (Riksarkivet): www.riksarkiveet.no Digital Archive: www.hist.uib.no/arkivverket GenWeb: www.rootsweb.com/~wgnorway Family History Department www.familysearch.org/ Nordicnotes: www.nordicnotes.com

Inventories, Registers, Catalogs
Some archives have catalogs, inventories, guides, or periodicals that describe their records and how to use them. Write to each archive you are interested in for a guide to its collection. If one is available, study it before you visit or use the records during your visit so you can use your time more effectively. Some guides are listed in the Family History Library Catalog under the Place search with the heading ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES and the subheading INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, AND CATALOGS.


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