There are art museums.

There are science museums.

There are enormous national museums containing priceless objects protected by glass, lasers and security guards who appear to know immediately when you are standing too close.

And then there is Den Gamle By in Aarhus.

In June 2026, this wonderfully Danish collection of old streets, houses, shops and everyday life won the European Museum of the Year Award 2026.

Not Best Open-Air Museum.

Not Most Charming Collection of Old Buildings.

European Museum of the Year. Full stop.

The European Museum Forum praised Den Gamle By for innovation, relevance and its ability to connect history with contemporary society. In other words, Europe looked at the continent’s museums and decided that walking around old Danish streets was a very good idea indeed.

Den Gamle By: Denmark’s Award-Winning Time Machine

Den Gamle By means simply “The Old Town.”

A very Danish name.

No “Ultimate Heritage Experience.”

No “History 360.”

Just: The Old Town.

But the museum itself is much more ambitious.

Located in Aarhus, Den Gamle By is Denmark’s national open-air museum of urban history and culture. Instead of displaying Danish history exclusively in cases, it lets visitors walk through streets, homes, shops and neighborhoods from different periods.

You do not just look at history.

You walk into it.

And Den Gamle By is particularly good at something many museums struggle with: the recent past.

Suddenly you are looking at furniture, kitchens, shops and household objects you remember from your grandparents.

Perhaps even your own childhood.

Congratulations.

You are now officially museum material.

Why Did Den Gamle By Win European Museum of the Year 2026?

The award matters because Den Gamle By is not simply preserving attractive old houses.

The European Museum Forum recognized the museum for pushing the open-air museum concept forward, using historical and contemporary urban environments to explore subjects including migration, sustainability and social change.

That is what makes the museum interesting.

History here is not only kings, battles and people staring seriously out of oil paintings.

It is homes.

Shops.

Work.

Food.

Families.

Ordinary people trying to make sense of whatever century they happened to be living in.

Which, when you think about it, is basically what we are still doing.

And Yes, Den Gamle By Has a Christmas Secret

For many Danes, Den Gamle By also comes with a large dose of Christmas nostalgia.

The Danish television advent calendar Jul i Gammelby first aired on DR in December 1979. It became part of Denmark’s slightly obsessive tradition of television Christmas calendars — 24 episodes leading children safely through December until presents finally arrive.

If Nordic Christmas traditions sound wonderfully strange, they are.

You can find more of them in our guide to how the Nordics do Christmas.

Apparently, preserving centuries of Danish history was not enough.

Den Gamle By also wanted Christmas television immortality.

The Nordics Are Very Good at Moving History Outdoors

Den Gamle By may have the European trophy, but it belongs to a much bigger Nordic tradition.

Up here, when we find an interesting old farmhouse, workshop or historic building, apparently our first instinct is:

“Excellent. Let’s move the entire thing.”
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Skansen, Stockholm

Stockholm’s Skansen opened in 1891 and became the great international symbol of the open-air museum concept.

Historic houses and farmsteads from across Sweden sit alongside workshops, gardens, traditions and Nordic animals on Djurgården.

It is part museum, part historic Sweden and part extremely ambitious country walk.

Even people who claim they “don’t really like museums” tend to run out of arguments when someone adds moose.
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Frilandsmuseet, Copenhagen

Just north of Copenhagen, Frilandsmuseet is one of the world’s oldest and largest open-air museums.

Its historic farms, houses and mills recreate rural Denmark and offer a wonderful contrast to Copenhagen.

One day: palaces, canals, bicycles and New Nordic restaurants.

Next day: farmhouses, windmills and a reminder that central heating is one of humanity’s better inventions.

For groups staying in Copenhagen, it is particularly useful because you can experience centuries of Danish rural life without turning the program into a cross-country expedition.
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Norsk Folkemuseum, Oslo

Then there is Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo, another heavyweight of Nordic living history.

Founded in 1894, it contains historic buildings from across Norway and tells the story of Norwegian life from the 16th century to today.

Its superstar is the Gol Stave Church, dating from around 1200.

Because apparently ordinary old wooden houses were not impressive enough.

Norway needed a medieval church as well.

Typical Norway.

Why Open-Air Museums Work So Well

Open-air museums might sound old-fashioned.

They really are not.

For modern travellers, they tick an extraordinary number of boxes: local culture, authenticity, architecture, storytelling, photography, fresh air and the freedom to explore without marching silently past 47 display cases.

They are also excellent for groups.

People can walk, talk, explore and experience history at different speeds.

And nobody has to pretend to be fascinated by a spoon.

Unless it is a particularly important spoon.

That is perhaps why Den Gamle By’s 2026 award feels so appropriate.

The best open-air museums do not simply preserve history.

They make you feel as though somebody forgot to close the door to it.

Experience Nordic History with Best of Nordic

At Best of Nordic, we create tailor-made cultural programs, group tours, incentive trips and special-interest itineraries throughout the Nordic countries.

Den Gamle By can become part of an Aarhus program. Skansen can fit naturally into Stockholm. Frilandsmuseet can add rural Denmark to a Copenhagen stay, while Norsk Folkemuseum brings Norwegian history to life without leaving Oslo.

We arrange the program, guides, transport, hotels, meals and logistics around the experience.

Because visiting a museum is easy.

Putting the right museum, the right guide and the right story into a beautifully planned Nordic journey is where things become interesting.

Fortunately, the Nordics have been preparing the scenery for several hundred years.

Very quietly, of course.