Æbelholt Kloster

About the museum

In 1175/76 Abbot William founded an Augustinian monastery west of present-day Hillerød, which grew to become the largest of its order in the Nordic countries. The complex included a church, cloister courtyard, workshops, and a water mill, as well as a hospital, a priests' school, and a hostel for nobles and travelers. Many people came here to seek healing, do penance, or die. William died in 1203 and was canonized by the pope in 1224; his feast day is June 16.

Only foundations of the monastery buildings survive today. Vilhelm Møller-Christensen discovered the ruins in September 1935; excavations through the 1960s uncovered the late medieval foundations and around 800 graves, with up to 1,100 skeletons found in total.

In the small museum next to the ruins, numerous of these skeletons are on display, including pregnant women with their unborn children. Together with medical instruments, they illustrate diseases, living conditions, and treatment methods before modern medicine. Next to the museum lies a monastery garden laid out in 1957 with more than 100 medicinal plants, inspired by the famous Plan of St. Gall. Today the site belongs to Museum Nordsjælland.

Highlights

• Ruins of the once largest Augustinian monastery in the Nordic countries
• Exhibition with numerous medieval skeletons and medical instruments
• Monastery garden with more than 100 medicinal plants
• Digital time travel with a loaner tablet among the ruins
• Monastery ruins freely accessible year-round

Permanent exhibitions

• Skelette und Heilkunst im Mittelalter – Skeletal finds from the monastery graves and medical instruments tell of illness, treatment, life, and death in the medieval monastery.

Operated by

Museum Nordsjælland

Admission & discounts

Payment possible with Dankort, MobilePay, credit cards, or cash.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

A small step leads into the museum; the museum host helps with a mobile ramp. No accessible toilet. The paths in the monastery garden are wide but paved with cobblestones. A narrow dirt path about 200 m long leads to the ruins in the field. Dogs only on a leash outdoors; in the museum only guide dogs and assistance dogs (with a vest or proof).

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities: not available

The museum recommends the monastery garden, ruins, and exhibition as an outing for children and adults, for example with a picnic. Strollers are welcome (one small step at the entrance, cobblestones in the garden). Toilets available, but no dedicated baby changing area. Some skeletal finds are not for the faint-hearted.

Getting there & parking

About 5 km west of Hillerød on Isterødvejen.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

The museum shop at the entrance offers coffee, juice, water, and ice cream as well as books, crafts, herb salts, soaps, and plants grown in the monastery garden. Your own food is not allowed indoors, but is welcome outside on benches and at the café tables by the monastery garden. Toilets available.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Private events for friends or colleagues in the Museum Nordsjælland museums on request; coffee and cake are billed separately.

Plan your visit