Hans Christian Andersen's manuscripts and letters
Explore the life and works of Hans Christian Andersen through Royal Danish Library's collections and follow the ongoing digitisation of the author's manuscripts and letters.
Inspiration
We dive into our collections and share our knowledge.
FORTALT
The podcast series Fortalt invites you into the fascinating universe of cultural heritage collections.
New works in the collections
Every year, the collections grow with new works. Here we highlight some of the new materials that have come through our doors in recent years.
Denmark in postcards
With the digitised collection of topographical postcards, you can explore a special part of Danish cultural history. Postcards are not just postcards – they are a journey through Denmark's history.
Halloween
There are ghosts, witches, zombies and supervillains in the street. It's Halloween, where (un)cosiness, light and darkness meet. We shed light on the tradition's path to Denmark.
The Danes in motion – gymnastics on radio and TV
For almost 100 years, gymnastics broadcasts on radio and TV have kept Danes moving. In DR-arkivet you can now find thousands of these broadcasts. Here we delve into the history of interval gymnastics.
Jacob Gade and “Tango Jalousie”
In 1894, a boy left his childhood home in Vejle. With a violin under his arm and a dream of something bigger, he headed for Copenhagen. Years later, he composed one of the world's first radio hits.
When women gained access to university
2025 marked 150 years since a royal decree opened universities to women as students. This was a significant step toward equality.
Ten thousand theatre images
Through Holger Damgaard's ten thousand unique images from Danish theatre stages, we delve into the history of theatre in Denmark in the period from 1909 to 1940.
God save Denmark – The history of New Year's speeches
On the 31st of December at 6:00 PM, the Danes gather in front of televisions all over the nation. The monarch's New Year's speech is broadcast - it has not always been this way, of course.
Christmas
Christmas is upon us. It is a time rich in traditions, good food and cosiness. Dive into our Christmas theme and read about our many Danish Christmas traditions and Christmas stories.
American presidential election
On 5 November 2024, Americans will go to the polls for the 60th time. We have taken a dive into the collections and looked at how the election has been covered in Denmark over time.
Poetry readings in the Library Garden
Every summer, we invite Danish poets to write new poems and read them aloud in the Library Garden in August.
Bent Petersen, the camera and art
Bent Petersen's enormous interest in art resulted in a collection of approximately 63,000 slides. Dive into the portrayal of vernissages, happenings and exhibitions in the 70s and 80s.
Laurberg & Gad
Dive into the archive of the photography company Laurberg & Gad. The two companions ran a recognized portrait studio in Copenhagen. At the same time, they were pioneers and shot films and some of the…
C.E.F. Weyse 250 years
We have looked in the collections on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the Danish composer C.E.F. Weyse.
The songwriter Grundtvig
NFS Grundtvig considered himself unmusical. Yet his name is on hundreds of songs. Dive into his songwriting process with us.
EC 2024: South Slavic ghosts
A historical look at the upcoming European Championship finals in soccer. Once Yugoslavia was one country, today it is seven. The Danish men's national team will meet two of them in the group stage.
A Nordic treasure chest
Get the historical details of five of the most important manuscripts in our collection and experience how centuries of interweaving Nordic history is reflected in the cultural heritage.
25th anniversary of The Black Diamond in 2024
Royal Danish Library celebrates the 25th anniversary of cultural centre The Black Diamond in 2024.
JP Jacobsen between science and fiction
JP Jacobsen was torn between science and fiction, but throughout his career he managed to combine the two passions and became both a recognised scientist and author.
Changing of the guard
There is a changing of the guard at Amalienborg, and we take a closer look at the royal parts of our collections.
Knud Rasmussen's great sledge journey
In 1923, Knud Rasmussen set off on the last big leg of the 5th Thule Expedition from Canada to Siberia. We have been in the collections to follow in Knud Rasmussen's sledge tracks.
The Camera and Us - Humans in Photography
The camera has changed how we look not only at ourselves but also at others. Discover almost 200 years of photographic and cultural history through Royal Danish Library's pictures.
#DKgame – an exhibition is created
#DKgame, the new exhibition in The Black Diamond, presents the unusual range of Danish computer games. And it takes up space.
Peter Elfelt
Delve into Royal Danish Library's digitised collection of Elfelt's thousands of photographs, ranging from the development of the welfare society in Denmark to man's best furry friend.
Liberation of Denmark 1945
We have found material in the collections from the five cursed years and the early May days of 1945, when freedom returned.
Audubon's great life's work
James Audubon's life's work Birds of America, with its 435 hand-painted pictures in the birds' natural size, is one of the great treasures of our collections.
Easter
For most people, Easter means, first and foremost, a series of bank holidays. Many of the traditions associated with Easter have changed over time. Dive into the symbols and customs of Easter.
Do you get fooled by Slooflirpa?
April fools is a fixed tradition in many Danish media outlets. We trace the banter back through the Danish newspapers in our collections.
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day is a very new tradition in Denmark. But we have lots of older, romantic traditions in Denmark, such as love letters and binding letters. We take a loving look at the celebration of love.
Halli Halli Hallo – we'll win in Mexico
A football World Cup needs a good rallying cry. In a production folder donated to Royal Danish Library hides the story of how a genuine World Cup hit came to be.
17,000 photos come out of the "Transcriptorium"
Behind an office door at the library, its employees are teaching computers to read Danish handwriting, which is why you can now search through 17,000 calling cards.
To the polling stations!
Election day is approaching. Take a trip back to previous election periods as we go through our archive of election photographs.
The 1926 election - The first live broadcast election meeting
The 1926 election was the first election to be broadcast by radio. We delve into the election campaign of the time and the first live broadcast voter meeting.
Party programmes
On 1 November 2022, we have to vote in the general election. We have done so many times before. Go back in time with the old digitised party programmes.
Arctic Imagination - conversations about a world in climate change
If you imagine the Arctic, you probably see snow, ice and frost. But the mythical region is melting. We focus on the high north in the company of writers, scientists and artists.
Danish drama for everyone
On the occasion of Danish drama becoming available to all Danish users, we have conducted a series of interviews with Danish dramatists and researchers providing inspiration and recommendations.
Queen Elizabeth II's first state visit to Denmark
On 8 September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II of England died. Here you can see pictures from her first state visit to Denmark in 1957.
The chicken farmer from Høsterkøb
From the winter track to the first Danish tour hero. We follow in the wheels of Hans Edmund Andresen. The first Danish cyclist to complete the Tour de France.
How to digitise 200,000 photographs?
Get behind the digitisation of royal court photographer Peter Elfelt's photographs and learn more about our work processes when almost 100-year-old images go digital.
Women's struggle for citizenship
The women's cause and the fight for women's rights officially came on the political agenda in 1871 when the Danish Women's Society was founded.
Behind the scenes at The Black Diamond
In 2017, film director Mauricio González-Aranda followed the day-to-day work at The Black Diamond in his movie "A Word for Human". Watch it here.
Podcast - Margrete I
Have you seen the new movie about Margaret I? Listen to our podcast about the movie, Margaret's life and how to portray historical figures in fiction.
Friday the 13th
One to three times a year the 13th falls on a Friday. But why do many not dare to challenge fate that day? We uncover the origin of the fateful day.
Karen Blixen - Behind the Scenes
Karen Blixen is one of the most important Danish authors of the 20th century. We take a little look behind the façade of both the private person and the artist.
Copenhagen Pride
The Danish cultural heritage contains many imprints left by LGBTI+ individuals. Here, we delve into the archives and explore the stories that have contributed to shaping the Danish LGBTI+ history.
The roots of racism
May 2021 marks a year since the murder of the 46-year-old black American George Floyd. On that occasion, we have taken a look at our collections to examine the roots of racism.
Rødstrømper – sisterhood and revolution
In 1970, something new happened in Denmark. A group of women associated with the youth uprising had had enough of doing other people's laundry and meeting society's gender-based expectations.
Thus the world changes
With the monumental work Capital and Ideology, comparable to the masterpieces of Adam Smith and Karl Marx, the French star economist Thomas Piketty pays homage to human imagination and freedom.
Freedom of the Press Writings
Come! Let us lead you into 18th century Facebook, where feuds, scams and deportations are the order of the day. We have digitised the texts published when the censorship laws were abolished.
A troublemaker crosses his tracks
Join us behind the scenes of the "Stranger Than Kindness: The Nick Cave Exhibition", meet the exhibition architect Christina Bach, and read about her collaboration with the world-famous musician.
Reunification
100 years ago Southern Jutland and Denmark were reunited. Learn more about what happened and take a look at our collections.
HM Queen Margrethe II - 52 years on the throne
After 52 years on the Danish throne, her majesty, Margrethe II, will step down as Denmark's regent on 14 January 2024. We celebrate the Queen's long life and career with a look at our collections.
Find more in our collections
Map collection
Our collection of maps is one of Northern Europe's largest. The oldest maps in the collection date from the 16th century, and the newest may have just come from the printing house.
Collection of prints and photographs
We have both physical and digital images in the collection. They all come from Denmark or have some kind of connection with the country.
Newspaper collection
The national newspaper collection consists of daily newspapers and local newspapers that have been published in Denmark or have direct relations to Denmark.