Nordic Genealogical Society of Southern California

MAPS of Norway for Genealogical Research
See also Scandinavian History page

01. Norgeskart.no - detailed Topographical Map of Norway with County and Parish Boundaries plus Farm Names in the close-up views (zoom in & out, plus mouse hold-down moveablility) - a GREAT MAP for researchers!!!

02. Interactive Map of Norway in which you can hone in on County, Municipality, Parish, and even Farm Names. Boundaries are shown.

03. Map of Norway at Google Norway - will give you a "suggested" list of locations which helps with Norwegian letters and spelling variations. Note: You can look up location and images for many FARMS if you know the Parish and County names if the farm name is still in use.

04. Useful Maps at FamilySearch.org:

Norway Maps webpage in FamilySearch Wiki with county maps of Norway showing locations of parishes.

Parish, Taxation, and other maps for a county are shown in the FamilySearch Wiki pages for the various counties of Norway.

Hover here for usage example For example, go to the FamilySearch Wiki Main Page and type in Rogaland County, Norway in the search box to view the Rogaland County FamilySearch Wiki page. Note the "Taxation Map" at the bottom of the webpage.)

05. Historical Maps of Norway at Kartverk from Norwegian Mapping Authority - Free downloadable printable Historical Maps of Norway, including County Maps. (See the following for translated version of main page.)

Hover here for suggested usage instructions Do NOT use English language link on top of page for English language as it currently eliminates most choices.

Above Free Maps of Norway as translated by Google - Google's English translation of the above page.

Hover here for suggested usage instructions HOWEVER, you will need to use the original Norwegian version above to use links to navigate the website or do searches. (Try using 2 or more browser windows, 1 for each translated page plus one with the original page, to help with exploring and navigating this website.)

06. Old Maps Online Interesting collection of historical maps, including many for Scandinavian countries searchable by country, date range, and even many counties or large towns.

HOME Meetings &
Nordic Events
Scandinavian
Culture
Scandinavian,
Viking & Pre-Viking
History
Viking & Pr-Viking
Culture
Scandinavian
Immigration
& DNA Studies
Norway Sweden Finland Denmark Iceland


SOURCES and GUIDES for Norwegian Genealogical Research

01. The National Archives of Norway - includes Parish Registers, Censuses, Probate Records, and Court Records - many FREE online!

Digital Archive Holdings:

Digital Archives Main Page (for an overview of their holdings).

Digitised Parish Registers online scanned copies of actual parish register pages.
Note: for a list of old county names (before 1918) and their new names, see Map of Counties of Norway with a Listing of Old Counties and their New Names (after names were changed in 1918) in the FamilySearch Wiki.

Scanned Censuses of Norway - Searchable Database to Browse based on locality. "Here you will find state census and population data for the period 1664-1920, as well as a number of council and local censuses. The 1920 census will be freely available from 1st December 2020."

Scanned Probate Records of Norway - Searchable Database to Browse based on locality. "Here you will find public probate materiale, most of which stems from county and municipal court archives. Death registers are available from the end of the 19th century. These are freely available for the period up to, and including 1934."

Scanned Court Records of Norway - Searchable Database to Browse based on locality. "Here you will find court records from municipal or village courts (forerunners to the modern-day courts), as well as records from other high-up legal bodies such as the forerunner to todays supreme court."

Land Deed, Mortgage and Other Land Records - Browsable registers, etc. Note: these records are in Norwegian and difficult to use for non-Norwegian readers. However, if you are searching for a specific name or farm name within a known parish, it may be worth browsing the records for your time period to provide associations, etc. It may be helpful to use in conjunction with the Bygdebok (see below) entries for your ancestors.

02a. Interactive Map of Norway at NorwayParishes.com in which you can hone in on County, Municipality, Parish, and even Farm Names. Boundaries are shown.
From the Parishes, they provide further links to the National Archives (Digitalarkivet) holdings (see 01. above)
The Following are the types of Information which can be found at this website:

To see a Map of the Parishes in your County of Interest, enter the County Name in the left data entry box.

To look up a List of Farm Names for a Parish (same as results for 2b below), enter your County, Municipality, and and Parish Name in the left data entry box, then look at the right Menu and click on __ County Farm Names.

02b. Norwegian Farm Names - Database. Useful search engine to identify farm names and their corresponding counties. If spelling is an issue, just enter the first few letters and it will give you a list of possibilities. (see also 02a above)

03. Norgeskart.no - detailed Topographical Map of Norway with County and Parish Boundaries plus Farm Names in the close-up views (zoom in & out, plus mouse hold-down moveablility)
This is a GREAT MAP for researchers!!! It gives an understanding of the geographical environment in which your ancestors lived, which provides help in looking for nearby locales which may give clues for marriages, parentage, siblings, etc.

04. Map of Norway at Google Norway - will give you a "suggested" list of locations which helps with Norwegian letters and spelling variations. Note: You can look up location and images for many FARMS if you know the Parish and County names if the farm name is still in use.

05. The University of Troms's (UiT) Norwegian Historical Data Centre has links and articles for various data. Topics include:

Discussion of the Information contained in the Norwegian Censuses.

Search online by Name, Parish, and Farm Name in the Norwegian 1865, 1875, 1900, and 1910 Censuses.

Advanced online Search in the Norwegian 1865, 1875, 1900, and 1910 Censuses.

Parish Registers - Online Searches for some Parishes.

Download the entire 1886 Land Register or individual Counties as an Excel file. Parts of the 1838 Land Registers are also available.

05. Bygdeboks: "Bygdeboker are published farm and family histories compiled by local Norwegian groups."

List of Bygdeboks available online, compiled by Martin Roe Eidhammer, as of January 2017. Thanks, Martin!

Bygdebok Collection at the University of North Dakota.

Guide to Finding Bygdeboker (Norway local histories) held at the University of Minnesota Libraries

Finding a Bygdeb�ker (Norwegian parish, farm, and local histories, often with linked genealogical information within farm names) for your ancestral parish or farm is one of the most helpful genealogical research resources anywhere!!! (See example at the L.A. Family History Library at our Nordic Genealogy Society meeting).

Hunting for a Bygdeb�ker for your parish or town includes looking in several locations: WorldCat; University of Minnesota, North Dakota, or South Dakota; holdings of the LDS Libraries (see catalog via FamilySearch.org); asking for a lookup from someone with a copy in the U.S. or Norway (sometimes found via online group members); or ordering research to be done in Norway.
Suggestion: For advanced researchers, use th National Library of Norway and the U.S. Library of Congress to see what exists for your area of interest.

04. Useful Resources at FamilySearch.org:

Norway Maps webpage in FamilySearch Wiki with county maps of Norway showing locations of parishes.

Parish, Taxation, and other maps for a county are shown in the FamilySearch Wiki pages for the various counties of Norway.
For example, go to the FamilySearch Wiki Main Page and type in Rogaland County, Norway in the search box to view the Rogaland County FamilySearch Wiki page. Note the "Taxation Map" at the bottom of the webpage.)

04. Norwegian American and Norwegian research Links from the Norwegian Amercian Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library. This List of Links is especially useful for Immigration or Immigrants in the U.S. data.

05. Historical Maps of Norway at Kartverk from Norwegian Mapping Authority - Free downloadable printable Historical Maps of Norway, including County Maps. Note: These maps can be helpful in understanding the geographic area in which your ancestors lived - helpful for finding marriage partners, parents, siblings, etc. Do NOT use English language link on top of page for English language as it currently eliminates most choices.
(See the following for translated version of main page.)

Above Free Maps of Norway as translated by Google - Google's English translation of the above page. HOWEVER, you will need to use the original Norwegian version above to use links to navigate the website or do searches. (Try using 2 or more browser windows, 1 for each translated page plus one with the original page, to help with exploring and navigating this website.)

06. Sogn og Fjordane (only) Digitaliserte protokollar/b�ker (local governmental books with transcribed signatures, etc.). Scans of actual handwritten book entries. Some towns, such as Vik, start in the 1800's. All in Norwegian, hand written letter-style documents with no translations at all.

07. Records of the Evengelical Lutheran Church in America. This includes records of some of the previous Lutheran synods merged in to ELCA. See our Scandinavian research page for information about their website.

08. The Norwegian Genealogical Society - Articles, How-to's, & Links (all in Norwegian) or U.S. Version in English (but with a different format and imaging)

The Norwegian Genealogical Society homepage (as above) via Google Translate. Note, however, that the links via the translation will not work, so you will need to use the original version or the U.S. English version to use links. Try keeping 2 or more browser windows open with the pages you are using to go back and forth to use links...

To Search the Holdings of the The Norwegian Genealogical Society enter your subject or place of interest and click S�k. (Book or resource listing is all in Norwegian).

(See Google Translate suggestions at the bottom of this page to translate pages separately - note that links within Google translated pages usually will not work.)

09. How to trace your ancestors in Norway, Oct 21, 2001 edition. Apparently based on articles from 1958-1996 by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this multi-topic article includes some interesting comments (although some links are out of date) - such as on naming patterns and variations (near the bottom).

10. National Library of Norway - Online Search page
As a starting point, advanced researchers might want to try a search to just see what exists by going to the National Library of Norway website to search for what books might exist for your parish or town. It is ONLY in Norwegian, so having 2 window open (one being Google translate) to instantly translate entries on a side-by-side basis. (More on techniques later)

National Library of Norway - search page via Google Translate

11. Norway-Heritage: focusing on Norwegian Immigration, including pre-1875 passenger lists, information about Emigrant Ships (including some pictures), and images of Erie Canal at the time of immigration, etc. Also has a list of links regarding Norwegian Emigration research.

Norwegian Emigration Records: this page provides an excellent description of available Norwegian emigration records as well as links to other Norwegian research resources.

12. Norwegians in the U.S. Civil War, including many born in Sweden or Denmark, plus information about some men who served in other American Wars.
Database listing Norwegians serving in the U.S. Civil War, giving their county of residence and other personal information (varies greatly by soldier) such as injuries, deaths, county of residence after the war, etc. Provided by the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. (Also in book form at S.O.N. Culver City)
Note: this is a duplicate of entry on our Scandinavia & Immigrant webpage

13. Vesterheim Museum. The National Norwegian-American Museum & Heritage Museum. Located in Decorah, Iowa, this Museum features Collections, Exhibits, and online cultural articles and examples emphasizing the culture and art of Norwegian immigrants to the U.S. They also have a library containing information about Norwegian immigrants.

14. Norwegian-American Bygdelagenes Fellesraad. Bygdelags are groups comprised of descendants who emigrated from various places in Norway to North America. The groups are organized by Norwegian County or County groups based on their Norwegian homelands. This site also provides links to the most current brochure with maps and contacts.

List of Lags (groups), including a Fylke (like county) Map of Norway. Scroll down to see map and lists of Fylkes and Lags (groups)


More Links coming soon from our members.


Note that there are 2 very different versions of the Norwegian language still in current use, as well as pronunciation variations from geographic dialects.

For websites written in Norwegian (either version), you can use Google Translate to translate the text of the page into English (text in images will not be automatically translated - you will need to type in such text manually).
Also, when using Google Translate, note the small typewriter icon - click on this typewriter to select Norwegian letters not found in the English keyboard, to be included in the text you are typing as input for Google translation.

HOME Meetings &
Nordic Events
Scandinavian
Culture
Scandinavian,
Viking & Pre-Viking
History
Viking & Pr-Viking
Culture
Scandinavian
Immigration
& DNA Studies
Norway Sweden Finland Denmark Iceland


Last Update: 4/15/2020 - 4:00pm Webmaster Peggy Wishon