Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Odense (Denmark). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: St. Canute's Cathedral, Hans Christian Andersen Museum, and Den Fynske Landsby. Also, be sure to include Danish Railway Museum in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Odense (Syddanmark).
Table of Contents
St. Canute's Cathedral
Also known as: Sankt Knuds Kirke
Gothic church dating from 11th century. St. Canute's Cathedral, also known as Odense Cathedral, is named after the Danish king Canute the Saint, otherwise Canute IV. It is a fine example of Brick Gothic architecture. The church's most visited section is the crypt where the remains of Canute and his brother Benedict are on display.[1]
Address: Klosterbakken 2, 5000 Odense C
Hans Christian Andersen Museum
Also known as: H.C. Andersens Hus
Museum in Odense, Kingdom of Denmark. The Hans Christian Andersen Museum or H.C. Andersens Odense, is a set of museums/buildings dedicated to the famous author Hans Christian Andersen in Odense, Denmark, some of which, at various times in history, have functioned as the main Odense-based museum on the author.
They variously comprise: the H.C. Andersen Museum (existing museum), the H.C. Andersen Birthplace (original museum), the H.C. Andersen Childhood Home and even Møntergården (city museum). A new installation called House of Fairytales (called New H.C. Andersen Museum) is planned to open in late 2020.
They are administered and managed by Odense City Museums, a department of the Odense Municipality.[2]
Address: Bangs Boder 29, 5000 Odense
Den Fynske Landsby
1850s-style village and open-air museum. The Funen Village is an open-air museum located in the neighborhood of Fruens Bøge in Odense, Denmark.[3]
Address: Sejerskovvej 20, 5260 Odense
Danish Railway Museum
Also known as: Danmarks Jernbanemuseum
Railway museum with carriages and engines. The Danish Railway Museum is the national railway museum of Denmark, located in the city of Odense. Established in 1975, it is situated in a former engine shed adjacent to the city's main railway station. It is the largest railway museum in Scandinavia.
Covering 10,000 square metres, it contains some 50 locomotives and railway carriages on 20 railtracks from all periods of Danish rail history, plus some original buildings of Danish railways. Items from DSB's history include an E class steam locomotive used to haul the funeral train of King Frederick IX of Denmark, a NOHAB diesel locomotive (sectioned on one side, to reveal the engine), an original 1930s Copenhagen-area S-train carriage and a 1950s Lyntog ('lightning train') express diesel multiple unit.
In school holidays, the museum also runs a live steam-hauled train on a short section of track. These usually consist of a Class Hs loco and two carriages.[4]
Address: Dannebrogsgade 24, 5000 Odense
St. Alban's Church
Also known as: Sankt Albani Kirke
Catholic church in Odense, Denmark. St. Alban's Church is the Roman Catholic parish church of Odense, Denmark. It should not be confused with the medieval church of St. Alban's Priory where King Canute IV was murdered in 1086, and which was later replaced with St. Canute's Cathedral. The medieval St. Alban's Priory was located at Albani Torv roughly halfway between St. Canute's Cathedral and St. Alban's Church. A modern stone plaque located at the site of the former church's altar is the only visible sign of this structure.[5]
Address: Adelgade 1, 5000 Odense
Odense Rådhus
City or town hall in Odense, Denmark. Odense City Hall houses the administrative offices of Odense Municipality in the city of Odense on the Danish island of Funen.
Today's building was designed by Johan Daniel Herholdt and Carl Lendorf in the Historicist style, inspired by Italian buildings such as the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena which it closely resembles. Completed in 1885, tts red masonry bears sandstone decorations, stepped gables and a saw-tooth course. It stands on the site of a smaller building from 1480. In 1937, Bent Helveg-Møller won the competition for the building's enlargement. The tower over the main entrance was torn down in 1942 but was not rebuilt. As work was delayed during the war, the extension was not completed until 1955. In conjunction with Hans Christian Andersen's 200th anniversary in 2005, comprehensive renovation work was completed on the building's interiors, including the entrance halls, meeting rooms, banqueting hall and council chamber.[6]
Address: Vestergade 2, 5000 Odense
Maderup Mølle
Maderup Mølle is a smock mill originally built in Maderup, about 10 kilometres south-west of Bogense, on the island of Funen in Denmark. It was constructed in 1832 and operated as a grain mill until the mid-1930s.The building was dismantled in 1941 and moved to The Funen Village, an open-air museum in Odense, where it now stands.
The windmill is built to an octagonal design. The upper part is reed-thatched, and the cap is thatched with straw.[7]
Møntergården
Museum in Odense, Kingdom of Denmark. Møntergården is the cultural history museum in Odense, Denmark. It is located at Overgade 48 in a courtyard of half-timbered houses in the Renaissance style.[8]
Address: Overgade 48, 5000 Odense
Teater Momentum
Theatre in Odense, Denmark. Teater Momentum is a small theatre in Odense, Denmark.
Its location is at Ny Vestergade 18. The theatre itself was established in 2005 and it only features shows which are under the branch of modern drama. Teater Momentum receives public funding from the municipality of Odense and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The structure of the theatre is special as every season is different from the preceding one. Every new season, a new team of actors and an artistic director will take over the production of the plays shown at the theatre. Furthermore, the ensemble have to fulfill some goals set forth by the theatre's Artistic Committee. This type of theatre was established with the season of 2007/2008 called Volume 1.[9]
Address: Ny Vestergade 18, 5000 Odense
Ansgars Church
Also known as: Ansgars Kirke
Protestant church in Odense, Kingdom of Denmark. Ansgars Church is a church in Odense, Denmark, within the Diocese of Funen.
Completed in 1902, it was the first church built in the city since the Middle Ages. The church was designed by Niels Jacobsen in a late Romanesque style from red brick, and built on granite foundation. Its features include a cross-shaped interior and a spired bell-tower measuring 45 metres (148 ft). There are three mural paintings inside the church: the 1902 work is a decoration on vault rubs, the 1917 frescoes are in the parish hall, and the 1935–1936 frescoes on the altar's niche.[10]
Address: Søndre Blvd. 1, 5000 Odense
Odense Slot
Castle in Odense, Kingdom of Denmark. Odense Palace in the city of Odense on the Danish island of Funen has its origins in a 15th-century monastery which passed to the Crown after the Reformation, and since then has served as an administrative building: in turn as a seigneurial residence, an amt administrator's residence, a governor's residence, and a municipal government building. The main white Baroque building with 13 bays was designed by J.C. Krieger and completed in 1723.[11]
Address: Nørregade 36, Odense
Odense Teater
Theater in Odense, Denmark. Odense Teater is a theater in the city of Odense in Denmark. It dates back to 1796, which makes it Denmark's second oldest theater. It is one of the country's three main theaters.
The venue is located in Jernbanegade, where it has three stages: Store Scene, Værkstedet, and Foyerscenen. It also has stages at Farinen and Raffinaderiet in the old sugar factory of Odense, where there is also a drama school.[12]
Address: Jernbanegade 21, 5000 Odense
Saint Hans Church
Also known as: Sankt Hans Kirke
Lutheran church in Odense, Denmark. Saint Hans Church is a church in Odense, Denmark. First mentioned in 1295, it was built by the Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Order of Saint John.
Not much of the original building remains as it was rebuilt in 1636 and subsequently restored on two occasions. Built of red brick with horizontal decorations on the chancel wall, it has large Gothic windows. The date of 1496 on one of the bells in the step-ribbed tower may well be the year the church was completed. The tower is adjacent to Odense Palace which was originally built as a monastery.
The church has a three manual Marcussen organ used by Kevin Bowyer to record the complete organ works of Bach for Nimbus Records.[13]
Address: Sankt Hans Pl. 2, 5000 Odense
King's Garden
Also known as: Kongens Have
Park in Odense, Denmark. King's Garden is a large, formal palace park in central Odense, Denmark. Located directly across from the Odense station, it is bounded by Railroad Street to the west and Eastern Stationsvej to the north. It stands in front of Odense Palace.
The original baroque garden was constructed around 1720 to a French design by Johan Cornelius Krieger, with a central axis and symmetrical lines. About 100 years later, it was changed into an English-style garden with curved lines. Measuring approximately 2 acres (0.81 ha) in size, the park contains some protected trees that are over 100 years old, including copper beech, tulip and magnolia. There are two statues, including one of Hans Christian Andersen, erected by the school children of Denmark.[14]
Address: Kongens Have, 5000 Odense
Ladby ship
Also known as: Ladbyskibet
Ship. The Ladby ship is a major ship burial, of the type also represented by the boat chamber grave of Hedeby and the ship burials of Oseberg, Borre, Gokstad and Tune in South Norway, all of which date back to the 9th and 10th centuries. It is the only ship burial discovered in Denmark. It was discovered southwest of Kerteminde on the island of Funen.[15]
Carl Nielsen Museum
Also known as: Carl Nielsen Museet
Museum in Odense, Denmark. The Carl Nielsen Museum is a museum in Odense, Denmark. The museum is located as an extension on the northwestern side of the Odense Concert Hall.[16]
Address: Claus Bergs Gade 11, 5000 Odense
Funen's Art Museum
Also known as: Fyns Kunstmuseum
Museum in Odense, Kingdom of Denmark. Funen's Art Museum, formerly The Museum of Funen's Abbey and Museum Civitatis Othiniensis, founded in 1885, is an art museum in Odense, Denmark. Funen's Art Museum operated as a part of the Odense City Museums.[17]
Address: Jernbanegade 13, 5000 Odense
Odense City Museums
Also known as: Odense Bys Museer
Museum in Odense, Kingdom of Denmark. Odense City Museums is a department in City and Culture administration, which again is a department in Odense municipality administration. It runs and administers all museums in Odense municipality.
The first Museum in Odense opened in 1860 under the name Nordisk Museum located in Odense Palace. During 1885 it moved to a newly erected building, a few hundred meters from Odense Palace – this building today houses the Funen Art Museum, was renamed to Museum Civitatis Othiniensis and came under municipal administration. In 1904 the name changed to Fyns Stiftsmuseum.
During the next many years new museums opened (and closed), got renamed and moved around. Starting in 1997, Odense City Museums has been run as one museum with the formerly independent museums around the city as departments.[18]
Gallery Galschiøt
Also known as: Galleri Galschiøt
Art museum in Odense, Kingdom of Denmark. Gallery Galschiøt is a workshop in Odense, Denmark, and is 8,000 square meters. Gallery Galschiøt contains the artist Jens Galschiot's workshop.
In the gallery there is access to:
- The Gallery, where a large amount of Galschiot's work is exhibited. Also other artists exhibits with a number of paintings etc. The gallery has also been visited by the Danish princess Marie.
- The workshop, where Galschiot creates his sculptures.
- The park, where it is possible to see a lot of Galschiot's biggest sculptures.
The Gallery has a permanent exhibition, which also contains works of Michael Kvium, Jørgen Boberg, Laurits Tuxen, Wilhelm Marstrand, Gerhard Henning.[19]
Address: Banevænget 22, Odense
Gæsteatelier Hollufgård
Specialty museum, Museum, Forts and castles
Address: Hestehaven 201, 5220 Odense