Museum of Copenhagen
Get under the skin of Copenhagen at its city museum.
If you want to know more about Copenhagen and its people, the Museum of Copenhagen is for you. Uncover over 800 years of the city’s history, from bombs, buildings and bikes to fires and family life.
What kind of city is Copenhagen, and who are the Copenhageners? These are the kinds of questions you will be able to answer after a visit to this beautiful and historic building right behind City Hall. During your visit, you’ll be introduced to all the most important places and events in the history of the Danish capital. From the trading and crafts of the Vikings, through the building boom and plague, fires and bombings, to the free city of Christiania today. A vast array of unique, original exhibits brings the city and its people to life. An interactive model gives you an overview of the entire city – then you’ll be all set to explore Copenhagen on your own.
Copenhagen from the Viking Age to today
A visit to the Museum of Copenhagen is a journey through the city and its history from the Viking Age to today. The exhibition takes you through 14 key sites with famous squares and buildings that have played a central role in the city’s history. They include the power base on the Castle Island of Slotsholmen, City Hall Square where people have gathered to celebrate and demonstrate since it was built, the Copenhagen homes of the royal family surrounding Amalienborg Palace Square, and the different cultures of the city’s bridge districts.
For each key site, the curators have hunted down the most exciting archaeological finds and historical exhibits to document Copenhagen life – from before the city itself even existed. A well-worn bone comb from the Viking Age, the skeleton of a warrior from the Middle Ages that has survived the blows of swords and axes, and an elegant sedan from the 1700s, the taxi of the day for high-class Copenhageners. There is also an early edition of Copenhageners’ favourite means of transport, a bike – made of wood!
Interactive historical experiences
Interactive installations, sounds, voices and film bring Copenhagen history to life. Try out the intricate greetings of the 1700s imported from the Court of France, and hear the story of the jail-breaker Morten Frederiksen, who ended his days at Copenhagen Citadel just a stone’s throw from where cruise ships dock today. You can also meet contemporary Copenhageners and hear them tell about living in the city. There is also an archaeological workshop where you can find out what it is like to dig up the remains of the past, an exhibition all about Jens Olsen's World Clock, a key feature of the Town Hall next door, and a garden featuring plants grown from a latrine dating to the 1700s.
The Museum of Copenhagen's café
Take a little piece of Copenhagen home with you from the museum shop, or relax in the café and digest all the impressions from your visit as you enjoy the historical city garden in front of the museum. If you’re fast, you can get around the museum in just half an hour, but stay longer and experience even more of the surprising, beautiful and quirky things about the history of Copenhagen the museum has to offer.