Bergen City Archive is the first external player to publish an extensive collection of historical photographs in Digitalarkivet. This marks the start of a new era for the sharing of visual history, where the National Archives now allows external archival institutions to contribute digitized image material to the national database.
More than 7,700 photos from Bergen are now available to the public through Digitalarkivet. The images, which document the city’s development and everyday life through the ages, are intended to provide a unique insight into the city’s rich history.
New resource for research and interest
The Digital Archive has previously been known as a source of digitized documents, but with the new photo service, the offer is significantly expanded. The Swedish National Archives has expressed a desire to collaborate with several external actors to fill the database with images from all over the country. The aim is to make more of Norway’s visual history available to researchers and history enthusiasts alike.
The publication of Bergen City Archive’s collection can be seen as a pilot project for the photo service. The Swedish National Archives hopes that this will inspire other archival institutions to contribute their own collections.
A digital door opener to the past
The initiative has been well received by both the academic community and the general public. Making historical images available in digital form has the potential to strengthen the understanding of both local and national history, while also opening the door to new research projects.
The National Archives is now encouraging other institutions to get in touch and participate in the development of this resource, which will collect and preserve Norway’s visual heritage for the future.
With Bergen City Archive’s contribution, a large part of Bergen’s history has been lifted into the light – literally – and opened up to everyone who wants to immerse themselves in the past.
