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/].

''Please note that you might not be able to view records using Google Chrome browser. Use another browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox.''

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/].

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.

Announcements
'''On 19. February 2013, a new version of the website will be released. You will still find the website at www.sa.dk/ao. It was first announced that Java would not be necessary to use the new version of the website; however, it will not be until later this spring that the use of Java with the website will be removed.'''

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). To access the church records, follow these 5 simple steps:

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

3. Click on "Søg i kirkebøger" (Translation: Search in the churchbooks). 4. Choose the desired "Amt" (Translation: County) from the drop down menu. 5. Choose the desired "Sogn" (Translation: 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" (Translation: 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 table's 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 image file. 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,
 * Moving ins and outs
 * deaths,
 * and finally the general index.

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 first for the entire time period indicated, then the females will be listed.

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:

To access the census records, follow these 7 simple steps:


 * 1) Go to the homepage at: [http://www.sa.dk].
 * 2) Click on "Folketællinger" (Translation: Censuses).
 * 3) Click on "Søg i Folketællinger" (Translation: Search in the censuses).
 * 4) Choose the year of census (Vælg årgang) from the drop down menu.
 * 5) Choose the location type (Vælg Stedbetegnelse) from the drop down menu.


 * Etaten - Service (Military)
 * København - Copenhagen
 * Købstad - Cities
 * Landsogn - Rural Parishes

6. Choose the jurisdictions you wish to search. Here are some translations to help in choosing the jursidiction:

7. After you have chosen the jurisdictions, click on the button "Hent Oplysninger" (Translation: retreive the information).

Searching the Images
Once you click on "Hent Oplysninger," in step 7, you will see a notice that Java is running (you might have to click "run" for it to open).

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.

Accessing the Digitized Probate Records
Another great digitized record type on the website are probate records. As of right now (Feb 2013), only probate records for the island of Sjælland are available along with the city of Copenhagen. To access the probate records, follow these 5 simple steps:


 * 1) Go to the homepage at: [http://www.sa.dk/ao/].
 * 2) Click on either "Skiftearkivalier" (Translation: probate records) or "Københavnske skiftearkivalier" (Translation: Copenhagen Probates).
 * 3) Choose the desired "Amt" (Translation: County) from the drop down menu.
 * 4) Choose the desired "Type" (Translation: Court district type. For example, county court, manor court, city sheriff's court, military court, etc.) from the drop down menu.
 * 5) Choose the desired "Embede" (Translation: probate court) from the drop down menu. For the Copenhagen probate records, you will only need to choose the "Embede" and the "Navn" (name of the record)
 * 6) After choosing the probate court you will see a table listing the available records with the associated span of years for the desired court. A tabel will appear below the drop down boxes. The headings listed are as follows:

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.

Accessing the Digitized Civil Records
civil marriages

Accessing the Digitized Fire Insurance Records
fire insurance

Accessing the Digitized Court Records
court records

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.