Slagelse Museum

About the museum

Slagelse Museum was established in 1978 as a regional cultural history museum for the town and its surrounding area. From the start, the focus was on the history of trade, crafts, and industry; the collection also includes an extensive series of shooting boards of the local bird-shooting society from 1819 to 1936.

The building is characterized by the Håndværkergade (Craftsmen's Street), a winding lane rebuilt inside, with cobblestones and half-timbered houses, showing life in a Danish small town in the first half of the 19th century. In the houses, workshops of traditional crafts have been set up, such as a wheelwright, bookbinder, hatter, and coppersmith. Parts of the set – a Latin school with a dwelling – come from the 2005 television series "Unge Andersen" and recall H. C. Andersen's school days in Slagelse.

Today the museum belongs to Museum Vestsjælland. Alongside the merchant's shop from the 1940s and 1950s, it shows archaeological gold finds from the surrounding area and, since 2025, the exhibition "Skyggekrigerne" on agents and resistance fighters in West Zealand during the German occupation. Behind the museum is a garden with raised beds of old apothecary plants, a fire pit, and an obstacle course, which is accessible even outside opening hours; it recalls that the town's first pharmacy stood in the same street for centuries.

Highlights

• Covered craftsmen's street with workshops from the first half of the 19th century
• Latin school from the television series "Unge Andersen"
• Merchant's shop from the rationing era of the 1940s
• Exhibition "Skyggekrigerne" with weapons and agent equipment of the Resistance
• Museum garden with apothecary herbs, fire pit, and obstacle course

Permanent exhibitions

• Håndværkergaden – Rebuilt small-town street from the first half of the 19th century with workshops of old crafts, a market square, and a Latin school from the time of H. C. Andersen.
• Skyggekrigerne – Long-term exhibition on the secret resistance in West Zealand in World War II, on the training of Danish agents by the British, and on their weapons and disguised tools.
• Købmandsbutikken – Merchant's shop from the 1940s and 1950s that tells of scarcity of goods, bartering, and food ration stamps.

Founded

1978

Operated by

Museum Vestsjælland

Admission & discounts

Tickets at the museum desk. Members of the local museum association free, members of other Museum Vestsjælland associations pay half. Daycare centers, schools, youth education programs, and teacher and early-childhood educator training, together with accompanying staff, free.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: not available
• 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

For visitors with walking difficulties, access to parts of the museum can be arranged after prior registration (phone +45 59 43 23 53 or email). The ramps are designed only for manual wheelchairs; access with electric wheelchairs is not possible. The shop and toilet are not accessible to wheelchair users. The exhibition "Skyggekrigerne" is on the second floor without an elevator. Certified service dogs with visible identification are welcome.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

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

For families there is the city rally "Jagten på Slagelses historie" (bag with activity booklet, map, clipboard, and compass, DKK 65, about 1 hour, for 2–6 people). In the garden behind the museum, a large obstacle course invites children and adults. Families can join the culture club "Kulturpiraterne", which informs about activities for children about twelve times a year.

Getting there & parking

GPS address according to the museum: Bredegade 11a, 4200 Slagelse. The Viking fortress Trelleborg is about 10 minutes away.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

Café with coffee and cake; shopping in the historic merchant's shop. In the garden behind the museum, food you bring may be eaten, and the fire hut can be used (firewood available at the museum).

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit