Bang on rainbow flag background

Photo: Einar von Strokirch

Copenhagen Pride

During Copenhagen Pride Week, we take a look at our cultural heritage, where a number of LGBTI+ people have left their mark.

The Royal Danish Library's huge collections of books, magazines, letters, pictures and private archives contain traces of the lives of LGBTI+ people throughout history. Both people who, like the trans pioneer Christine Jorgensen, lived fully open lives as queer persons, and the many others who had to hide their private lives.

In these pages you can meet a number of LGBTI+ people who navigated between visibility and invisibility in different ways - and you can hear a little about what they have left behind and how we can tell their stories today. What can we know for sure about feelings and identities that were so forbidden that they were often not even revealed in letters to friends and family?

You can also find an overview of the LGBTI+ struggle in Danish history, as well as dive into the new activist movements of the 1970s - where visibility suddenly became a requirement internally in the queer rights movement, and the act of coming out was used as a weapon in the struggle for equality and rights in society.

We also provide a guide to materials on LGBTI+ topics in our collection.

Christine Jorgensen

Christine Jorgensen straightens her hat in front of a dressing table with a mirror
Christine Jorgensen changed her gender in 1952 and in the following years became a role model. With her openness, she changed the world's perception and understanding of transgender people.

Siri von Essen and Marie Caroline David

Photograph of Siri von Essen and drawing of Marie David
It caused a scandal when August Strindberg's (1849-1912) wife Siri von Essen (1850–1912) developed a close relationship with the Danish author Marie Caroline David (1865-1897).

Herman Bang

Author Herman Bang posing on bed
Throughout his life, Bang tried balancing his inner emotional life with his artistic work. The two sides of himself were often in conflict, resulting in both great literary works and depression.

Doris Pollas

Doris Pollas photographed by Rie Nissen
Although Doris Pollas was among the founders of the Circle of 1948 (today known as LGBT Denmark), she only really appeared in public 70 years later in 2018.

Leonora Christina Skov

Leonora Christina Skov looks into the camera lens
Leonora Christina Skov writes detailed contemporary literature while depicting the life story of a lesbian woman in her novels.

Gay Liberation Front and Lesbian Movement

Bøsserup girl guard at carnival in Copenhagen
The active and visible struggle for rights really took off in the 1970s with campaigns, leaflets and not least the organisation of activists.

An open moment

Child and woman in bathtub
One of the movements born out of 1970s activism was the Lesbian Movement; almost in the heart of the movement, a little girl was born. She tells her story in the book "Et åbent øjeblik".

LGBTI+ materials at Royal Danish Library

Newspaper page with the headline The Morality Scandal
You can find a lot of knowledge about LGBTI+ in our physical and digital collections. Some you can access digitally, some you can either borrow or access if you come to the library.

A short timeline

Author Poul Andræ with another man on a postcard
Get to know more about the history of the fight for rights for LGBTI+ people throughout Denmark's history.

Explore our collections

Rødstrømper – sisterhood and revolution

A group of half-naked people with their arms around each other
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.

The roots of racism

Drawing of the harbor at St. Thomas
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.