Latest update: 25 July 2020.
These are the most important resources for Swedish genealogy. You can use them online to find your ancestors in Sweden.
Genealogy records in Sweden are written in Swedish. Google Translate is surprisingly good at handling old Swedish texts. It’s common to find Latin phrases in the church records.
Most of the websites can be used in English. Those are marked ENG.
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Genealogy Resources
Ancestry
ENG. Ancestry – Start with finding your Swedish immigrant on the ships through Ancestry. It has several databases for tracking migrants. To access these you will need the subscription World Explorer or All Access.
| New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 | Passenger lists for incoming ships, indexed and photographed. |
| Swedish Emigration Records, 1783-1951 (Emigranten populär) | Indexes for passenger lists and other travel documents. |
| Gothenburg, Sweden, Passenger Lists, 1869-1951 | Passenger lists for ships leaving Gothenburg. Gothenburg was the main port for migrants from Sweden. |
| Sweden, Emigrants Registered in Church Books, 1783-1991 | Emigrants gathered from Swedish Church records and other public records and newpapers. It’s the most reliable 1836-1895. |
| Sweden, Emigration Registers, 1869-1948 | Police records of emigrant passenger lists. |
| Sweden, Church Records, 1451-1943 | The church records you need to research your ancestors in Sweden. Black and white images. |
ArkivDigital
ENG. ArkivDigital – The most useful resource for Swedish genealogy is ArkivDigital. All photographs are in color and are generally easy to read. The collection of archives and indexes is relevant and growing.
Archives at ArkivDigital
To access the archives, click Archive search on the top left. For Archive holder, enter the parish or city name.
| Göteborgs poliskammare (-1900) (Covers 1869-1951.) | Passenger lists for ships leaving Gothenburg. Gothenburg was the main port for migrants from Sweden. |
| Poliskammaren i Malmö (Covers 1874-1939.) | Passenger lists for ships leaving Malmö. |
| Church records (Covers the earliest time-1948.) | The church records you need to research your ancestors in Sweden. |
| Estate inventories | Good for looking up family members of the deceased. A registry is available. |
Indexes at ArkivDigital
To access the indexes, click Index search on the top left. For Index source, choose the database from the list.
| BiS (Population of Sweden) 1840-1947 | A database over the population with links to relevant church records with images. |
| Emigrants | Based on passenger lists from the police in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, and Helsingborg. |
SVAR
ENG. SVAR, Digital Research Room – A similar selection to ArkivDigital. It is the only online service with certain military and taxation records. SVAR is free of charge.
Contextual Resources
Sveriges Hembygdsförbund
Sveriges Hembygdsförbund – The Swedish Local Heritage Federation. Includes sites for local folklore societies. Search for place names in Bygdeband to find photos and background stories.
DigitaltMuseum
ENG. DigitaltMuseum – Digital presentation of artifacts in Scandinavian museums. Includes photos, many of which are available to use.
Fornsök
Fornsök – An interactive map by The Swedish National Heritage Board. Shows ancient remains, including the ruins of old buildings.
Search Swedish Newspapers
Search Swedish Newspapers – A digital archive of Swedish newspapers. By Kungliga Biblioteket, The National Library.
Family Trees
International Services
Some international services for user submitted family trees are Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Geni.
DISBYT
ENG. DISBYT by DIS of Sweden – A database of family trees. The submissions are screened before upload. The family trees are bare bones. Be careful if you are new to Swedish genealogy. It’s easy to make mistakes. You can become a member for a small fee, or register a guest account.
What’s Next
The Most Useful Genealogy Sources in Sweden
10 Free Tools for Swedish Genealogy
9 Things to Learn from The Swedish Household Records
Swedish Birth and Christening Records
Annika is a Swedish genealogist and the owner of Find a Swede. The goal of this blog is to share the little things from Sweden that make sense of your research. Always backed up with data.