National Museum of Denmark: the Viking collection and the Sorceress

Denmark's national museum in central Copenhagen has one of the world's best Viking Age collections, free for children, with a large themed exhibition on the Viking sorceress running until 2027 and English tours of the Viking world in summer. Two hours well spent before Trelleborg or Roskilde.

Why go

Because Denmark’s Viking finds are here: hoards of silver, weapons, runestones, the Hvalsey and Mammen finds, the golden horns’ story, and the objects that anchor what the reenactors at the markets copy. The Prehistory galleries run from the Ice Age to the Viking Age in one long sweep, and the Viking rooms are the finale.

The Sorceress

In 2025 the museum opened a large, theatrical exhibition around the figure of the Viking sorceress, the völva, staged by the opera director Kasper Holten and built on finds like the Fyrkat woman’s grave. It runs until 2027 and is the museum’s headline Viking experience for the moment: darker, more dramatic and more about belief than the permanent galleries. Book a time slot in summer.

Tours

English guided tours into the World of the Vikings run from early April to the end of August, daily in high season. Worth it; the collection is large and a guide finds the pieces that matter.

Practical

The museum is in the Prince’s Mansion on Ny Vestergade, a ten-minute walk from Central Station and five from Christiansborg. Free for under 18s; adults pay, with the Copenhagen Card included. Allow two hours for the Viking rooms and the Sorceress, longer for the rest.

Combine with

Roskilde’s Viking Ship Museum half an hour away by train. Trelleborg’s festival in July, an hour west. Foteviken in Sweden in late June, an hour across the bridge. Copenhagen is the best base for Viking festivals in the Nordics, and this museum is where to start.

Sources

Last updated 2026-09-06. Prices and opening hours change; check the venue before you go. Back to Plan your trip or the festival calendar.