1. Database ( 100 ) for receiving information in the form of arbitrarily structured data sets in at least one storage device of one or more data processing devices, having hierarchy levels ( 119, 129 ), whereby a superior hierarchy level ( 119 ) contains information elements ( 111, 112, 113 ) for a definition of the, structure of information elements ( 130, 140, 150 ) of a subordinate hierarchy level ( 129 ), and a subordinate hierarchy level ( 129 ) contains information elements ( 130, 140, 150 ) in an instantiation ( 131 - 136, 141 - 146, 151 - 156 ) in accordance with a structure which is defined by at least one information element ( 111, 112, 113 ) of the superior hierarchy level, a first hierarchy level ( 21 ) contains information elements for the definition of the structure of information elements of a second hierarchy level ( 22 ), a second hierarchy level ( 22 ) contains information elements for the definition of the structure of information elements of a third hierarchy level ( 23 ), a third hierarchy level ( 23 ) contains information elements for receiving information, and a link structure ( 24 ) connects the information on different hierarchy levels, characterized in that the link structure ( 24 ) contains in a first internal data field ( 31 ) a first attribute for the unique association of an information element with an information element or with a set of information elements of the first hierarchy level ( 21 ), in a second internal data field ( 32 ) a second attribute for the unique association of an information element with an information element or with a set of information elements of the second hierarchy level ( 22 ), in a third internal data field ( 33 ) a third attribute for the unique association of an information element with a set of information elements of the third hierarchy level ( 23 ), and the allocation of an information element to a hierarchy level is determined from the existence of and/or the values of the attributes in the first, second and third internal data fields of the link structure.