Esbjerg Museum
Urban history museum in Esbjerg with walk-through streets, shops, and apartments from 1900–1950 and exhibitions on the occupation period.
About the museum
Efforts to create a city museum and an urban history archive in Esbjerg began in 1924, when the city librarian Carl Thomsen set up a local history committee. The museum is housed in a building from 1926 at the corner of Torvegade/Nørregade, designed by the architects C. H. Clausen and Harald Peters. In 1962 the fisheries and maritime section was split off, from which today's Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet emerged.
In 2008 Esbjerg Museum merged with the Antiquarian Collection in Ribe and the Esbjerg Vandtårn into the museum organization Sydvestjyske Museer; since 2024 it has belonged to Museum Vest. The building was renovated in 2016.
The museum tells the story of Esbjerg, Denmark's youngest city, and the people who shaped it. At its heart is a rebuilt urban landscape from the first half of the 20th century with shopfronts, a grocery shop, a kiosk, a harbor scene, and a worker's apartment and a director's apartment from the 1920s; many doors, windows, and floors come from demolished Esbjerg houses.
A second focus is the German occupation of 1940–1945: the staging "BESAT" leads through the apartment of a fictional family in 1943 with their moral dilemmas, while "MODSTAND" sheds light on resistance and sabotage in Esbjerg, Ribe, and Bramming. For school classes there is also a Holocaust education center and a historical schoolroom.
Highlights
- Walk-through city scenery of Esbjerg 1900–1950 with shops and apartments
- Staging "BESAT – Esbjerg 1943" with air-raid shelter and back courtyard
- Exhibition "MODSTAND" on the resistance in Southwest Jutland
- Worker's and director's apartments from the 1920s
- Short film "Esbjerg under besættelsen" every hour on the hour
Permanent exhibitions
- Esbjerg 1900–1950 (Esbjerg Bymiljø) – Rebuilt urban landscape with shop windows, grocery shop, kiosk, harbor scene, and a worker's apartment and a director's apartment from around 1925.
- BESAT – Esbjerg 1943 – Staged rooms of an Esbjerg family during the occupation, whose members tell of their moral dilemmas between business, black market, resistance, and love.
- MODSTAND – Esbjerg Ribe Bramming 1940-45 – Exhibition about the people in the resistance in Southwest Jutland, from Denmark's first city strike in Esbjerg in 1943 to railway sabotage and liquidations at the end of the war.
- Founded
- 1941
- Operated by
- Museum Vest (staatlich anerkanntes Museum)
Admission & discounts
| Adults | DKK 65 |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 17 · Children and teenagers under 18 free |
| Visitors with disabilities | –companion free · Companions with a Danish companion card (ledsagerkort) have free admission. |
| Students & apprentices | –Students pay the group price. |
| Groups (16+ people) | –Group price for groups of more than 15 people. Primary school and youth education groups as well as daycare groups, including accompanying adults, free; bus drivers and tour guides free. |
| Annual pass Museum Vest (5 museums) | DKK 550Free admission also to Fiskeri- og Søfartsmuseet, Museet Ribes Vikinger, HEX! Museum of Witch Hunt, and Jacob A. Riis Museum |
Tickets online or at the ticket desk in the museum shop.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom: no information
- 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
The building has many levels and stairs. An elevator is available but is operated by museum staff, who are happy to help. Dogs are not allowed, but guide dogs and assistance dogs are.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 17 |
|---|
- Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
Two free children's activities: a scavenger hunt with a solution word through "BESAT" for roughly ages 8 to 12 and a detective game in the city scenery in which a thief is sought. The cards are available in the museum shop, and a small reward awaits for the correct solution word.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available · 5-min walk to the entrance
The museum recommends the Museumspladsen parking lot, about a 5-minute walk away. Current parking information from Destination Vadehavskysten.
The museum is in the city center at the corner of Torvegade/Nørregade.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Museum shop
- Lockers: not available
No lockable coat check. If you buy drinks in the museum, you may eat food you bring yourself at the tables in the central hall.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Plan your visit
| School programs | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | No advance registration needed; school classes and larger groups are asked to announce their visit. The film "Esbjerg under besættelsen" (9 minutes) runs every hour on the hour. A museum app provides additional information on the city exhibition via QR codes. Educational programs for schools are available, including on the occupation period and the Holocaust, bookable via ude.nu. |
