Danish National Archives

In the early Middle ages, the majority of records keep by Danish monarchs were packed into chests which accompanied them on their travels around the kingdom. The first evidence of permanent government archives comes from the 14th century, when an archive was established at Vordingborg Castle. Soon after, Queen Margaret I established an archive at Kalundborg Castle (). As Copenhagen had become the seat of the crown, King Christopher III established an administrative archive at Copenhagen Castle, and in 1582 all of the Royal Archives () were gathered in the vault at Copenhagen Castle. By 1684, the Royal Archives had been relocated to the newly constructed Rosenborg Castle. In 1720, the Royal Archives were again relocated near the former chancery building, to be housed at the same location as the Gehejmearkivet (). In 1883, the two archival institutions were overseen by the same director, and in 1889 they were officially merged by law. The resulting merger formed the National Archives (). The data archives were established in 1973; it was initially located in Copenhagen, but relocated to Odense in 1978 when it became part of Odense University. Danish State Archives The archival law of 1992 restructured the national archival system, so that the entire system was overseen by the Danish State Archives. Today the name Danish National Archives refers to all archives within the national system, not just the organization's headquarters in Copenhagen. Under the new structure, the separate archives became reading rooms in a larger archive system. The new Danish National Archives were initially organised as: • Danish National Archives, Copenhagen (formerly the Danish National Archives in Copenhagen) • Danish National Archives, Aarhus (formerly the Danish National Business Archives) • Danish National Archives, Aabenraa (formerly the Provincial Archives of Southern Jutland) • Danish National Archives, Odense (formerly the Provincial Archives of Funen) • Danish National Archives, Viborg (formerly the Provincial Archives of Northern Jutland) ==Reading Rooms==

Today, the Danish National Archives includes four reading rooms: the National Archives in Copenhagen, Aabenraa, Odense, and Viborg. Until 2015, the archives also had a reading room in Aarhus; its collections have since been moved to Viborg. Danish National Archives, Copenhagen The archive was founded in 1889 out of two older national archives, Gehejmearkivet (1296–1883) and Kongerigets arkiv (1861–1884). In 2012 the collections of the Provincial Archives of Zealand, Lolland-Falster and Bornholm were merged into the Danish National Archives. In 2014, the Danish National Archives was renamed Danish National Archives, Copenhagen and the term Danish National Archives came to represent all of the former Danish State Archives collectively. Today, the headquarters of the Danish National Archives, Copenhagen are located at Proviantgården, next to Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen. Copenhagen reading room is also located at Proviantgården and is open to the public. A new purpose-built storage building was opened in 2009 at Kalvebod Brygge. It was designed by PLH Arkitekter. The Danish National Archives, Copenhagen holds the archives of the Danish overseas trading companies, including the archives of the Danish East India Company, the Danish Asiatic Company, the Danish West India and Guinea Company, and the Danish West India Trading Company, a collection which reflects Denmark's relations with foreign countries such as the European States, Russia, Turkey, North African states and the American states. The archives of the Danish overseas trading companies were inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 1997. The Sound Toll Records, which provide detailed information about every ship and cargo that entered the Baltic and departed from the Baltic through the Danish straits starting in the 15th century, are held at the Danish National Archives and in 2007, the collection was inscribed on the Memory of the World Register. The documents are stored on electrically powered mobile shelving – double-sided shelves, which are pushed together so that there is no aisle between them. A large handle on the end of each shelf allows them to be moved along tracks in the floor to create an aisle when needed. The units have a small AC or DC motor hidden in the base that automatically moves the units when a single button is pressed. Danish National Archives, Aabenraa Danish National Archives, Odense The Provincial Archives of Funen () first opened in Odense on 1 November 1893. The first visitor came two weeks later. The archives in Odense were the second of the three provincial archives envisioned in the first Danish archive law of 30 March 1889. They accepted archival material from state authorities, local authorities and individuals within the geographical area of the former Funen County. In 2014, the Provincial Archives were renamed as the Danish National Archives, Odense as part of the reorganisation of the Danish archival system. Prior to the system's reorganisation, the Provincial Archives of Funen received approximately 10,000 visitors annually, and it contained approximately 20 km of archival material in its collection. Danish National Archives, Viborg Danish National Archives, Aarhus Prior to 2014, the archives in Aarhus were a separate branch of the Danish State Archives, known as the Danish National Business Archives . In September 2014, it was announced that the State Archives would move the Business Archives to Viborg and merge it with the Provincial Archives of Northern Jutland in 2015–2016. == References ==