SMK – The National Gallery of Denmark SMK - The National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst) is Denmark’s largest art museum, featuring outstanding collections of Danish and international art from the past seven centuries. SMK is located just off of Copenhagen's Nørreport station. Here you can experience special exhibitions, the royal collections, guided tours, performances, art talks, concerts, workshops and much more. At the SMK you can enjoy the grand masters of art history along with cutting-edge contemporary artists and the rising stars of the art scene. No other museum in Denmark shows such a rich and varied selection of art – from the European classics of the Renaissance to the overwhelming diversity of modern and contemporary art. Here you will find gems by artists such as Mantegna, Nolde, Anna Ancher, Derain, Rubens, Matisse, Hammershøi, Munch, Abramovic, Danh Vo and Elmgreen & Dragset. SMK is especially famous for its beautiful collection of Danish Golden Age art, the country’s most comprehensive collection of Danish contemporary art – and one of the world’s best Matisse collections. Special Exhibitionss (smk.dk): Käthe Kollwitz – Mensch, 7. November 2024 - 23. February 2025 Humanity above all. Art, compassion, and protest go hand in hand in the work of Käthe Kollwitz – one of the most groundbreaking artists of the 20th century. She is known for her vast body of graphic works, where she brings social perspectives to light through a raw and unpolished depiction of the human condition. War, grief, oppression, death, and poverty are recurring themes in her intense and confrontational works, but care, hope, and love are also present. Kollwitz was professionally active as an artist during the five most turbulent decades in German history: from the 1890s to the early 1940s, as the country moved from the violent upheavals of industrialization through two traumatic world wars. She used her art as a voice for those who suffered most during these developments and were the most powerless. With this exhibition, SMK presents the full scope of Käthe Kollwitz’s artistry – as a graphic artist, draughtswoman, and sculptor – offering a nuanced insight into her artistic works and their social, political, and historical foundations.

The home of Karen Blixen - located directly by the Øresund Sound in Rungstedlund, an enchanting park and bird sanctuary north of Copenhagen. An author’s childhood home Karen Blixen was born in 1885 and died in 1962, but her memory lives on in her works and also this unique museum, opened in 1991 to honour her life and memory. You’ll find it on the site of her home growing up in Denmark, still virtually almost intact with the furniture from her childhood, as well as objects brought back from Kenya. Experience the atmosphere of the rooms in which her well-known and beloved tales came into existence. You can also enjoy the many beautiful fresh flowers throughout the house, just as they were when Karen lived there. Birdsong and wild flowers The stunning garden grounds, with its 15-hectare bird reserve, attracts researchers and nature lovers from home and abroad. It is free to access and was established in 1958 by the author herself. Here, too, walked the poet Johannes Ewald who has a hill named after him, and the park’s benches are named after others who once strolled its grounds for inspiration. You can even meet Karen Blixen herself. At the foot of Ewald’s Hill, you will find her grave beneath a large beech tree. The park is always open to visitors, who are invited to take a little walk and enjoy its beautiful natural setting. Nesting boxes are set up in the grove, and the space has become a breeding ground for many birds. Cultural hub The Karen Blixen Museum has a rich program of events and is a meeting place for those interested in culture and literature. All year round, writers, artists, researchers and politicians are invited to talk about some of the current topics in Danish culture, which has always been a thread to Karen Blixen's timeless writing. When you’re there, you should also visit Madam Carlsen Café and Bistro, serving French-inspired dishes as well as a selection of wine, coffee, tea and cake. All meals are carefully prepared with fresh local produce from the estate. 

Step into the Danish Golden Age Bakkehuset was an essential meeting place in the Danish Golden Age, hosted by Kamma and Knud Lyne Rahbek and frequently visited by Hans Christian Andersen, Oehlenschläger, H.C. Ørsted and other poets, scientists and opinion formers of the romantic period. Today, Bakkehuset is buzzing with art and culture. The historic house and its surrounding gardens provide an authentic insight into the way of life in the early 19th century, its atmosphere and style. A visit to Bakkehuset is a visceral experience of one of the most central periods in Danish cultural history; the period that would become known as the Golden Age. Hans Christian Andersen visited Bakkehuset as a young man and here he found inspiration and support to become a writer. His famous tales work as inspiration for creative activities in the cozy family area, Eventyrakademiet (the Fairytale Academy) Experience the newly renovated romantic garden around Bakkehuset. You can enjoy coffee and historical food in the orangery, beautifully situated in the middle of the blossoming garden. The café is set in the historical garden and serves traditional open sandwiches.

Spanning the period from the Danish Golden Age to the Skagen painters and the Modern Breakthrough, this Østerbro gallery presents some of the most evocative and moving paintings in Danish art history.  In a beautiful building, in the Østre Anlæg park in central Copenhagen, today listed as a building of special importance, you can discover some of the most important works by masters such as Eckersberg, Købke, Krøyer, and Hammershøi. The museum is built around the personal art collection of Heinrich Hirschsprung, a tobacco manufacturer, who donated his collection to the Danish state in 1902. The collection offers a representative selection of paintings from one of the most outstanding eras of Danish art history. The museum building is a beautiful example of the neo-classical style, where the interior, with its subdued colors and small galleries, creates a special and intimate atmosphere. There isn’t a better setting for the intimate portraits and scenes of daily life from over a hundred years ago that constitute much of the collection. The museum building is a beautiful example of the neo-classical style, where the interior, with its subdued colours and small furnished galleries, creates a special and intimate atmosphere. The museum is built around the personal art collection of tobacco manufacturer Heinrich Hirschsprung and his wife Pauline who donated his collection to the Danish state in 1902. Every last Thursday of the month until 8 PM  

Closes at 15:30 on jan. 23, 27 and 30. Exhibitions in the Black Diamond - The Royal Danish Library Storytelling, sensuous experiences and unique objects set the mind in motion when visiting exhibitions in The Black Diamond. With cultural heritage as an inexhaustible reservoir, everything from Søren Kierkegaard to contemporary art is staged, with particular emphasis on literature and photography. Current Exhibitions:  The Camera and Us - The Camera and Us presents a selection of works from the photography collections of library, which contain several million images. The theme is the human being as a motif and the exhibition asks what photography does to our perception of ourselves and our conceptions of each other. Treasures in the Royal Danish Library - An exhibition with library's most precious, beautiful, significant, and valuable treasures. From the oldest of manuscripts to the Internet's ever increasing digital cultural heritage. Explore gems from the collections of science, philosophy, cartography, music, and much more – or take a peek into the lives of a number of prominent Danes by reading Søren Kierkegaard's letter to his fiancé, Karen Blixen's own manuscript, or Hans Christian Andersen's diary. Ukrainian Diary – photographies by Boris Mikhailov from 1966 till today, runs until 11/1/25 Ukrainian Boris Mikhailov is one of Eastern Europe's most influential photographers, who has documented life in his homeland for half a century. The result is a poetic, beautiful, harsh, ugly and frightening contemporary look into life before, during and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Now you can experience his award-winning art in the exhibition Ukrainian Diary in The Black Diamond. Ukrainian Diary is the first retrospective exhibition of Boris Mikhailov in Denmark. With over 500 works, the exhibition is not just a merciless look into Ukraine's tumultuous history over more than half a century. It also presents an artist's impressive life's work, spanning vastly different artistic methods and aesthetic expressions. He is known for his documentary, conceptual and performative works.