Garderhøjfortet

About the museum

Garderhøjfortet was built from 1886 to plans by Colonel E. J. Sommerfeldt and completed in 1892; its models were fortresses in France and Belgium. It is the largest fort of the Københavns Landbefæstning and the only square fort on the northern front with its own infantry barracks. It was paid for entirely by private donations collected by the Foreningen til Forsvarets Fremme – a considerable share was contributed by 108 women's committees.

During the neutrality mobilization in World War I, soldiers of the Sikringsstyrken were stationed here. In 1920, the fort was decommissioned and afterward served as an ammunition depot until World War II, later as an alternate headquarters, as a radio station of the Meteorological Institute, and as a command post of the Home Guard, among other uses. In 1989, the complex was placed under heritage protection.

The owner is the Garderhøjfonden. After a comprehensive restoration from 2007, the fort opened in 2013 as a visitor center, initially under the Experimentarium and now operated by the Gentofte Municipality. The exhibition shows the fort as it was in 1920 and lets visitors experience a soldier's daily life around 1915 – with the soldiers' quarters, the quarters of the fort commander and engineer, a signal office with a Morse telegraph, a gymnasium, an armored turret, a medical exhibition, and uniforms from the 1850s to 2015. A separate exhibition is dedicated to the Royal Life Guards and their traces around Gentofte.

Highlights

• 15 cm cannon in the armored turret, fired on the last Sunday of the month at 12:00
• Hands-on cannon for loading, aiming, and firing
• Send Morse messages in the signal office
• Poterne passages with the counterweights of the sinking tower
• Escape rooms with scenarios from World War I
• Exhibition "Garden på Garderhøj" about the Livgarden

Permanent exhibitions

• Garden på Garderhøj – The exhibition tells of the Royal Life Guards, their significance for Denmark, and their traces in Gentofte, such as the Jægersborg barracks 1909–1943.

Founded

2013

Operated by

Gentofte Kommune

Admission & discounts

If you only want to buy coffee or ice cream in the shop, you pay no admission.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Accessible restrooms, one of them with a baby changing table. Accessible parking space at the red house; drop-off and pick-up at the main entrance by arrangement.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities
• Kids’ birthday parties

Interactive exhibition with hands-on activities (loading the cannon, sending Morse code, gymnasium). Children's birthday parties for ages 6–12 (2.5 hours, DKK 70 per child, at least 10 children); family activities during school holidays and at Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

Small shop with toy soldiers, enamel tableware, postcards, model kits, and books, as well as coffee, Frisko ice cream, water, and candy. Food you bring yourself may be eaten at tables and benches outdoors or, in bad weather, in two mess halls in the fort.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Team building for companies (from 5 people, DKK 250 per person, about 2 hours, in Danish or English), which can be combined with a guided tour, room rental, and escape rooms.

Plan your visit