Pantebøker
In order to find information about our ancestors, we have to make use of various archives. Here you can find some information about Norwegian archives and privacy legislation.
Av

The Digital Archives

All the digitized records from the National Archives of Norway are to be found on the website “Digitalarkivet” (the Digital Archives).

All records, such as parish records, censuses and probate records, from the National Archive of Norway and the various regional archives, which have been digitized, are made available to the public via the Digital Archives https://www.digitalarkivet.no. This is only an online archive, and there is therefore no actual address or reading room such as the other archives have.

The Digital Inn (Digitalpensjonatet)

The “Digital Inn” contains a collection of digital records which have been donated by non-archival institutions, societies or individuals. Some of these databases contain scanned images, some are indexed and searchable by name and other criteria, and some are direct transcriptions of original documents. These records are published via the Digital Archives just as their own records are, but The National Archives do not own the copyright and may not re-distribute them.

The National Library of Norway

The National Library of Norway makes it possible for you to search in a vast collection of Norwegian newspapers, magazines, books and other publications. 

A collection which is both fun and simple to use is that of the National Library of Norway. There you’ll find millions of books, newspapers, tv and radio recordings, and information which is not available from parish records or censuses.

Records for posterity

According to law, copies of all kinds of publication in Norway must be deposited with the National Library. This is called legal deposit, and includes all formats, such as books, magazines, newspapers, digital documents, films, videos, photographs, maps, broadcasting items, audiobooks, music and sheet music, postcards, posters, leaflets and theatre manuscripts. These are preserved for posterity.

All these records are made available to the public in the library reading rooms in Oslo. Village histories (known to Americans of Norwegian descent as bygdebooks) and newspapers are of special interest to those researching their family history.

Search their databases from your own living room

You may also search their digitized collections online from the National Library website www.nb.no . Access to some records is restricted, especially newer items, but more are available from computers in Norwegian libraries, which have extended rights of access.

What you may find in the various archives

The National Archives Services of Norway (Arkivverket)

The National Archives Services of Norway comprise the National Archive in Oslo, the regional archives, the Sami Archive, the archive of the Health Services of Norway and the Digital Archives. The main responsibility of The National Archives Services of Norway is safeguarding government records, making them available for use, supervising state, county and municipal archives and contributing to the preservation of private archives.

The National Archive in Oslo (Riksarkivet)

The National Archive in Oslo is the repository of all records from government departments and agencies, and the Supreme Court of Norway. The Archive is situated at Sognsvann in Oslo, and has a reading room open to the public. Records should be reserved online before visiting.

The Regional Archives (Statsarkivene)

There are regional archives in Oslo, Kongsberg, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsø and Hamar. These archives have reading rooms where visitors can browse through records.

The regional archives contain records from regional and local authorities, such as county governors, bishops/priests, bailiffs, magistrates, sheriffs, taxation authorities, customs officials, harbor officials and conciliation boards. Examples of what you can find there are church records, probate records, property and mortgage registers, fire assessment registers, and private archives of interest to genealogists.

  • The Regional Archive in Oslo is the repository for Oslo and the counties of Østfold and Akershus. This regional archive is to be found in the same building as the National Archive at Sognsvann in Oslo.
  • The Regional Archive in Kongsberg is the repository for Buskerud, Vestfold and Telemark.
  • The Regional Archive in Kristiansand is the repository for Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder.
  • The Regional Archive in Stavanger is the repository for Rogaland.
  • The Regional Archive in Bergen is the repository for national institutions in the counties of Hordaland and Sogn and Fjordane.
  • The Regional Archive in Trondheim is the repository for Møre and Romsdal, South-Trøndelag, North-Trøndelag and Nordland.
  • The Regional Archive in Tromsø is the repository for Troms, Finnmark and Svalbard.
  • The Regional Archive in Hamar is the repository for Hedmark and Oppland.

The Digital Archives

The Digital Archives comprise digitized records from the various regional archives, such as parish records, censuses and probate records. This is an online only collection, and the Digital Archives have no address or reading room like the other archives.

NB. There is another online collection of Norwegian records at The Norwegian Historical Data Centre, known as Registreringssentralen for historiske data in Norwegian, and usually shortened to RHD. The search technique is slightly different than in the Digital Archives, which may result in you finding matches there which you couldn’t find in the Digital Archives, and vice versa, even though the original record may be the same. See more about RHD further down this page.

The Digital Inn (Digitalpensjonatet)

The “Digital Inn” contains a collection of digital records which have been donated by non-archival institutions, societies or individuals. Some of these databases contain scanned images, some are indexed and searchable by name and other criteria, and some are direct transcriptions of original documents. These records are published via the Digital Archives just as their own records are, but the records are only on loan to them, so The National Archives do not own the copyright, and may not re-distribute them.

The archive of the National Health and Care Services of Norway

This archive contains medical records from the country’s health services. The aim of the archive is to make its health information accessible to researchers and next of kin in accordance with privacy restrictions which are laid down by law. This is done by digitizing patient journals on paper. With a few exceptions only, the original records will be destroyed afterwards. Those which are to be kept will be deposited in a mountain vault with the National Library of Norway in Mo i Rana. The plan is to move this archive to Tynset, and building will commence there in 2017.

The Sami Archive

This archive contains records pertaining to Sami culture and history, and comprises records from organizations, societies and individuals, as well as some public records and research material. The Sami Archive is situated in Kautokeino, and has a reading room for visitors.

County archives

There are county or district archives in Oppland, Sogn and Fjordane, Nordland, Hordland, Vestfold and Aust-Agder. They contain records from the respective county councils.

Municipal archives

Municipal archives are repositories for town and city councils from the 1700s up to the present time. The local authorities have been responsible for, amongst other things, schools and health care in their judicial districts, and in their collections we can find a lot of interesting information about individuals. We have both municipal and inter-municipal archives. The latter contain records from several towns.

Inter-municipal archives

Inter-municipal archives are independent companies which perform archival services for their owners, the respective municipal authorities. These are called Interkommunale arkiver in Norwegian, and usually abbreviated to IKA, followed by the name of the respective district, for example: IKA Rogaland, IKA Vest-Agder. These companies are organized according to provisions laid down by law.

  • IKA Kongsberg is owned by municipal and county authorities in Buskerud, Vestfold and Telemark.
  • IKA Østfold has 17 owners in the county of Østfold and is situated in Sarpsborg.
  • IKA Vest-Agder (IKAVA) is an independent inter-municipal archive for Vest-Agder county council and municipalities in Vest-Agder. IKAVA is situated in the same building complex as the Regional Archive in Kristiansand.
  • Aust-Agder museum and archive IKS avd KUBEN (previously Aust-Agder historical and cultural centre) is an inter-municipal company owned by the County Council of Aust-Agder and its 15 municipal councils.
  • IKA Rogaland is an inter-municipal company owned by 24 municipalities in Rogaland district, and four inter-municipal cooperations (IKS), and is situated in the same building as the Regional Archive in Stavanger.
  • IKA Hordaland is owned by 32 municipalities in Hordaland and is situated in Bergen.
  • IKA Opplandene. The Oppland county archive is the repository for the County Council and IKA Opplandene which comprises 41 municipalities in the counties of Hedmark and Oppland.
  • IKA Møre og Romsdal is owned by the county council and all the municipalities in the county.
  • IKA Trøndelag is an inter-municipal archive with 42 owners in two counties, the repective two county councils and 40 municipalities. In addition to the counties of North and South Trøndelag, Os municipality in Hedmark county is a member.
  • The Nordland Archive (AiN) has county records, and IKAN (the inter-municipality archival cooperation) is the repository for most municipalities in Nordland county.
  • IKA Tromsø (IKAT) is an inter-municipal company shared by 23 municipalities in  Troms. IKAT is situated beside the Regional Archive in Tromsø.
  • IKA Finnmark serves municipalities in Finnmark.
  • Byarkivet i Oslo. The Oslo City Archive.
  • Folloarkivet  (the Follo Archive) is an inter-municipal archive for the municipalitites of Frogn and Oppegård.

The city archives

  • The Bergen City Archive is the repository for the local council, companies, organizations and individuals in Bergen.
  • Drammen City Archive
  • Fredrikstad City Archive
  • Oslo City Archive
  • Trondheim City Archive and the DORA library (university archive)
  • Stavanger City Archive

Photographic archives

Other archives

  • Stortingsarkivet The parliamentary archive is the repository for the constitutional and administrative work of the government of Norway from 1814 up to the present.
  • The Norwegian Labour Movement Archives and Library (Arbark) is the oldest existing cultural institution of the Labour movement in Norway. Arbark’s most important function is to preserve the rich cultural inheritance of the Labour movement for posterity and make this known to future generations.

Private archives

Private archives embrace archives from individual citizens, industries, companies, non-public organizations, foundations and societies, and any private enterprise with records of historical interest. You may find anything from the story of large industrial concerns to information about individual employees. These archives are deposited in the Regional Archives, The National Archive of Norway or the National Library of Norway.

NB. Not all non-public organizations and companies choose to deposit their archives, as they are not legally obliged to do so, as opposed to public authorities. So historical archives produced in the private sector, such as those belonging to organizations, companies, institutions and individual citizens, are not always preserved in public archives. The Archives Act emphasizes that the objective for archival policies is a comprehensive documentation of Norwegian society. Archives from state, municipal and private sectors complement each other, and show different aspects of society. The National Archive of Norway is presently working on a proposition for archival strategy which will ensure that records from the private sector will be preserved.  

Arkivportalen.no

Arkivportalen.no (The Archive gateway) is an online catalogue where one can search for archival records from all the public archives in Norway. Here you can find information on which historical records and documents are available, and where they are kept. Then you can book the document of interest and peruse it in the reading room of the respective archive facility.

The objective of arkivportalen.no is that users will find a comprehensive catalogue for all Norwegian archives in one place. This will make it easier for the public to make use of records in national, local and private archives. And as the process of digitization continues, users will gradually be able to find links to the actual records from the online catalogue.

The Norwegian Historical Data Centre

NHDC, known as Registreringssentralen for historiske data or RHD in Norwegian. NHDC is a national institution located at the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Tromsø (The Arctic University of Norway).

The Norwegian Historical Data Centre is not an archive as such, but a website publishing digitized historical records. Their objective is to make historical documents, such as censuses and parish records, more easily accessible to researchers and the public by transcribing and publishing their original content online. Their efforts have been focused on transcribing censuses for the years 1865, 1875, 1891, 1900 and 1910, as well as parish records from some areas from the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, they have a transcribed index of probate records from the Regional Archives in Oslo and Kongsberg, and land records from the year 1866 are available online here for the whole country.

How to access archive source documents which are not digitized

On the Arkivportalen website <arkivportalen.no>, you may search in the catalogues for the various archives collectively or separately. From the website it’s possible to reserve documents which can be perused in the reading room of the respective repository. If you live far from the archive and wish to have a copy of the document sent to you, the Archive Gateway will be able to inform you which archives offer this service.

Source: https://arkivverket.no/arkivverket/Arkivverket

 

På