The Old Town

The Old Town, signposted in Aarhus as Den Gamle By, was the world's first open-air museum devoted to town life rather than the countryside. Instead of farmhouses, it gathers historic townhouses, workshops and shops moved from market towns across Denmark and rebuilds them along cobbled streets, canals and squares.

The oldest part recreates a Danish provincial town from roughly the 17th to the 19th centuries. Its centrepiece is the Mayor's House from Aalborg, a half-timbered merchant's home that was the museum's first building. Newer districts move the story forward into the 20th century with streets set in 1927 and 1974, where shop interiors, apartments and everyday goods show how ordinary Danes lived in living memory. Costumed staff working in houses and businesses add to the sense of a lived-in place.

The museum grew from a single relocated house in 1909 and now draws more than half a million visitors a year. It suits families, history enthusiasts and anyone curious about daily life, and easily fills several hours.