Related Websites

Welcome! Whether you’re tracing a great-grandparent’s journey from a farm in the Land district to a new life in America, planning a trip to Norway, or simply curious about the culture and history that connect these countries, you’ve come to the right place.

Below you’ll find a carefully curated collection of resources – from official government sites and stunning aerial maps of Norway, to museums preserving stories on both sides of the Atlantic, to genealogical archives that can help you uncover the names, dates, and voyages that shaped your family’s story. Each link is organized by category to make your exploration easy, whether you’re a seasoned researcher or just beginning to dig into your roots.

Grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and start exploring — you never know what you might discover.

The cartoonish illustration shows a federal looking building with Norwegian flag on top with the the Norwegian word "KOMMUNE" over the front entrance, people standing outside with scrolled documents. The background is green rolling mountains with no snow caps.

Local Government (Land District, Norway)

  • Nordre Land Kommune (Norwegian) – Official website of the Municipality of Nordre Land (North Land), Oppland, Norway.
  • Søndre Land Kommune (Norwegian) – Official website of the Municipality of Søndre Land (South Land), Oppland, Norway.
The cartoonish illustration with the outline of Norway, small figures of a King and Queen, Norwegian coat of arms, and a open book representing the national reference.

Royalty, Maps and National Reference (Norway)

  • Det Norske Kongehus (Norwegian and English) – Official website of the Norwegian Royal Family.
  • Norge i Bilder – Aerial-photo map viewer covering all of Norway; zoom in on cities, towns, and individual farms.
  • Kartverket – The Norwegian Mapping Authority, Norway’s national mapping, land registry, and geodata agency.
  • National Library of Norway (Nasjonalbiblioteket) – Norway’s digital national library: digitized newspapers, books, photographs, maps, and manuscripts. Most public-domain material is free to browse from anywhere; some copyrighted material is limited to Norwegian visitors, though remote researchers can apply for temporary access.
The cartoonish illustration with a museum building, Norwegian stave church, Viking helmet in a museum display, and people with cameras.

Museums and Heritage Sites

  • Digitaltmuseum – Norway’s official searchable database of museum collections nationwide; a good general entry point to Norwegian museums.
  • Lands Museum (Norwegian) – Museum of nature, culture, and history for the Land district; part of Randsfjordmuseet since 2004. Located in Dokka (Nordre Land, Norway).
  • Norwegian Emigrant Museum / Migrasjonsmuseet – Norway’s national museum of emigration and immigration history, part of Anno Museum, located at Åkershagan (Stange, Norway). Renamed from “Norsk Utvandrermuseum” to “Migrasjonsmuseet” in 2013; the founding foundation still uses the original name.
  • Minnesota Historical Society – Historical society preserving Minnesota’s history and culture, including its Norwegian-American communities (St. Paul, Minnesota).
  • Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum – The national Norwegian-American museum and folk-art school (Decorah, Iowa).
  • Livsreise – Museum and heritage center telling the story of emigration from Norway to America (Stoughton, Wisconsin).
The cartoonish illustration outlines of Norway, U.S., and Canada in a circle with two way arrows between Norway and US/Canada to show cultural exchange. The flags of Norway, U.S., and Canada are included. A couple Norwegian people dressed in Norwegian garments are dancing. An old viking ship represents cultural exchange between these nations.

Norwegian-American Organizations and Culture

The cartoonish illustration includes a book shelf, open book, pedigree chart, two excited adult figures and a child, and a Norewegian flag.

Genealogical Societies and Libraries

  • Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS) – Volunteer-run genealogical society and research library serving Minnesota researchers, housed at the Hoffman Research Library (Mendota, Minnesota).
  • Naeseth Genealogical Library (NAGC) – Library of Norwegian genealogical books, records, and maps at the Norwegian American Genealogical Center (Madison, Wisconsin).
  • Norwegian-American Genealogical Association (N-AGA) – Genealogical association with a library of Norwegian books and maps.
  • Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening (Norwegian Genealogical Society) – Norway’s oldest genealogical society (founded 1926), based in Oslo; publishes Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift and runs a genealogical library.
  • Slektshistorielag (Norwegian, with some English) – Genealogical society with sources and links for the Gjøvik, Toten, Land, and Gran districts of Norway.
The cartoonish illustration includes a computer, a search box with a magnifying glass, and an old record.

Genealogy Records, Search Tools, and Databases

  • FamilySearch – Free genealogy records database, including access to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ extensive genealogical collections.
  • Digitalarkivet – Norway’s National Archives digital records portal: censuses, church records, emigration lists, and more, searchable by name and place.
  • Norwegian Census Records – Guide to the 1801, 1865, 1875, 1891, 1900, and 1910 Norwegian censuses.
  • Norwegian Roots Project – Step-by-step guide to tracing Norwegian ancestry.
  • Norway-Heritage – Records and history of Norwegian immigrant ship voyages to America.
  • Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation — Arrival Records – Free searchable database of over 100 million U.S. arrival records from ports including New York, Texas, Florida, and Hawaii, covering the 1790s to the 1970s; the natural complement to Norway-Heritage’s ship-voyage records for tracing the American arrival side of an emigration story.
  • Cyndi’s List – Long-running, curated directory of genealogy links worldwide, including a dedicated Norway category.
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Archives – Archives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, useful for Norwegian-American Lutheran church and immigration records.
  • The USGenWeb Project – Volunteer project with genealogy resource websites for every U.S. county and state.