The Danish State Archives Filming Centre digitises parish registers and population censuses in order to make them accessible via the internet. The digitisation project is primarily accomplished through scanning of microfiches and microfilms. There is no fixed timetable for the launch of each parish register and population census on the internet, as this is a successive process.

The parish registers and population censuses will be displayed as pictures of the original records. The pictures show that many records are marked by poor storage conditions, poor ink quality and general wear and tear - a state of affairs that is irremediable. No registers have been compiled in which to search for personal names, occupations, addresses etc.

Parish registers
All Danish parish registers older than 1892 are included in the digitisation project. Parish registers finished before 1925-1930 have also been launched and within the next years  parish registers finished before 1950 will be available on the internet.

Population censuses
The following population censuses will become accessible via the internet.

Other population censuses are not included in the project. It should be noted that only population censuses taken in the Kingdom of Denmark will be made available on: www.arkivalieronline.dk.

How do I proceed?
Accessing www.arkivalieronline.dk is free of charge, and so are user registration and searches in the archival material.

On registration, which is effected via the field Brugerprofil (User Profile) on the first page of www.arkivalieronline.dk, you may search in and use the archival material for as long as you like. Click on Søg i kirkebøger (Search in parish registers) or Søg i folketælling (Search in population census) and enter the relevant place names.

You may print out any pages of interest, and you may download pages in the hours between midnight and 9.00 a.m. (between 11.00 p.m. and 8.00 a.m. GMT). These restrictions are necessary in order to prevent downloading of entire parish registers and the consequent delay imposed on other users.

You open the pages of a parish register or a population census in the same browser window. You browse back and forth through the pages by means of the arrow keys. You may also zoom in and out and make print-outs.

The browser program uses Macromedia Flash technology, so you have to install Macromedia Flash Player in order to view the scanned pages. Macromedia Flash Player is installed automatically the first time you use the new browser program. If the installation fails, the program can be downloaded from the producer’s homepage.

The scanned files are all in TIFF FAX GRP 4 and have all been scanned in black-and-white from microfilms or microfiches. This format was chosen for the speed with which it appears on the screen. The picture quality depends on several factors: the quality of the film, the scan, your screen and its definition, and finally the physical state of the archival material, as mentioned above.

If you encounter difficulties when using the parish registers, or if you wish to propose amendments or to comment, you are welcome to send an e-mail to: Arkivalieronline@saf.sa.dk

Definitions of some the most important Danish words and terms used at www.arkivalieronline.dk

Brugerprofil	User profile
Søg i kirkebøger	Search in parish registers
Søg i folketællinger	Search in population censuses
Vælg årgang	Select year
Hent oplysninger	Download information
Etaterne Hofetaten Militæretaterne: landetaten og søetaten	Government services The Royal Household The Armed Forces: the army and the navy
Kvarter	Town quarter
Købstad	Town
Amt	County
Herred	District (formerly: a judicial district)
Sogn/Landsogn	Parish/rural parish