MUSEUMS

Denmark has a long tradition of museums. Many Danish museums date back more than 100 years. Among them are the country’s major museums: the National Museum of Denmark and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts.

In its original form, the National Museum, which is the principal museum in the field of cultural history, was one of the first museums in the world to open its collections to the general public. The museum’s foundation was based on private royal collections.

The earliest collections at the Royal Danish Museum of Fine Arts, which is the most prominent museum in the field of art history, date from the royal art chambers and it, too, has a long and distinguished history.

Denmark today boasts more than 300 museums or similar institutions nationwide. Roughly half are State or State-recognised institutions in receipt of State subsidies of varying amounts. State subsidies are awarded to museums based on a list of technical and quality criteria.

Museums must ensure public access to cultural and scientific heritage and highlight the development of cultural and natural history in Denmark and the world around us. This is accomplished through exhibitions and information campaigns, research and scientific documentation, and the preservation and registering of historical objects.

Denmark’s museums cooperate on a nationwide basis. The country’s State and State-recognised museums, although operating within their own area of competence, constitute a single unit within which they come together on various projects. This is done both directly and by means of specially designated cooperative agencies such as, for instance, the various county museum councils and the Danish Council of Museums.

Museums are regulated by acts of Parliament. Initial legislation in the field dates from 1958, most recently from 2001. The Danish Museum Act establishes the function of museums within each museum category (culture, art and nature), conditions for State recognition, and subsidy arrangements. The Act also includes provisions on archaeological research conducted
by museums, Danefæ (official treasure trove) and Danekræ (natural history finds).

INSTITUTIONS
The Cultural Heritage Agency is responsible for the administration of legislation with respect to museums, ancient monuments and buildings of national significance. The Agency advises the Minister in these fields and looks after a number of other tasks – for example, advising the Danish museums of fine arts, natural history and cultural history on museum policy.

MUSEUMS OF ART
Three State museums under the province of the Ministry of Culture are museums of art.

The Royal Danish Museum of Fine Arts acts as Denmark’s national gallery and foremost museum of visual arts. The museum is responsible for collecting, registering, preserving, researching and disseminating information on Danish and foreign visual art. Its foreign art collection concentrates on Western culture after 1300.

The two other State art museums are the Ordrupgaard Collection and the Hirschsprungske Collection.

CULTURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS
The National Museum of Denmark is Denmark’s principal cultural history museum. The museum is responsible for collecting, registering, preserving, researching and relaying information on artefacts and evidence that sheds light on the development of civilisation and culture from their origins to the present day. With respect to Danish culture, the National Museum is obliged to establish and maintain representative collections.

In addition to the National Museum, Denmark has three other State cultural history museums: the Danish Defence Museum, the Danish Agriculture Museum and the Danish Museum of Hunting and Forestry.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS
The Ministry of Culture grants subsidies to four natural history museums: the Natural History Museum in Århus, Svendborg Zoological Museum, the Mid-South Jutland Museum and the Fur Museum.

THE CULTURAL HERITAGE AGENCY
In 2002, the Ministry of Culture established the Cultural Heritage Agency with the aim of promoting a more holistic view of museums, preservation and restoration. In future, the agency will handle tasks within the museum field (previously under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture), as well as tasks in the field of preservation and restoration previously under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

FINANCE
Total public spending on museums in 2002 is budgeted at DKK 1,045.3 million, of which the State’s share is 625.9 million. In 2000, 12,219 people visited the Danish museums. In 1998 approximately 30% of the Danish population had been to a museum or an art exhibition within the last six months.

In 2000, 12,219,000 people visited the Danish museums. In 1998 approximately 30% of the Danish population had been to a museum or an art exhibition within the last six months.

ADDRESSES

The Cultural Heritage Agency
(Kulturarvsstyrelsen)
H.C Andersens Boulevard 2
1553 København V
Tel. +45 33 74 51 00
www.kulturarv.dk
www.kuas.dk


The Royal Museum of Fine Arts
(Statens Museum for Kunst)
Sølvgade 48-50
DK-1307 Copenhagen K
Tel. +45 33 74 84 94
www.smk.dk

The National Museum of Denmark
(Nationalmuseet)
Frederiksholms Kanal 12
DK-1220 Copenhagen K
Tel. +45 33 13 44 11
www.natmus.dk