Bygdebøker Available Online (Outside the National Library)

This is a curated list of Norwegian bygdebøker (local history and genealogy books)
that are freely available online outside the National Library of Norway (Nasjonalbiblioteket).As some of you will know, the Norwegian National Library’s collection is accessible only from a Norwegian IP address.

The titles collected here are hosted by local municipalities, historical societies, or open repositories. All links go directly to non-NB sources.

Finding bygdebøker online can be a bit like genealogy itself — sometimes straightforward, often a treasure hunt. Websites move, municipal pages get reorganized, and what’s available one year can disappear the next. I do my best to keep this list current, but the internet is a fleeting place, and some links may change or go offline over time. If you come across a broken link or a new find, please let me know so we can keep these resources accessible for everyone.

Some of these links will lead you directly to a pdf file that you can either read online or download. Other links brings you to a landingpage in Norwegian. You may need to use your browser’s translate function to navigate from the landingspage.

You may want to read my article What is a bygdebok.

Last updated: November 28. 2025 

Akershus county

• Frogn bygdebok

Buskerud

• Hole bygdebok (bind 1–5) –
  Five-volume PDF series covering farms, families, and settlement history in Hole, hosted independently on a local server.
• Ål bygdebok

Hedmark

• Index to the following books:
  • Brøttum bygdebok
  • Veldre bygdebok
  • Furnes bygdebok
  • Nes bygdebok
  • Vangsboka
  • Stange bygdebok
  • Romedalsboka
  • Løtenboka

   

Hordaland

• Alphabetical list of farms in Vaksdal municipality .No. 1 – 80.
• Bergsdalen .
  A mountain village in Hordaland. Bergsdalen Agricultural Society (1978).
• Evangerboka volume I .
  Farms and genealogy. Voss Bygdeboknemnd (1982).
  This includes the farms from Eksingedalen that were transferred from Evanger to Vaksdal municipality in 1964.
  The farms are: Fosse, Bindingbø, Bergo, Nesheim, Brakestad, Trefall, Ekse and Gullbrå.
• Modalsboka volume I. Village book for Modalen district. Modalen sogelag (1976).
  All the farms in Modalen district are included here, as well as the farms that were transferred to Vaksdal municipality in 1964.
  The farms are: Høvik, Vetlejord, Nese, Flatekvål, Lavik, Lavikhaugen, Fjellanger
  and Yksendal.
• Vaksdal bygdebok band I .
  Bruvik soknet. Gards and family history. Vaksdal bygdeboknemnd (1981).
  During the regulation of the municipal boundaries in 1964, 11 farms from Bruvik parish were transferred to the newly created Osterøy municipality. In accordance with plans from 1955 it was agreed to include these in the Vaksdal Village Book.
  The gardens are: Stokke, Vik, Skaftå, Hekland, Ytre Bruvik, Kyrkje Bruvik and Seilæ, Indre-Bruvik, Olsnes, Kyrkjeteigen, Løtveit and Vassdal.
• Vaksdal village book volume II .
  Dale parish. Farm and family history. Vaksdal village book committee (1974).
• Vaksdal village book volume III .
  Stamnes parish. Farm and family history. Vaksdal village book committee (1965).
• Alphabetical list of farms in Vaksdal municipality . No. 1 – 80.

Møre og Romsdal

• Several books at Romsdal sogelag (hist. soc.) website.
• Sykkylven

Nordland

• Brønnøy bygdebok – “Brønnøy slekt 2023 (bd. 1–5)” –
  Downloadable genealogy PDFs hosted by Brønnøy kommune, covering families and farms.
• Hemnes Gård og Slekt
• Sømna bygdebok – “Sømna slekt 2019” –
  Municipal genealogy resource with downloadable PDF available directly from Sømna kommune.
• Sømna bygdebok – “Sømna skifter 2019” –
  Companion volume to the Sømna bygdebok listing probate abstracts (skifter), also available as open PDF.
• Vestvågøy – Buksnes og Hol

Telemark

• Eidangerslekt (nettbasert bygdebok for Eidanger) –
  Searchable online bygdebok including Østre Porsgrunn and Brevik families, maintained by Eidangerslekt.no.
• Gamle Gjerpen –
  A comprehensive online bygdebok with detailed gårds- and slektshistorie, along with transcribed parish records.
• Gamle Holla – nettbygdebok for Holla prestegjeld –
  Web-based bygdebok for Holla, covering farms, cotter places, and industrial families. Curated by Holla Historielag.
• Gamle Valebø –
  Online bygdebok for Valebø (Skien) with ownership, family lineages, and historical data.
• Historical material from Skien Bygdebøker and historical articles
• Kvitseid ættesoge
• Kvitseid gardssoga
• Mo bygdebok
• Valebø bygdebok

Trøndelag

• Selbuboka – “Selbu i fortid og nåtid” –
  Official web edition of the Selbu bygdebok; fully searchable and exportable by farm or volume. The site is in Norwegian.
• Tydalsboka
• Verdalsboka

Troms

• Karlsøy og Helgøy bygdebok –
  Digitised full text of H.D. Bratrein’s work, available via Internet Archive.

Valdres / Oppland

• Valdres bygdebok (Sør-Aurdal / Valdres region) –
  Digitised regional bygdebok available on Internet Archive, accessible worldwide.

Vestfold

• Andebu
• Nøtterøy
• Sandherred
• Sem og Slagen
• Stokke

Østfold

• Rømskog bygdebok (bind 1–3) –
  Settlement and local history volumes hosted directly on Aurskog-Høland kommune’s website.

If you know of other bygdebøker freely available outside the National Library’s website, please contact me so I can update this list.
Your contributions help make Norwegian genealogy more accessible to researchers everywhere.

Sources: Municipal archives, local history societies, Internet Archive, and reader submissions.