Bornholm County, Denmark Genealogy

Guide to Bornholm ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
Some scholars believe that the Burgundian tribe was from Bornholm. The Burgundians were Germanic people who moved west during the 3rd century and settled Burgundy in France.

In May 1618 the plague was brought from Riga to Bornholm. 5,185 people died.

Swedish forces conquered the island in 1645, but returned the island to Denmark in the following peace settlement.

In 1654 the plague again hit Bornholm. 4,569 people died out of the island's total 13,000 inhabitants. Some of the towns had their populations reduced to as 60 people.

After the war in 1658, Denmark ceded the island to Sweden under the Treaty of Roskilde. The people of Bornholm rebelled and it was returned to Denmark shortly afterwards.

Bornholm, as a part of Denmark, was captured by Germany on 10 April 1940, and served as a lookout post and listening station during the war, as it was a part of the Eastern Front. During the Soviet bombing of the two main towns on the 7th and 8th of May, Danish radio was not allowed to broadcast the news because it was thought it would spoil the liberation festivities in Denmark. 

How to Find Birth, Marriage, and Death Information
Instructions for finding records are found on the individual parish pages, linked to the clickable map and parish list below.

Districts

 * Nørre Herred
 * Sønder Herred
 * Vester Herred
 * Øster Herred

Parishes
Click here for a color-blind friendly version of this map.

The map below is based on 1880 county/parish boundaries.

Church Records

 * kirkebog.dk - Bornholm church records index before 1814
 * 1484-1941 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Estates

 * Bornholms Amtstuedistrikts gods

Census Records

 * 1771 Oeders Efterretninger 1771 at ddd.dda.dk - data of of married couples, widowers and widows for Zealand, Amager, Møn and Bornholm
 * 1834 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images
 * 1835 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1840 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1845 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1850 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1855 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1860 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1870 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1890 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1901 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1906 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1911 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1916 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1921 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1925 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1930 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Military

 * 1789-1792 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images

Probates

 * 1674-1851 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1845 - Bornholmske Skifter føre 1845 - probate transcriptions from 1761-1845

Court
This table lists records available from one or more courts (birk) in the county. The description in the Protokol column is from the FamilySearch Library Catalog note, and may not always be the same as the description given by the National Archives of Denmark. At present these films have not been digitized by FamilySearch, but many are available through the National Archive's ArkivalierOnline site. Links in the Rigsarkivet column will open a new window where you can view the images. The link in the Daisy column will open a new window where you can see the National Archives's holdings for the court.

Hammershus birk was also known as Sandvig og Allinge Birker.

Archives, Societies, and Libraries
Bornholms Ø-Arkiv Address: Pingels Alle 1 3700 Rønne Bornholm, Denmark Telephone: +45 56 92 10 11 Email: arkiv@brk.dk Website For more archives and museums, etc. see bornholmerneshistorie.dk

Bornholm Research Tools

 * bornholmere.dk - online index of vital dates, 1795-1940 (database completeness is unknown)
 * BSLF (Bornholm Genealogy and Local History Society) - contains information on parishes, herreds, and word list
 * Bornholm Stamtavle - index of Bornholm names with 62,000+ members of a family tree from the island