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 ar ...

is Denmark's largest museum of cultural history, 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 is ...

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 souther ...

. 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 landscape ...

and anthropological 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 Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...

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 inclu ...

, ethnography, natural science, conservation,

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 inqu ...

, building antiquarian 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 , establishe ...

, 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 History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

, 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 s ...

s, and works of religious art from the Middle Ages, 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 wit ...

, 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 orde ...

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 grou ...

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 and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. 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 regar ...

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 Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent fema ...

. 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 docume ...

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

Holmegaard bow The Holmegaard bows are a series of self bows found in the bogs of Northern Europe dating from the Mesolithic period.Comstock, P (1992). ''Ancient European Bows'', pp. 87-88. The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 2. The Lyons Press, 1992. They a ...

* Tjele helmet fragment

Directors

* Christian Jürgensen Thomsen (1825–1865) * Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae (1856–1874) *

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

(1895–1921) * Olaf Olsen (1981–1995) *

Steen Hvass The Dutch word Steen means "stone", and is used for "castle" or "fortress", as in the Gravensteen in Ghent, Belgium. It is also an alternative spelling of the Swedish and Danish word ''sten'' with the same meaning. It may refer to: *Steen (given na ...

(1996–2001) *

Carsten U. Larsen Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian, or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include: Given name ;Carsten: * Carsten Charles Sabathia (born 19 ...

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