Millions of Nordic Newspaper Pages Added to OldNews.com

We’re excited to announce the addition of 11.6 million new Nordic newspaper pages to OldNews.com, the innovative website for historical newspapers, by MyHeritage. OldNews.com enables genealogists, researchers, and history enthusiasts to search, save, and share articles about people and events throughout history. 

The new content includes historical local, regional and national newspapers, periodicals and gazettes from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands, with articles dating back to 1666, but mostly from the 19th century.

The new Nordic content has been indexed and is searchable on OldNews.com. It has also been added to MyHeritage, with the full images for the newspaper pages available on OldNews.com via direct links from MyHeritage.

Exploring Nordic Newspapers

Newspapers are essential for genealogical research as they can contain rich information about people and the events in their lives through stories, obituaries, and other vital record substitutes such as birth, marriage, and death notices. Additionally, society pages and stories of local interest can contain detailed records of activities and events in the community and often provide more information about the people involved that bring your family history to life, as well as provide insight into the historical context. 

If you have Nordic roots and are exploring your family history, you’ll find these Nordic newspapers incredibly useful. We’ve gathered them from various sources into one place, making it easier than ever to search through them.

The Power of OCR Technology 

At OldNews.com, all of our new content is scanned using the latest optical character recognition (OCR) technology and enhanced with sophisticated algorithms developed in-house by MyHeritage.  

While most of the publications on OldNews.com use the standard Roman typeface, the Nordic newspaper collection includes several publications that feature the more complex Fraktur font. Thanks to our OCR technology, even these more intricate fonts have been indexed with high accuracy. This enhancement greatly improves your chances of uncovering new and exciting finds that might have eluded you in your previous searches.

Newspaper page from OldNews.com (Götheborgs Allehanda publication, June 9, 1807, Göteborg, Göteborg och Bohus, Sweden)

Examples of articles from the Nordic newspapers

The Swedish newspaper Nya Mjölbyposten reported on July 20, 1897 the launch of a daring Swedish polar expedition led by Salomon August Andrée, who set out to explore the Arctic by hot air balloon. Filled with hope and the spirit of exploration, this ambitious journey captured the public’s imagination. However, the adventure ended tragically when the balloon crashed on the ice, leading to the eventual deaths of Andrée and his crew. This article offers a glimpse into the excitement and optimism that marked the beginning of their ill-fated expedition.

Nya Mjölbyposten publication, July 20, 1897. Headline reads: “To the Pole! Andrée has risen.”

You can read more about this daring adventurer and his tragic end on Wikipedia.

The Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende reported on August 14, 1882 a spirited departure of soldiers from Trondheim celebrating the historic decision of Norway’s supreme legislature to adopt parliamentarianism earlier that year. The article describes how Captain Gregersen’s Company concluded their field maneuvers and boarded amidst a crowd of onlookers. As the steamship signaled departure, a voice from the deck shouted “Long Live the Decision of June 9, 1880, and the Policy of the Storting Majority,” eliciting cheers and applause from those assembled. This vivid account is a great historical glimpse into the communal and political spirit of the time in Norway.

Bergens Tidende publication, August 14, 1882. Title reads: “Captain Gregersen’s Company.”

In April 1877, the Slagelse-Posten reported on efforts in Odense, Denmark, to erect a memorial for the beloved poet Hans Christian Andersen. The town, where Andersen spent his childhood, planned to honor his legacy with a statue surrounded by figures from his tales. Despite earlier setbacks, renewed enthusiasm was sparked by Danish sculptor Hasselriis’s proposal, featuring detailed plans for an 18-foot high monument, estimated to cost 50,000 kroner. The Odense City Council formed a committee to oversee this tribute, confident in both local and international support for commemorating Andersen’s global influence right in his hometown.

Slagelse-Posten publication, April 26, 1877. Title reads: “A Memorial for the Poet H. C. Andersen.”

The December 21, 1909 issue of the Finnish newspaper Uusi Suometar features an advertisement for a special edition of the renowned Finnish book Seitsemän veljestä (The Seven Brothers) by Aleksis Kivi. Originally published in 1870, this particular edition is distinguished by the illustrations of the famous Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela. The advertisement proudly proclaims the book as “the finest in Finnish literature.”

Uusi Suometar publication, December 21, 1909. Headline reads: “Among the best products of Finnish Literature and Art are A. Kivi, Seven Brothers”

How to search the Nordic newspapers on OldNews.com

To search these collections, visit OldNews.com. Then, if you already have a MyHeritage account, click “Log in” on the top right of the page and use the same credentials you use to log in to MyHeritage. If you don’t have an account yet, create a new account for free. 

Enter a country in the “publication place” field to easily search through the publications for that specific country.

When you run a search, the results will be displayed quickly, with your search terms highlighted in yellow.

Search results for Alfred Nobel on OldNews.com (click to zoom)

Viewing and downloading the newspaper pages on OldNews.com requires an annual OldNews.com Pro subscription. You can start a 7-day free trial to explore the content before committing to an annual OldNews.com Pro subscription.

How to search the Nordic newspapers on MyHeritage

The new Nordic newspapers have also been placed in a single new collection on MyHeritage.

Searching through these new Nordic collections on MyHeritage is free. MyHeritage subscribers will be able to view a text snippet from the newspaper record, and will need to upgrade to the new MyHeritage Omni plan in order to view the full newspaper images on OldNews.com.

The MyHeritage Omni plan is a one-stop shop for genealogy and a superset of MyHeritage’s Complete plan. It includes full access to all features and content on MyHeritage, available with the Complete plan, plus all newspapers on OldNews.com, a Geni.com Pro plan, all 2,000+ genealogy and DNA webinars on Legacy Family Tree Webinars, and unlimited photo scanning using MyHeritage’s mobile apps. 

Summary

We’re thrilled to announce the addition of 11.6 million new Nordic newspaper pages to OldNews.com and to MyHeritage. 

OldNews.com is fast becoming the top website for historical newspapers from around the world. 

An additional set of 1.7 million newspaper pages from Norway will be added in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Search Nordic newspapers on OldNews.com and discover more about your ancestors and their lives!