Digitized Danish Records Online - Arkivalieronline

Denmark Digitized Danish Records Online

= About the Website =

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. Today, a variety of other records can be found on the website including probate records, civil marriages, fire insurance, and court records.The images have been scanned from microfilm, microfiche, and original sources. The digital images are available for free through Arkivalieronline on the internet at: [http://www.sa.dk/ao/].

Accessing the Digitized Church Records
Some of the first records to be digitized on the website are the Lutheran church records. Each parish has records digitzed from the earliest records up to the 20th century (dates vary depending on the parish).

Upload the following PDF for an English guide of how to access the church records on the website:

Accessing the Digitized Census Records
Along with the church records, the National Census records were also some of the first Danish records to be digitized. The following census years are available through Arkivalieronline:

Upload the following PDF for an English guide of how to access the census records on the website:

Accessing the Digitized Probate Records
Another great digitized record type on the website are probate records. As of right now (Jul 2013), only probate records for the islands of Sjælland and Bornholm are available, along with the city of Copenhagen.

Upload the following PDF for an English guide of how to access the probate records on the website:

Accessing the Digitized Civil Records
On Arkivalieronline, the civil marriages of Copenhagen are available. They cover the years 1923-1961. There are two sections of the marriage records - the register to the marriages (Register til ægteskabsbog) and the actual marriage records (Ægteskabsbog).

Upload the following PDF for an English guide of how to access the civil records on the website:

Accessing the Digitized Fire Insurance Records
Fire insurance records are a special record type that can be very useful when researching ancestors in the larger cities of Denmark. The fire insurance records are available from 1731 to 1872. Depending on the city, there are some areas that have records up to the 1920s.

Upload the following PDF for an English guide of how to access the fire insurance records on the website:

Accessing the Digitized Court Records
More and more court records are becoming available online. On Arkivalieronline, the court records for Copenhagen, and certain regions of Denmark, are available on Arkivalieronline. It is important to note that the regional court records are only court records concerning property.

To access the Copenhagen court records, follow these 7 simple steps:


 * 1) Go to the homepage at: [http://www.sa.dk/ao/].
 * 2) Click on "Andre Arkivalier" (Translation: Other records)
 * 3) Click on "Københavns Overpræsidium" (Translation: Copenhagen's Top Bureau).
 * 4) Choose the "Journal Type" (Translation: Journal Type/Series) from the drop down menu.
 * 5) Choose the desired years you wish to search: "Fra" (Translation: from) and "Til" (Translation: to) from the drop down menu.
 * 6) Click on the button, "Hent oplysninger" (Translation: Get the records)
 * 7) After Clicking on "Hent oplysninger," a table with the years you requested will appear. Finally, choose the records you wish to start with.

To access the Regional Court records, follow these 6 simple steps:


 * 1) Go to the homepage at: [http://www.sa.dk/ao/].
 * 2) Click on "Andre Arkivalier"
 * 3) Click on "Tingbøger" (Translation: Court books)
 * 4) Choose the desired "Region" from the drop down menu.
 * 5) Choose the desired "Retskreds" (Translation: court district)
 * 6) Choose the desired "Ejerlav" (Translation: owner's district), then the records you wish to search.

Searching the Images

1. Click on the “Vælg” button 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.

Tips

 * 1) You can save and print the digital images simply by first pushing the 'Save Image' button in the top lefthand corner of the screen, then opening the image in your image viewer (Microsoft Image viewer, IfranView, etc.), and finally pushing print. It is adviseable to save the images as '.tif' files.
 * 2) There are very detailed instructions (in english) for using Arkivalieronline at: Utilis.dk
 * 3) High speed internet is recommended for optimum performance.
 * 4) You may run into problems with the viewer depending on your operating system.
 * 5) They do not enhance the digital images from the microfilm. If the microfilming was poor, it carries over to the digital image.