Ritzaus Bureau was founded by Erik Nicolai Ritzau in Copenhagen on 1 February 1866 under the name Nordisk Centralbureau for Telegrammer.

[1] The agency received international news by telegram from Wolffs Bureau (now Deutsche Presse-Agentur, DPA) in Berlin.

The Ritzau family sold Ritzaus Bureau to the Danish newspapers in 1947.

In November 2017, Ritzau acquired Scanpix Denmark from Berlingske Media with effect from 1 January 2018.

[2] Ritzaus Bureau is today owned by 12 media groups; In January 1988, Ritzau journalist Jens Jørgen Espersen received the Cavling Prize for his covering of the Thorotrast scandal.