Middelfart Museum

About the museum

The impetus came in 1919 with the founding of the Middelfart Museumsforening (museum association), which raised money for a town museum. In 1928 the association acquired Henner Friisers Hus on Brogade, a Renaissance gabled house built around 1580 with jettied half-timbered upper floors, which had served as the ferry town's inn from 1705 to 1870. During restoration in 1927/28, well-preserved wall paintings came to light on the second floor; since then the house has been a museum and still belongs to the association.

In 1962 the museum received state recognition and a full-time director. Its field of work is the more recent cultural history of Middelfart Municipality. The collections concentrate on life in the small town and in the countryside in the 19th and 20th centuries, on textiles and clothing, industry, fruit, hop and tobacco growing, and the old Lillebæltsbro. The town archive was added in 1992.

Since 1999 the museum has also looked after the collection of the former psychiatric institution of Middelfart, and since 2013 the history of psychiatry has been a focus with national reach. This led to the Mind Museum, which opened in 2026 on the grounds of the former institution.

At Algade 8 in the old town, the museum has shown changing annual exhibitions since 2015; Café Inga, the museum shop and the administration are also there. In the run-up to Christmas, the gingerbread town Middelfart Peberkageby attracts visitors there, built since 2011 from houses baked by local citizens. The museum also looks after other small exhibitions in the visitor center of the old Lillebæltsbro and in the dinghy houses at the old harbor.

Highlights

• Henner Friisers Hus: Renaissance half-timbered house from around 1580 with wall paintings
• Exhibition on porpoise hunting in the Lillebælt with life-size models and an interactive game
• Model of the town of Middelfart in 1801
• Café Inga with furniture and tableware from the former Pension Grimmerhus
• Gingerbread town Middelfart Peberkageby during Advent

Permanent exhibitions

• Henner Friisers Hus – byens historie – On three floors, the Renaissance house tells of its time as an inn, of the town's history since the 16th century with a town model from 1801, and of finds from Hindsgavl manor up to the 1970s supermarket.
• Marsvin og Middelfart – Exhibition on the centuries-long hunt for porpoises in the Lillebælt and the biology of the animals, with life-size models and an interactive hunting game for children.

Founded

1928

Operated by

Middelfart Museum (staatlich anerkannt)

Director

Maiken Rude Nørup

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission during the autumn break (week 42) and for the Christmas exhibition with Peberkageby.

The admission of DKK 30 applies to either Algade 8 or Henner Friisers Hus. Payment in cash, by card and, at Algade 8, also by MobilePay (no MobilePay at Henner Friisers Hus). Schools and daycare centers from Middelfart Municipality have free admission by arrangement. History hunt for children during the autumn break DKK 20.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• 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

Algade 8 with the exhibition, café and shop is wheelchair-accessible, but the lift is currently out of service. Henner Friisers Hus is not wheelchair-accessible. Guide and service dogs (with identifying vest) are allowed. Accessibility details at God Adgang.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

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

In Henner Friisers Hus, children look for hidden little rooms and solve the worksheet on the house's eight secrets; the porpoise exhibition on the second floor is aimed especially at children with life-size models and an interactive game. During the autumn break there is a history hunt with cocoa and a cookie as well as crafts, and during Advent riddles in the Peberkageby.

Getting there & parking

By car from Jutland via exit 59, from the direction of Funen/Zealand via exit 58 of the E45 motorway. Algade 8 and Henner Friisers Hus (Brogade 8) are in Middelfart's old town.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

Café Inga (25 seats) with a courtyard garden, homemade cake from old recipes of Pension Grimmerhus, accessible without museum admission; reservations for up to 20 people except during free-admission periods. Museum shop with old-fashioned toys, books, textiles and products from West Funen.

Events & venue rental

As far as we know, the museum does not rent out spaces for external events.

Plan your visit