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.
Mosede Fort Denmark 1914-18
On the Brink of War - Neutrality between Warfare and Welfare in Denmark during World War 1
The exhibition "On the Brink of War - Neutrality between Warfare and Welfare" shows how the war affected the daily life of the Danes, and how the government, business community and general population upheld Denmark's neutrality through the four years of war.
The exhibition is for visitors of all ages (families and adults) and you won't necessarily need your reading glasses! Use your ears, eyes and hands to discover an important yet forgotton period of Danish history that changed the lives of the Danes forever.
You can listen to the English voices in the exhibition's numerous rooms and all exhibition texts are in English.
Travel 100 years back in time when World War 1 took place in Denmarks neighboring countries. Explore the many surprising stories, when you go back to a time when Denmark is on the brink of War. Denmark is fighting for its neutrality to avoid being drawn into war. Denmark is digging trenches, laying out mines and provides humanitarian assistance. The Danish welfare state is born when politicians intervene to keep the population united, while profiteers making huge sums of money off war.
- The general population had to count ration coupons, while profiteers let the champagne flow
- The ordinary man had to join the army, while zeppelins, sea mines and foreign submarines was located on the Danish coast
- Christian X and the Danish politicians had to pull strings, while the borders closed and 100,000 prisoners of war came to Denmark
Explore the exciting story of Denmark during World War 1:
- See the old historical photos and movies
- Touch most of the objects
- Pick up the phone and listen to the voices in the antiques telephones in Danish, German or English
Getting there:
S-train lines E and A runs to and from Karlslunde station. From the station it takes only five minutes to walk to the fort.
Approx travel time from Copenhagen Central Station 30 mins.
Related Attractions
Take a walk through Danish war history from the 1500s until today, and explore the treasure trove of equipment from samurai swords and medals to ship models and massive howitzers. Experience life as a deployed soldier as you step into Danish military camps from Afghanistan. Stay alert in the watch tower, and climb into an actual PMV hit by a roadside bomb. Also, get an overview of Danish war history. From knights in shining armour, wars with the Swedish and the English, to World War II, the Cold War and the war in Iraq. Or relax in the hammocks as you hear stories from the seven seas. The Danish War Museum is located in king Christian IVs arsenal on Slotsholmen in the heart of Copenhagen. When the arsenal was completed in 1604 it consisted of a war harbour, an arsenal and armoury, a provisions building with a bakery and a brewery, and an array of different workshops.
We will take you on an exciting journey through the past 500 years of Denmark’s wars – from famous battles against Sweden and England to Afghanistan.
Go underground and experience the Danish World War II resistance fight up close.
In the dark, shadowy streets of the occupation period, you'll meet five historical figures. Each has chosen a side, and now everyone must face the consequences. Dive into acts of sabotage, produce illegal newspapers, crack codes and intercept telephone calls.
See how Danes had to choose between whether they wanted to join the resistance, collaborate with the Germans - or try to continue with their everyday lives. The Museum of Danish Resistance is about the men and women who chose to resist the occupation and shows why that decision wasn’t always black and white.
The museum is located at the Citadel and is within walking distance from The Little Mermaid, Amalienborg Palace and Frederik’s Church (Marmorkirken).
Go underground in the German-occupied Denmark of the 1940s and experience the Danish resistance fight.
In the shadowy streets of the occupation, you will meet five historical people, who each in their own way chose a side during the harsh resistance fight during World War II. You will gain a unique insight into their difficult choices and dilemmas.
You can have a go at printing illegal magazines, intercept phone calls and break the Germans’ Enigma code.
It is possible to buy a guide book, which goes even deeper down into history about the resistance fight and the occupation during World War II.
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.
The Fast Attack Sehested will open again in April 2024
The Willemos-class Fast Attack Craft SEHESTED, along with its 9 sister ships, served as a prominent part of the naval defence of Denmark and NATO during the Cold War.
The enemy was right in fearing this vessel which, with its small size and crew, was armed as potently as a major surface combatant. The class was armed with wirecontrolled torpedoes, long range Harpoon missiles, and a 76mm gun. These ships could serve as minelayers and were equipped with modern technology for combat information, artillery direction and sensors.
In addition, ships were quite seaworthy and could reach a speed of 40 knots (74 km/h or 46 mp/h). The crew consisted of 25 young men and women who lived in cramped conditions. The individual crewmember was held to a high standard of professional excellence and teamwork.
What did the very first cars look like? How about the history of the telephone - from the first of its kind to the smartphones we all know today? And what does a space capsule look like? Come and learn more about the fantastic and breakthrough technical inventions and the people behind them.
The museum has an impressive collection of steam engines, electrical inventions, bicycles, cars and aeroplanes. There is also a pewter workshop from the 1920s and fire and life-saving station from around 1960. The Danish Museum of Science and Technology invites you on a journey where bridges will be built between you and Denmark’s technological history. Our unique collection of cars represents the Danish history of motor vehicles. For instance, you can experience the Hammel Car from 1888, the first automobile of the Royal Danish Family and a Volkswagen Beetle from 1948. The museum also houses a large collection of planes. There are old propeller planes, helicopters, gliders, private aircrafts, passenger planes and many former planes of Defence Command Denmark.
The Danish Museum of Science and Technology is for the whole family. From the first exciting fascination of machines to the critical contemporary views of everyday technology to the nerdy insight into mechanics and function. At the museum, the objects form the basis of the stories and we will look at the first technical inventions, today’s technology and what the future may bring.
The Danish Museum of Science & Technology is more than 100 years old and some of the museum objects are even older – from extremely heavy and big computers the size of an elephant to small, pocket-sized smartphones. The world of technology is constantly developing, and we can only try and guess how the future robotic vacuum cleaners, virtual reality and cars will look like.