Holbæk Museum

About the museum

The Holbæk Museum began as the "Folkemuseet for Holbæk og omliggende Herreder" and opened its first exhibition in November 1911. In 1919 it moved to Klosterstræde, where it is still located today. Before that, it had saved from demolition and restored the rear building of Pastor Søren May's farm, built around 1670, later the town's poorhouse.

Today the complex comprises twelve buildings in the heart of the old town, including half-timbered houses from around 1670, the old town hall of 1844 with a shop and café, and a free school from the 19th century. Eleven of the houses still stand on their original site – a rarity in Denmark. Only the merchant's courtyard of 1660 was moved here in 1937 from another courtyard complex in the town.

The exhibitions tell of the town on the fjord between the Middle Ages and 1870, of the role of West Zealand in Danish colonial trade with the West Indies, and of old crafts. The museum has the largest collection of Knabstrup ceramics in the country. A showpiece is the Gislinge boat, an exceptionally well-preserved clinker-built boat from the transition between the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. In a reconstructed apartment, visitors can experience the daily life of a working-class family with eleven children around 1940.

The museum is part of the Museum Vestsjælland group. The museum also includes the museum ship KDL Lodsbåden from 1922 and a maritime exhibition in the Kystliv center at the harbor.

Highlights

• Gislinge boat – clinker-built boat from the transition between the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, staged with light and sound
• Ensemble of twelve historic houses, some from the 17th century
• Largest collection of Knabstrup ceramics in Denmark
• Workers' apartment of the Jacobsen family around 1940, hands-on
• Exhibition "Vestsjælland og Vestindien" on colonial history
• Merchant's courtyard of 1660 with a small shop

Permanent exhibitions

• Det sidste vikingeskib? – Long-term presentation of the Gislinge boat in the old town hall, staged as a sensory experience with light and sound.
• Vestsjælland og Vestindien – The exhibition in the old free school shows how closely even the province of West Zealand was entangled with the sugar trade and slavery in the Danish West Indies.
• Arbejderbolig anno 1940 – Furnished small apartment in which the dockworker family Jacobsen lived with eleven children; furniture and objects may be touched.

Founded

1911

Operated by

Museum Vestsjælland

Admission & discounts

Tickets at the museum shop. Admission covers all eight exhibition buildings, the Lodsbåden, and the exhibition in the Kystliv center at the harbor. Members of the local museum association free, members of other Museum Vestsjælland associations pay half. Daycare centers, schools, and educational institutions, including accompanying staff, free.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• 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 shop, café, museum courtyard, and the exhibitions on the first floors are easily accessible; parts of the courtyard are cobblestoned. Accessible restroom in the building with the shop and café. Certified service dogs are welcome. AutismGoTo offers a preparation guide for people with autism.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area

In the children's attic (for about ages 4–10), kids steer a ship and play with a dollhouse. In the ArkæoLAB (ages 6–12), children dig for finds with a metal detector and tools. In the Jacobsen family's apartment, everything may be touched. For families there is the city rally "Jagten på Holbæks historie" (bag with booklet, map, and compass, DKK 65, about 1 hour). In the exhibition hall of the Kystliv center at the harbor there is a maritime playground for the youngest.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

Small café in the old town hall with coffee, tea, lemonade, and sweets, in summer also in the museum courtyard. Food you bring yourself may be eaten in the courtyard year-round. Museum shop with tin toys, regional delicacies, books, and crafts.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit