Experience runestones, stand face to face with bog bodies, see The Golden Horns, be inspired by the suit worn by the first Dane in space and see an original hash stall from Freetown Christiania. The National Museum tells the history of Denmark from the earliest settlements to the life today.
Iconic treasures of Danish history
Experience world-famous highlights with a starring role in Danish history. Runestones, The Golden Horns, the suit worn by the first Dane in space and the hash stall from Freetown Christiania that has become a symbol of Danish liberal-mindedness.
The Children’s Museum
Here you are invited to play and touch everything in sight! Join a raid in the Viking ship, discover a backyard of the 1930s or enter a classroom of the past and experience what school was like for the great-grandparents of Danes. Board the cargo ship and settle down in the berth in the cabin, or explore a Pakistani market and buy food in the bazaar. You can also cook in a Medieval kitchen, or prepare the knights’ castle for defense against enemy attacks.
Eat Nordic
With clear references to classic lunch and local dishes, restaurant Smör serves new interpretations of Danish food.
Viking Ship Museum
The Viking Ships in Roskilde
The Viking Ship Museum exhibits the five 1000-year-old original ship finds from the Viking Age (the Skuldelev Ships) as well as a fleet of sailing reconstructions. Several of these reconstructions and other Nordic boats are also available to sail in. You can also meet the craftsmen who keep up the traditions of the old maritime trades, and you can try your hand with axes, ropes and many other activities.
The permanent exhibitions are focused on the five Skuldelev Ships. The goal of these exhibits is to tell the story of these ships and of the many Nordic maritime adventures during the Viking Age. The five original Viking ships stand majestically with the Roskilde Fjord as a living backdrop. With this view, it becomes easy to imagine how the merchant set off for distant shores with his goods, the warriors waved goodbye to their families before the voyage and the fisherman embarked on the fjord with the hope of returning with a good catch.
Sailing trips on Roskilde Fjord - Climb on board!
Board a Viking ship and get up close!
The Museum is the only place in the world where you can experience seeing 1000-year-old Viking ships, and then go directly out to the Museum harbor, where the full-scale reconstructed Viking ships lie moored at the quayside. The Viking Ship Museum invites its guests to take part in unique sailing trips with either Viking ships or traditional Nordic boats, which are the descendants of the Vikings' ships. Viking ships were originally used for war, trading, fishing and transport during short every day trips or on longer voyages to foreign shores.
We go sailing on Roskilde Fjord every day with pre-booked corporate groups, school children and international group visitors. Take your family or friends with you for a special experience in an historical context, but with modern safety standards.
You buy your ticket as an addition to the entrance ticket and during the summer season timeslots are posted and updated daily on our website.
Related Attractions
Experience an architectural masterpiece, where 1000 years of Danish history and 40 kings and queens lies buried under beautifully decorated vaults and in dark crypts. The Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
NOTE: Opening hours can vary. We kindly ask you to check the website.
Venture on a time travel from the Middle Ages up until today. The cathedral’s long history and numerous chapels take you through 1000 years of Danish history and 800 years of European architectural history. This magnificent red brick Cathedral is a truly unique structure, and considered to be one of Denmark’s most important buildings.
Its history can be traced as far back as the Viking king Harald ‘Bluetooth’. He is believed to have been buried on this site around 987. Construction of the present church began around 1200. The church is the first Gothic church buildings in Scandinavia built in bricks, and with its soaring arches and huge windows, it provides you with a fantastic impression of the Gothic idea of creating churches filled with light. With its many royal chapels, all built in their own distinctive architectural style, a visit to Roskilde Cathedral is a fascinating architectural odyssey.
The royal family’s burial church
In Roskilde Cathedral, 40 kings and queens lie buried in beautiful sarcophagi and coffins, from the Middle Ages until the present day. Get close to the woman behind the union of Denmark, Sweden and Norway Margrete I or Europe’s parents-in-law King Christian IX and Queen Louise. The sepulchral monument of the current Queen Margrethe II his already in place. As something unique, you can sit on the bench covering the monument until the death of the regent.
The Frigate Peder Skram will open again in April 2024
Peder Skram was part of the Royal Danish Navy from 1966-1988. Peder Skram was the first large warship in the world to use a combination of gas turbines and diesel engines for propulsion. It could reach a speed of approximately 30 knots (55 km/h or 34 mp/h) using gas turbines.
In case of war the frigate was a heavily armed flagship in the defense of the Baltic coast of Germany and the Danish islands against a naval invasion from the Warsaw Pact. The coordination of Operation Hurricane, large scale air raids, and missile attacks on hostile landing forces, was to be coordinated from the combat information center of Peder Skram.
Onboard the frigate you can experience the life of Danish naval personnel during the Cold War. You can witness how the 200 crewmembers of a Navy Flagship lived and worked every day. You can visit different stations: the combat information center, engine room, galley, bridge and even the gun turret.
Experience the history of Roskilde, once one of the most powerful cities in northern Europe and a religious epicentre in the medieval ages. Follow the traces of the past and meet the people who once lived here. It is the story of an unusual city that has put its clear marks on Denmark as we know it today.
At Roskilde Museum in the heart of one of Denmark’s most historical and culturally rich cities you can get a closer look on the pre-Christian times in Denmark, you can get to know the mysterious double Viking grave from Gerdrup, the story of the rise of a powerful catholic church in the Middle ages – and you can grasp the modern Roskilde.
Join us on a journey, which takes its start before the foundation of the city in approximately 980 before Christ, experience the unique Ely book where ‘Roskilde’ was mentioned for the first time in history a 1000 years ago, and go through our special exhibition about trash and recycling in the contemporary city.
AMAZING ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS
The exhibitions in Roskilde Museum contain many amazing objects found in excavations in and around the city of Roskilde. Ranging from the full skeleton of a prehistoric auroch and the mysterious tomb of Gerdrup to medieval silvercoins, chesspieces and weapons, and so much more!
Lejre Land of Legends is a unique and stunningly beautiful open-air museum, which offers its visitors to embark on a journey through time and space.
Explore the reconstruction of the largest Viking Kings Hall ever found, an impressive high seat fit for the warrior kings from the dawn of the Viking Age. Visit a series of authentic reconstructed settlements, houses, and active workshops from the Iron, Stone, and Viking Ages, and immerse yourself in the past brought to life.
Lejre Land of Legends is an atmospheric and exciting tourist attraction for the whole family. 10.000 years of Danish history brought to life. Houses and settings from the Iron Age, Stone Age, Viking Age and the 19th century, historic workshops and domestic animals, located in the beautiful historic landscape near Roskilde.
A day filled with experiencies for all senses. Many amusing and challenging activities for children and adults the whole season (see opening hours); 43 ha of space and peace to enjoy an excursion in the past
Try activities for all ages, and go sailing in a dugout canoe or test your aim with bow and arrow. Meet the researchers and craftsmen and let them fill you in on new theories of how to interpret the relics from the past.
History brought to life Discover an atmospheric attraction for the whole family. 10.000 years of Danish history brought to life, located in the beautiful historic landscape in National Park Land of the Scyldings.Approx travel time from Copenhagen Central Station 50 mins.
Museum for pop, rock and youth culture!
See, hear and feel your way through the history of rhythmic music from 1950s rock'n'roll, through1980s pop culture to today's wild rhythms - and get an idea of tomorrow's music scene.
But RAGNAROCK is more than a roller coaster ride in the colorful history of music. First and foremost you get the story of roaring youth generations that through different times creates its own culture, communicating globally through music and have huge impact on society.
RAGNAROCK is also an exciting Exploratorium. Dance our way through history and find your favorite song.
The café serves lunch, brunch, snack, coffee teas and much more.
The walk from Roskilde station takes 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can take bus 202A from the station.
According to written sources from the middle ages, it was in the area surrounding Lejre Museum, that the birth of the Danish realm took place. It is here, you find the first line of Danish kings, Skjoldungerne, who, according to the legend, had their base during the Iron Age and the Viking Age in Denmark (500-1000 A.C.).
Lejre Museum reopened with a brand new exhibition in March 2016. The exhibition combines digital installations and archaeological treasure findings, which gives unique historical experience.
The legend tells, that just outside the doors of Lejre Museum, in the beautiful, scenic landscape, lay the great castle of Skjoldungerne, who descended from King Skjold. Skjoldungerne were mythical kings, but archaeological findings in the area suggest, that Gl. Lejre was one of the most important centers in the Viking ages.
The exhibition is divided into three general themes. The first presents the original sources – the written myths and the archaeological evidence. Here you can experience the legendary myths through sound, light, and film, and it is here, that you get an introduction to the history of Lejre.
The second main theme is shaped like a big digital wall map, where you actively can seek information about the monuments and the excavations in the area surrounding the museum.
In the third theme, you find the museums archaeological treasures from the area – the world-renowned Odin-statue, the Gevninge-finding and Denmarks largest silver treasure, Mannerupskatten.
Lejre Museum also has a cosy bookstore and shop, where you can immerse yourself in the ancient myths while you enjoy a delicious cup of organic coffee.
Jægerspris Castle is one of Denmark's oldest royal castles. It is beautifully located, surrounded by forest and fjords. The royal history goes back to the 13th Century and the castle has served as a hunting and summer residence for kings and queens.
In 1854 Frederik VII and Countess Danner moved into Jægerspris Castle. They decorated the castle as their private residence and the rooms still stand as they did in the 1850s.
The living rooms at Jægerspris Castle are decorated according to the taste of the time by the fashion- and style-conscious Countess Danner. Incidentally, the castle is the only place in Denmark where the interior design of the 1850s can be experienced as a whole. During a visit to the museum, you can also experience King Frederik VII’s archaeological collection, which contains several unique gold finds from the Bronze Age.
You can also see an exhibition about the orphanage that Countess Danner set up at the castle. The exhibition tells how the children lived in the orphanage wards around the castle in the 1920s, 30s and 40s, and here it is shown how this large private orphanage has had an impact on childcare in Denmark.
At the castle is a small cozy café, Cafe Danner, with organic coffee and tea, delicious cakes baked with care and cozy lunch. There is also a small shop with lots of gift ideas. The café and shop offer sheltered employment for people who find it difficult to find and maintain regular work.
This year's special exhibition is about Jægerspris’ giant oaks, pictured by artists since the 1840s. After a visit to the museum, you can go for a walk in the castle park, where 54 memorial columns from the 1780s lead you from the park to the forest and Roskilde Fjord.
Frederikssund Museum is Roskilde fjord's cultural history museum. Frederikssund Museum's new permanent exhibition deals with the interaction between man, life around the fjords and Frederikssund's history.
Frederikssund Museum is located just above the Crown Prince Frederiks Bro at Hornsherred in the historic red building from 1893. In the late 1900s, the old Færgegård (ferry house) was used as a guesthouse, where there were both guest rooms, kitchen and utility room that was often rented to families with children who would like to experience the fjord and the scenic surroundings around the area. It is said that Mr. Lorentzen who was hiring out of the farm at that time was a nice man towards the children and were allowed to pick wild raspberries in the woods behind the farm.
Visit Vedbækfundene Museum and meet the hunter-gatherers who lived a tough and dangerous life 7000 years ago!
At the museum Vedbækfundene you can experience unique finds from Danish prehistory. In our main exhibition a reconstruction of the life in the Stone Age Denmark, containing both graves and lifelike dioramas, will bring you back in time. The Special Exhibitions gives you the opportunity of meeting Jacob – a bog skeleton from the Iron Age, admiring beautiful neckpieces from the Bronze Age and much more.
A young woman from Vedbaek, Denmark, buried with her newborn child who had been placed on the wing of a swan, 4000 BC.Vedbaek 'The swan's wing burial' Tomb 8 is the most famous of the burials, containing a young woman, who may have died in childbirth, and a premature baby.
The archaeological finds are of international importance because it has given great insight into human life and society in Stone Age Northern Europe.
It is possible to book a guided tour.
Transport
The Vedbæk Finds is included in COPENHAGEN CARD - DISCOVER, which also includes public transport in zone 1-99. To get to The Vedbæk Finds, you can take bus 150S from Nørreport (approx 25 minutes) to the stop "Øverødvej" and walk about 10 minutes to the museum.