The National Museum is the largest cultural and historical museum in Denmark, founded in 1807. The museum's extensive collections cover a wide range of topics, including prehistoric and mediaeval Denmark, ethnography, decorative arts, and modern Danish history.
In the National Museum you can see the body of a 2222 year old woman, who was in her 40’s (in the 2nd century BC) when she was laid to rest in a bog. She was dug up in 1879 and like most of the bog bodies found in Denmark the woman from Huldremose was fully clothed. Another skeleton showcased at the museum is the aurochs from Vig.
In 1905, the skeleton of an ancient aurochs was discovered in a swamp in northern Zealand. This massive beast weighed about 1000 kg and stood nearly 2 metres tall at the shoulders. It was the forest's largest and most dangerous animal. The aurochs was common in regions of Europe, Asia, and the coastal areas of North Africa during the Stone Age. Although the Aurochs of Vig died approximately 10,000 years ago, the species became extinct in the 17th century.
Other artefacts you can see at the national museum are the Sun Chariot from 1400 BC and the Golden Horns from 400 AD.
The Sun Chariot was found in September 1902 and is considered one of the most iconic and important archaeological finds from the Nordic Bronze Age.
Fun fact: the sun chariot is the motive on the 1000 dkk banknote.
Amongst the most famous finds from Danish prehistory are the Golden Horns. The long horn was found in 1639 and the short horn was found in 1734. Tragically both horns were stolen and melted down in 1802 (The combined weight of the horns was nearly 7 kg), so the copies made of the horns are known solely from drawings dating to the 17th and 18th centuries.
Opening hours:
June-september: every day 10am to 6pm
October-may: tuesday to sunday 10am to 5pm
Admission:
Adults: €16
Under 18 yr: free