Den Gamle By

Den Gamle By is an open-air museum in Aarhus that recreates historic Danish town environments by assembling original buildings relocated from across the country. It was established in the early 20th century and is a major repository of urban material culture.

The museum began as a civic initiative to preserve town buildings and domestic interiors that were disappearing from Danish cityscapes. Over time it acquired and re-erected a large number of structures and developed indoor collections focused on town history, crafts and everyday objects.

Den Gamle By sits within Aarhus and is a short drive or public-transport trip from the city centre; the museum occupies a campus-like site with pedestrianised visitor routes and museum facilities.

• Museum history: Founded in the early 20th century as one of the first open-air town museums, it now displays a broad sequence of urban domestic and commercial buildings from across Denmark.
• Visitor tip: Allow at least two hours to walk the streets and enter several interior rooms; guided tours and period demonstrations offer deeper context for families and history enthusiasts.

What to See #

• Relocated historic buildings: A collection of relocated historic houses and shopfronts assembled to recreate the appearance of Danish market towns across several centuries, with interiors conserved to period appearance.
• Historic streets and living history areas: Themed streets and period neighbourhoods that include working exhibits and staff in historic costume to illustrate daily life in different eras, including a reconstructed 20th-century street scene.
• Indoors collections and galleries: Permanent museum galleries housing objects and archives relating to urban everyday life, crafts, trade and family history from Danish towns.