Archival institutions in Norway

I often receive questions from readers about archival institutions in Norway. Here is an attempt to make a list as a starting point.

Archival institutions in Norway provide access to historical records. They help with personal documentation and rights, preserve cultural heritage, and support democratic processes and the rule of law. They can be used for genealogical research through records like census and church registers, for personal documentation like birth certificates and marriage certificates, and for academic or general historical research into topics ranging from court records to folklore. 

Archives within Arkivverket

The National Archives is responsible for the archives of the central government administration. This relates to ministries, directorates,  and the Supreme Court.

The State Archives holds archives from local and eight regional state authorities as well as private archives from companies, organizations, institutions, and individuals. The State Archives is part of the Archives Administration. It consists of the National Archives, the state archives, the Sami Archives, and the Norwegian Health Archives.

The Digital Archive is the common entrance to computer-registered archival material in the National Archives and the state archives.

The National Library maintains archives from private institutions, companies, and associations within Norwegian cultural life and academia. They have collections for archives within music and film documentation, in addition to photo archives and war prints.

Independent archives

Aust-Agder Archives is a regional archive for the municipal archives in Aust-Agder.

Bergen City Archives is Bergen Municipality’s archival institution and archival authority.

Buskerud, Telemark, and Vestfold is a joint intermunicipal archive for the counties and municipalities of Buskerud, Telemark, and Vestfold under the name IKA Kongsberg.

The Oppland Archives is situated at the Maihaugen folk museum.

Oslo City Archives  – the municipal archives for Oslo.

Sogn og Fjordane County Archives  is archives for the county and municipalities in Sogn og Fjordane.

Vest-Agder Archive  – regional joint archive for municipalities in Vest-Agder

Norway has a wide range of smaller archives that preserve local, specialized, and private historical materials. These include municipal archives, local history collections, museum archives, and private or organizational archives.  Many of these institutions focus on preserving documents that reflect everyday life—letters, diaries, photographs, and administrative papers that may not be found in the larger state archives. These archives often limit their collections to material from the area where the museum is located. Many of the museum are presented at the Museumsnett website.

How do we contact these institutions and what kind of help can we ask for?

Many of the larger institutions have contact pages with information about how to contact them and also what they can do for you. The smaller institutions does not always have this. My best advice then is to just send them an email or a letter and ask. It may take some time before you hear from them as many institutions are understaffed and overworked. The may not be able to help you with your request, but at least you tried.

If you have experiences from contacting archival institutions in Norway it would be great if you would share them.

This list is by no means exhaustive. If you know of archival institutions that was useful in your research and not covered here, please tell us.

Finally, internet links are such a fleeting thing. If any of these links appears to be broken, send me a word and I’ll try to fix it.

You can comment below or send me an email through the contact page.