Reading parish registers and censuses: a practical guide

Parish registers and censuses are the two most important sources in Danish genealogy. Most have been digitised and are freely available - but they are written in Gothic handwriting, which few people can read today. Here is a practical guide to finding and deciphering them.

Parish registers: baptisms, marriages and burials

Priests have kept parish registers for centuries. They contain baptisms (with the parents' names and godparents), marriages and burials - gold for the genealogist. The books from before 1875 are written in Gothic script, often with abbreviations and Latin phrases. A single baptism entry can take you a whole generation further back.

Censuses: a snapshot of the household

The censuses, carried out from 1787 onwards (1801, 1834, 1840 and later), list every person in a household with their age, occupation and relationship to the head of the family. They are wonderful for gathering a family in one place and at one point in time - but the oldest are likewise in Gothic handwriting.

How to find them on Arkivalieronline

The National Archives' Arkivalieronline gives free access to the digitised sources. You typically navigate by parish and year. Once you have found the right page, you can take a screenshot or download the image - and if the script gives you trouble, upload it to MormorsBreve for readable text.

When the Gothic script gives you trouble

Even experienced genealogists spend time deciphering difficult hands. Learn to do it yourself with our guide to Gothic script, or let AI handle the deciphering so you can concentrate on building the family tree. If you are completely new, start with genealogy for beginners.