Other websites containing cultural heritage data in Norway
Only open sources have been included in this list, i.e. websites and services that are open for all and do not require the user to log in. In addition, there are many expert systems that are used by various institutions and public administration bodies. Examples include: Askeladden (cultural heritage management), Primus (many museums) and Asta (archives).
Arkivportalen
Arkivportalen is a national portal that enables searches to be made across the archiving institutions’ various catalogues. Here, you will find out which historic archives and documents are held in the many different archives in Norway.
Digitalarkivet
Digitalarkivet is the National Archival Services of Norway’s source website. Its purpose is primarily to make archive material available online. The most popular sources are parish registers, census returns and mortgage registers.
DigitaltMuseum
DigitaltMuseum is the public access portal to the digitised collections held by the museums for which the Ministry of Culture is responsible. DigitaltMuseum contains data relating to both art and cultural history.
Kulturminnebilder
Around 23,000 of the cultural history images held by the Directorate for Cultural Heritage have been digitised and made available in the photo archive Kulturminnebilder.
Kulturminnesøk
Kulturminnesøk is the Directorate for Cultural Heritage’s search portal for information on more than 150,000 cultural heritage sites registered in Askeladden, the directorate’s official database of protected cultural and natural heritage sites in Norway. Kulturminnesøk also contains information and images from several other sources, including the general public. Users can register their own cultural heritage sites and upload images.
Kultursøk
Kultursøk has been developed as part of the online library solution Webløft – bibliotekenes egen nettløsning by Buskerud County Library. Kultursøk has been created to consolidate as many databases containing information on Norwegian cultural history as possible in one place. Kultursøk is both a website and a plug-in to the website solution WordPress CMS.
Lokalhistoriewiki
Lokalhistoriewiki.no is a local history and research site run by Norsk lokalhistorisk institutt (NLI). The articles are primarily written and the images uploaded by volunteers. Both professional historians and amateurs are welcome to contribute. The Wiki is mainly intended for local history, but within this framework, there are no subjects too peculiar, small or mundane. Whatever you write may very well be so singular that you are the only person who could have written about that particular topic. Perhaps you are the only one with access to the source material, which could be anything from a singing diploma from the loft, a patched and mended sailor suit from the basement or the local community’s acknowledged expert on traditional flatbread baking.
Minner.no
The aim of Minner is to amass a broad collection of knowledge about people’s lives both past and present. The website makes it easier for museums and archives to work with private individuals on the documentation of social conditions, at the same time as people gain more direct control of the narratives they choose to share with society through the cultural institutions. All projects at Minner.no have a solid cultural institution as their project owner. An appointed expert has editorial responsibility for the material published by the project concerned.
Nordic Safeguarding Practices
This is a Nordic website, where people can share information about ways to safeguard and pass on living traditions and traditional knowledge. The website is meant to be a resource for practitioners and their communities. The aim is that the examples given will inspire people and spark ideas about how they can work to safeguard and preserve their intangible cultural heritage. The website is open and invites people to share information and positive experiences.
Nasjonalbiblioteket
Nettbibiotektet (formerly NBdigital) is the portal to the National Library of Norway’s digital collections. Here, you will find digital objects in a variety of formats, such as books, newspapers, videos, photographs and maps.
Norske Gaardnavne – Oluf Rygh
Norsk Gaardnavne [Norwegian Farm Names] was published in the years between 1897 and 1924 on the basis of manuscripts prepared by Professor Oluf Rygh. The work contains information on the pronunciation and historic spelling of farm names in Norway’s land registry. It has become a standard work for place names in Norway.
Norvegiana
Norvegiana is Arts Council Norway’s tool for making information relating to the arts and culture more easily available as open data. Norvegiana is a database, with associated services, such as cultural data from archives, museums and other cultural institutions. Around 300 entities or departments are represented. Norvegiana contains a total of 7.7 million posts (as of May 2019), including images, audio clips and videos.
NTNU Universitetsbibliotekets spesialsamlinger
The roots of the NTNU Universitetsbibliotekets spesialsamlinger [special collections held in the library of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology] go right back to the Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskabs Bibliotek [the library of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters] that was established in 1768. The library is therefore the country’s oldest scientific library. For almost 250 years, the library has, through donations and its own purchases, built up a collection of regional, national and international significance. The special collections comprise manuscripts, historic books, letters, certificates, maps, images and private archives. As a result, they provide a multifaceted view of cultural and scientific history.
oslobilder.no
The website oslobilder.no is an image-only online archive containing a wide selection of pictures from Oslo, including some of the best pictures from institutions such as the Norwegian Labour Movement Archives and Library, the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History, Oslo City Archives, Oslo Museum, the Norwegian Telecom Museum, the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, DEXTRA Photo and Bergen University Library.
UiB – Universitetsbibliotekets spesialsamlinger
Universitetsbibliotekets spesialsamlinger ved Universitetet i Bergen [special collections held by Bergen University Library] contain an extensive collection of images, manuscripts, certificates, maps, antiquarian books and newspapers, as well as Språksamlingene [language collections], Faghistorisk Arkiv [historical archives] and Skeivt Arkiv [National Norwegian Archive for Queer History]. The collections are available to researchers, students, the media, publishers and others interested in local and cultural history.
Universitetsmuseenes samlingsportaler
These cultural history collections cover topics such as photography, archaeology and ethnography. Universitetsmuseene [the university museums] also have large natural history collections.