The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

is Denmark's largest museum of

cultural history Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing t ...

, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main building is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world, from

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. Additionally, the museum sponsors SILA - The Greenland Research Center at the National Museum of Denmark to further

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

research in

. The museum has a number of national commitments, particularly within the following key areas:

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

, ethnology,

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inc ...

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

, building

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

activities in connection with the churches of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, as well as the handling of the Danefæ (the National Treasures).

Exhibitions

The museum covers 14,000 years of Danish

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, from the reindeer-hunters of the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

s, and works of religious art from the

Middle Age In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

s, when the church was highly significant in Danish life. Danish coins from Viking times to the present and coins from ancient

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, as well as examples of the

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order ...

age and currencies of other

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

s, are exhibited also. The National Museum keeps Denmark's largest and most varied collection of objects from the ancient cultures of Greece and Italy, the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. For example, it holds a collection of objects that were retrieved during the Danish excavation of Tell Shemshara in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in 1957. Exhibits are also shown on who the

Danish people Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

are and were, stories of everyday life and special occasions, stories of the Danish state and nation, but most of all stories of different people's lives in Denmark from 1560 to 2000. The Danish pre-history section was re-opened in May 2008 after years of renovating. In 2013, a major exhibition on the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

was opened by Margrethe II of Denmark. It has toured to other museums, including the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in London.

Notable artifacts

* Golden horns of Gallehus (only copies are on display since the originals were stolen and melted down in 1802) * Gundestrup cauldron *

Hjortspring boat The Hjortspring boat ( da, Hjortspringbåden) is a vessel designed as a large canoe, from the Scandinavian Pre-Roman Iron Age. It was built circa 400–300 BC. The hull and remains were rediscovered and excavated in 1921–1922 from the bog of ''H ...

* Egtved Girl coffin * Kingittorsuaq Runestone * Snoldelev Stone * Trundholm Sun Chariot * Seikilos epitaph * Holmegaard bow *

Tjele helmet fragment The Tjele helmet fragment is a Viking Age fragment of iron and bronze, originally comprising the eyebrows and noseguard of a helmet. It was discovered in 1850 with a large assortment of smith's tools in Denmark, and though the find was sent to t ...

Directors

* Christian Jürgensen Thomsen (1825–1865) *

Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (14 March 1821 – 15 August 1885) was a Danish archaeologist, historian and politician, who was the second director of the National Museum of Denmark (1865–1874). He played a key role in the foundation of scientific ...

(1856–1874) *

Sophus Müller Sophus Otto Müller (24 May 1846 - 23 February 1934) was a Danish archaeologist. Biography He was born in Copenhagen, the son of C. Louis Müller. Sophus studied classical philology at Copenhagen University, graduating cand.philol. in 1871. ...

(1895–1921) * Olaf Olsen (1981–1995) * Steen Hvass (1996–2001) * Carsten U. Larsen (2002–2008) * Per Kristian Madsen (2008–2017) * Rane Willerslev (2017–present)

Gallery

<> Image:Guldhornene DO-10765 original.jpg, Copies of the two golden horns of Gallehus from around the 4th century Image:Bronze Age Helmets, Nationalmuseet Copenhagen.jpg, The '' Veksø helmets'' - Bronze Age horned helmets from Brøns Mose at Veksø on Zealand, Denmark Image:Gundestrup cauldron - F.I.4277.jpg, ''Gundestrupkarret'' (the Gundestrup cauldron), dating from the 1st century BC File:Solvognen-00100.jpg, The Trundholm Sun Chariot, an important late Nordic Bronze Age artifact Image:Nivisarsiaq (Mathias Blumenthal).jpg, ''Nivisarsiaq'', a painting of a

ic girl who came to Denmark in the mid 18th century Image:Egtvedpigen.jpg, The '' Egtved Girl'' coffin from the late Nordic Bronze Age Image:Aurochs, Danish National Museum.jpg, Exhibit of an

aurochs The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocene ...

skeleton Image:Danish Pride, National Museum of Denmark.jpg, Exhibit from the Danish 20th century section Image:Maori Face mask, National Museum of Denmark.jpg, Exhibit from New Zealand. Showcasing sections of global history and traditions Image:Huldremose_Woman.jpg, The

Huldremose Woman Huldremose Woman, or Huldre Fen Woman, is a female bog body recovered in 1879 from a peat bog near Ramten, Jutland, Denmark. Analysis by Carbon 14 dating indicates that she lived during the Iron Age, sometime between 160 BCE and 340 CE. Th ...

from 160 BCE - 340 CE found in a peat bog near Ramten,

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

Image:Golden altar of Lisbjerg Church.jpg, The golden altar of

Lisbjerg Lisbjerg is a village and suburb 7 km north of the city center of Aarhus, Denmark. Lisbjerg has a population of 1,063 (1 January 2022). Lisbjerg is situated on the northern slopes of the broad and flat valley of Egådalen, marking the northe ...

Church built c. 1125-1150 Image:Dejbjerg wagon, Nationalmuseet Copenhagen.jpg, The

Dejbjerg wagon The Dejbjerg wagon (Danish ''Dejbjergvognen'') is a composite of two ceremonial wagons found in a peat bog in Dejbjerg near Ringkøbing in western Jutland, Denmark. These votive deposits were dismantled and ritually placed in the bog around 100 B ...

from the Pre-Roman Iron Age, thought to be a ceremonial wagon.

Publications (selected)

''Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark'' is the title of the museum's yearbook which has been published since 1928 and contains articles and other contributions.Om Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark
; jelling.natmus.dk ISSN 0084-9308 *''Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark 1807 - 2007''. København: Nationalmuseet, 2007

References

External links

*
Virtual tour of the National Museum of Denmark
provided by

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:National Museum Of Denmark 1819 establishments in Denmark Archaeological museums in Denmark History museums in Denmark

Museums in Copenhagen Viking Age museums Rococo architecture in Denmark