Skanderborg Museum has since 1980 been housed in the former town recorder’s offices which are situated in the old part of town, near the castle ramparts and with expansive park-like gardens stretching all the way down to Lille Sø, the smallest of the lakes.

State-recognised since 1984, Skanderborg Museum is devoted to the cultural history of the Municipalities of Skanderborg and Hørning as well as parts of the Municipality of Ry. The museum works with the ancient history of the area, the Middle Ages as well as more recent cultural history.

 

As part of the Lake District’s Ecological Museum, the museum also focuses on natural and cultural history in the open landscape.

In addition to the museum of cultural history, Skanderborg Museum also comprises the Freedom Museum, located at Skanderborg Deer Park, Skanderborg Local Archives and two parish archives.

A new Skanderborg Museum
In 2001 the museum opened its doors to a number of new permanent exhibitions and a much-needed extension comprising facilities for visitors, including a museum shop and a small café. The museum hopes that visiting the permanent exhibition will provide visitors with new insights as well as being an enjoyable experience.

New exhibitions:

Experiencing knowledge and finding inspiration!

Skanderborg Museum invites all the family to come and learn more about the history of the town and region from its early days up until the 20th century. The exhibition gives a presentation of the medieval castle, later to become Skanderborg Castle, which was demolished 250 years ago.
The story of the building and the life of the castle in peacetime and at war as well as Skanderborg’s royal connections, which led to its status as a market town, is told.

The prosperous, medieval monastic culture in the area is illustrated by a selection of archaeological finds which bear witness to life at a priory on the shores of Skanderborg Sø.

A number of exhibits are on display from Illerup Ådal, exciting and extensive sacrifices of war booty in the form of, for example, weaponry and horse equipment, testifying to the turbulence which characterised the area in the first 580 years AD.

Over the past 50 years, about 15,000 Iron Age finds have been studied by archaeologists; however, about 60 per cent of the site will be left there for future archaeologists to excavate who may be able to use new techniques to study the site at Illerup Mose, a conservation area bog.

The exciting story is told of life at the Stone Age settlement on the shores of Skanderborg Sø where the inhabitants specialised in the catching of wild boar and pine marten.

Toys from previous generations are on display for children and those young at heart, while the museum’s own café is a unique chance to take in the special atmosphere of one of Skanderborg’s old grocery stores.

The Freedom Museum tells a chapter of local history from 1940-1945 seen from a bunker in Skanderborg Deer Park.

Visit the museum’s website at www.skanderborg-museum.dk