The Greenlandic National Archives
This is the website of the Greenlandic National Archives in English. Please be aware that some information on the site is not available in English. For further information, please contact the National Archives via mail or phone.
In 1991 the Archives were united with the National Museum in one institution. The National Archives is the central authority regarding archival matters in Greenland recieving records from all public authorities in Greenland and in some cases also from private persons .
The records go back to 1733. Records from governors and factors in North Greenland begin in 1782. There are also records from local government institutions, schools, parishes etc. Unfortunately most of the older records from South Greenland were lost when the KGH vessel M/S Hans Hedtoft went down on its maiden voyage in 1959.
The National Archives held 3372 metres of records on December 31st 2009.
The collections consist of:
- Parish archives: Church records, census, letters, sermons, diaries, school records etc.
- Governor’s archives: Letters to and from Greenlandic factories, yearly reports, statistics of population and hunting, reports from local councils etc.
- Factory archives: letters, census, accounts of various kinds, yearly reports etc.
- Local government: Letters, reports, minutes of meetings, school archives etc.
- Teachers’ college: Letters, sermons, exams etc.
There are also about 80 archives from private persons.