Arbejdermuseet

About the museum

Arbejdermuseet is housed in the workers' association and assembly building on Rømersgade, which was inaugurated on April 23, 1879. Workers had collected the money for it in small amounts and built the building in a short time. For 103 years the building was a meeting place of the labor movement – for union meetings, congresses, educational programs and celebrations – and a model for many community halls across the country. It is considered one of the oldest surviving workers' assembly buildings in Europe.

The museum, founded in 1982, has used the building since 1983. The centerpiece is the listed festival hall, which was extended in 1913 and comprehensively restored in 2021; in the basement is the tavern Café & Øl-Halle in the style of the 1890s, Copenhagen's only listed basement tavern. The building also houses the library and archive of the labor movement, whose collection dates back to 1909.

The permanent exhibitions tell of the lives of working-class families in cramped apartments, of the fight for the eight-hour day, of 150 years of industrial work and of the growing prosperity of the 1950s. A children's museum with a 1930s backyard invites play. In 2026 the museum, together with workers' halls in Melbourne, Broken Hill and Ghent, submitted a nomination for UNESCO World Heritage.

Highlights

• Listed festival hall of 1879 with restored ceiling decoration of 1913
• Denmark's oldest preserved packed lunch from 1886 in "Vi er arbejderne"
• The Hansen family apartment and a 1950s shopping street
• Café & Øl-Halle in the style of the 1890s
• Børnenes Arbejdermuseum with a 1930s backyard

Permanent exhibitions

• Vi er arbejderne – The lives of maids, farmhands and factory workers in cramped apartments, and the fight for voting rights, the eight-hour day and leisure time – with Denmark's oldest surviving packed lunch.
• Industriarbejdet – 150 years of industrial work, from Carlsberg's backyard bottlers to today's seamstresses in Nicaragua, and the question of how workers have had to adapt again and again.
• 1950’erne – A visit to the Hansen family's two-room apartment and to a 1950s shopping street, when working-class families became consumers; with a nostalgic coffee bar.

Founded

1982

Director

Søren Bak-Jensen

Admission & discounts

Online tickets are 10% cheaper. Members of unions with a cooperation agreement have free admission.

Accessibility

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

Step-free access to all areas via two elevators (wheelchairs up to 70 cm and 95 cm wide respectively, the larger one only up to the third floor); loan wheelchairs available, lift platform in "Vi er arbejderne". In the listed building, some narrow corridors and thresholds; if needed, alternative access via the basement by arrangement. Participates in the Sunflower program; social visit preparation with Autism Go To.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

In the children's museum Børnenes Arbejdermuseum (especially for ages 3 to 12), children may touch everything: a 1930s workers' apartment, a grocery store, a brewery, a pawnshop, costumes and a recreated backyard. Family programs are offered during the holidays. Children may not enter the museum alone. Strollers are allowed in the exhibitions (except in some special exhibitions); baby changing area in the accessible restroom, a stroller can be borrowed.

Getting there & parking

Bicycles can be parked on the street in front of the museum.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

Fru Hansens Kaffebar in 1950s style (daily 10:00–16:30, Thursdays until 19:30) and restaurant Café & Øl-Halle with smørrebrød (daily 11:00–17:00, table reservations via cafeogoelhalle.dk). Coat check and lockable lockers in the museum shop; larger bags must be handed in. Food brought from outside in the Stauning room or in the festival hall, when free.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 132 guests.

Festival hall (up to 132 people at long tables) and meeting room Pio (up to 28 people); conference packages with catering from Café & Øl-Halle, exclusive use of the museum also possible.

Plan your visit