Digitized Danish Records Online - Arkivalieronline

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About
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. The images have been scanned from microfilm and microfiche sources. The digital images are available for free through Arkivalieronline on the internet at: [http://www.sa.dk/ao/].

The project leaders decided to scan all the church records up to 1892. They also 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.

Register to use the site
You must be a registered user to access the digital images. Start by clicking on “Ny Bruger” (New User) found within the Login window. This takes you to a screen in Statens Arkiver. As a minimum fill in the fields with the red diamonds by them. Here’s a translation of the field headings:


 * E-Mail — Your e-mail address
 * Adgangskode — Password, Mindst 4 tegn — at least 4 characters
 * Gentag adgagskode: — Repeat password
 * Navn — Name
 * Adresse — Street Address
 * Postnr. — Zip Code
 * By — City
 * Land — Country

After filling in all the fields click on Opret ny bruger (Register new user). After clicking on Opret ny bruger, you get a message which confirms you are registered. It also states that your password will be sent to the e-mail address you provided so that your account can be activated by clicking on the upper link in the email. Your e-mail address becomes your username and you use the password you created. Be aware that the password is case sensitive, and must be typed in exactly as you created it. Pay attention to the lower case l as opposed to the number 1, the 0 or the capital O and so on.

Sign in and use the site.
1. Go to the homepage at: [http://www.sa.dk/ao/]. Type in your E-mail address (which is your username), followed by the Password (created by use at time of registering). 2. Click on “Login”. Your screen will blink one time as it logs in. You will see the exact same homepage except for a message in red found in the Login window. The message says: You are logged in as (showing your e-mail address). 3. Click on "Kirkebøger" (Churchbooks).

4. Click on "Søg i kirkebøger" (Search in the churchbooks). 5. Choose the desired "Amt" (County) from the drop down menu. 6. Choose the "Sogn" (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 (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 column headings are: • Sogn – Parish • Herred – District • Amt – County • Tekt – Text • Fra – Beginning • Til – Ending

Searching the Images
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). 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, and log off from the home page.

Tips

 * You can download digital images for the parish you are working in by using a program called AO Værktøj. This is available through Utilis.dk
 * There are very detailed instructions (in english) for using Arkivalieronline at: Utilis.dk
 * High speed internet is recommended for optimum performance.
 * You may run into problems with the viewer depending on your operating system.
 * They do not enhance the digital images from the microfilm. If the microfilming was poor, it carries over to the digital image.
 * To learn more about the Danish Parishes see article: Denmark: The Parish (Sogn)