The Viking Ships in Roskilde The Viking Ship Museum exhibits the five 1000-year-old original ship finds from the Viking Age (the Skuldelev Ships) as well as a fleet of sailing reconstructions. Several of these reconstructions and other Nordic boats are also available to sail in. You can also meet the craftsmen who keep up the traditions of the old maritime trades, and you can try your hand with axes, ropes and many other activities. The permanent exhibitions are focused on the five Skuldelev Ships. The goal of these exhibits is to tell the story of these ships and of the many Nordic maritime adventures during the Viking Age. The five original Viking ships stand majestically with the Roskilde Fjord as a living backdrop. With this view, it becomes easy to imagine how the merchant set off for distant shores with his goods, the warriors waved goodbye to their families before the voyage and the fisherman embarked on the fjord with the hope of returning with a good catch. Sailing trips on Roskilde Fjord - Climb on board! Board a Viking ship and get up close!The Museum is the only place in the world where you can experience seeing 1000-year-old Viking ships, and then go directly out to the Museum harbor, where the full-scale reconstructed Viking ships lie moored at the quayside. The Viking Ship Museum invites its guests to take part in unique sailing trips with either Viking ships or traditional Nordic boats, which are the descendants of the Vikings' ships. Viking ships were originally used for war, trading, fishing and transport during short every day trips or on longer voyages to foreign shores. We go sailing on Roskilde Fjord every day during the summer season and timeslots are posted and updated daily on our website. You buy your sailing ticket as an addition to your Copenhagen Card.  

Take a walk through Danish war history from the 1500s until today, and explore the treasure trove of equipment from samurai swords and medals to ship models and massive howitzers. Experience life as a deployed soldier as you step into Danish military camps from Afghanistan. Stay alert in the watch tower, and climb into an actual PMV hit by a roadside bomb. Also, get an overview of Danish war history. From knights in shining armour, wars with the Swedish and the English, to World War II, the Cold War and the war in Iraq. Or relax in the hammocks as you hear stories from the seven seas. The Danish War Museum is located in king Christian IVs arsenal on Slotsholmen in the heart of Copenhagen. When the arsenal was completed in 1604 it consisted of a war harbour, an arsenal and armoury, a provisions building with a bakery and a brewery, and an array of different workshops. We will take you on an exciting journey through the past 500 years of Denmark’s wars – from famous battles against Sweden and England to Afghanistan.  

M/S Maritime Museum in Elsinore is one of the most talked about museums in recent years. It has been named ‘A cutting-edge cultural venue’ by New York Times and ‘One of the eight greatest new museums’ by BBC. A sensory experience awaits with stunning architecture and modern, interactive exhibitions. From a distance it is almost invisible, but below sealevel - in the middle of the newly renovated Culture Harbour and next door to Kronborg Castle - lies the Danish Maritime Museum, M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark. If you follow the sloping bridges into the old dry dock, you will experience one of the most spectacular new buildings in Denmark of the recent years.M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark tells the story of Denmark as one of the world's leading maritime nations in an evocative and dramatic way. The setting is innovative and created by the award-winning design studio BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group. Eight different themes You can experience the story of Denmark as one of the world's leading maritime nations through eight different themes. You can look forward to the museum's rich maritime collection on display in an evocative and dramatic staging with major film projections and soundscapes. At the museum, you can get lost in films, objects and texts for hours – or you can walk through the exhibitions in 20 minutes and still get a glimpse of shipping's past and present, its structures and elements. Many people see maritime history as a niche, but we try to open up history and tell stories of love, death, courage, science and drama Experience seafaring up close in the 400 m2 maritime play universe ‘THE DREAM SHIP’ which encourage play, adventure and stories amongst children, parents and grandparents. ‘THE DREAM SHIP’ is supported by the Nordea Foundation and the Lauritzen Foundation. You can, among other things, come face to face with a torpedo, get an old sailor tattoo and see the world's largest model of a container ship. Furthermore, the M/S Café offers lunch, hot and cold beverages and a selection of cakes. The museum shop M/S Cargo sells a wide variety of books, clothes, applied arts and toys related to the maritime world. Special Exhibition: Pristine Seas Opens on the 29th of february, 2024 The goal of National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project is to help protect the ocean’s vital and wildest places. Pristine Seas is working with Indigenous peoples and local communities, governments, nonprofit partners, and businesses to help establish 40 new marine reserves and protect at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030.

NB: The Museum is closed for the winter and re-opens on the 10th of May 2025. The Willemos-class Fast Attack Craft SEHESTED, along with its 9 sister ships, served as a prominent part of the naval defence of Denmark and NATO during the Cold War. The enemy was right in fearing this vessel which, with its small size and crew, was armed as potently as a major surface combatant. The class was armed with wirecontrolled torpedoes, long range Harpoon missiles, and a 76mm gun. These ships could serve as minelayers and were equipped with modern technology for combat information, artillery direction and sensors. In addition, ships were quite seaworthy and could reach a speed of 40 knots (74 km/h or 46 mp/h). The crew consisted of 25 young men and women who lived in cramped conditions. The individual crewmember was held to a high standard of professional excellence and teamwork.

NB: The museum is closed for the winter and reopens on the 10th. of may 2025. The submarine Sælen was commissioned into the Royal Danish Navy in 1990 as the last submarine in Danish service. It was also the only submarine to ever participate in hostilities. Sælen is a small dieselelectric submarine, particularly suited for operations in coastal waters where it could encroach without detection. It was armed with eight torpedo-tubes and could deploy navy seals. When you visit the submarine, you will experience how the conditions were for the crew of 24 sailors. During the Cold War, submarines of the Royal Danish Navy were feared by the enemy due to their low detectability. In 2002 Sælen participated in NATO counter terrorism operations in the Mediterranean. Shortly before its return to Denmark, the submarine was redirected to the Arabian Gulf where it, along with the Corvette Olfert Fischer, conducted crucial operations during the second war in Iraq. Sælen was decommissioned in 2004.

NB: The Museum is closed for the winter and re-opens on the 10th. of May 2025. The most significant building on Holmen is the Mast Crane from 1749. The crane was used for keel hauling of ships and insertion of masts. It is built entirely of wood, and the wall around it is only a shell that protects the woodwork from wind and weather. The crane was able to lift twenty tons – only using manpower. Holmen was the main base, dock yard and anchorage for the Royal Danish Navy from 1690 to 1993. Copenhagen maintained a military home base as far back as the late 13th century, but the Navy was not granted a shipyard until around 1500. This was located on Bremerholm in the inner city. In 1680 work commenced to relocate the Navy outside the city due to limited space and risk of fire. Holmen was subsequently established  by lowering decommissioned ships filled with waste from the streets and mud from the harbour, thus creating the artificial island of Nyholm. At the northern end of the island the warship Elephanten was lowered into the water at a 90° angle creating another small island to shelter the ships at anchor. This island functioned as a pier for centuries. The waters between the inner city and Nyholm housed the Navy ships. The Mast Crane offers a viewpoint with an impressive 360 degrees view over Holmen and Copenhagen. 

What did the very first cars look like? How about the history of the telephone - from the first of its kind to the smartphones we all know today? And what does a space capsule look like? Come and learn more about the fantastic and breakthrough technical inventions and the people behind them. The museum has an impressive collection of steam engines, electrical inventions, bicycles, cars and aeroplanes. There is also a pewter workshop from the 1920s and fire and life-saving station from around 1960. The Danish Museum of Science and Technology invites you on a journey where bridges will be built between you and Denmark’s technological history. Our unique collection of cars represents the Danish history of motor vehicles. For instance, you can experience the Hammel Car from 1888, the first automobile of the Royal Danish Family and a Volkswagen Beetle from 1948. The museum also houses a large collection of planes. There are old propeller planes, helicopters, gliders, private aircrafts, passenger planes and many former planes of Defence Command Denmark. The Danish Museum of Science and Technology is for the whole family. From the first exciting fascination of machines to the critical contemporary views of everyday technology to the nerdy insight into mechanics and function. At the museum, the objects form the basis of the stories and we will look at the first technical inventions, today’s technology and what the future may bring. The Danish Museum of Science & Technology is more than 100 years old and some of the museum objects are even older – from extremely heavy and big computers the size of an elephant to small, pocket-sized smartphones. The world of technology is constantly developing, and we can only try and guess how the future robotic vacuum cleaners, virtual reality and cars will look like.  

On the Brink of War - Neutrality between Warfare and Welfare in Denmark during World War 1 The exhibition "On the Brink of War - Neutrality between Warfare and Welfare" shows how the war affected the daily life of the Danes, and how the government, business community and general population upheld Denmark's neutrality through the four years of war. The exhibition is for visitors of all ages (families and adults) and you won't necessarily need your reading glasses! Use your ears, eyes and hands to discover an important yet forgotton period of Danish history that changed the lives of the Danes forever. You can listen to the English voices in the exhibition's numerous rooms and all exhibition texts are in English. Travel 100 years back in time when World War 1 took place in Denmarks neighboring countries. Explore the many surprising stories, when you go back to a time when Denmark is on the brink of War. Denmark is fighting for its neutrality to avoid being drawn into war. Denmark is digging trenches, laying out mines and provides humanitarian assistance. The Danish welfare state is born when politicians intervene to keep the population united, while profiteers making huge sums of money off war. The general population had to count ration coupons, while profiteers let the champagne flow The ordinary man had to join the army, while zeppelins, sea mines and foreign submarines was located on the Danish coast Christian X and the Danish politicians had to pull strings, while the borders closed and 100,000 prisoners of war came to Denmark Explore the exciting story of Denmark during World War 1: See the old historical photos and movies Touch most of the objects Pick up the phone and listen to the voices in the antiques telephones in Danish, German or English Getting there: S-train lines E and A runs to and from Karlslunde station. From the station it takes only five minutes to walk to the fort.Approx travel time from Copenhagen Central Station 30 mins.