Explore the Museum District

Møntestræde no. 1

This large modern building houses our main exhibition “Funen – Centre of the Universe”. Here is also the museum ticket office and shop, a lounge area, toilet facilities and a large conference room. At the centre of the lobby hangs the museum’s emblem – a gigantic Ingrid Marie apple. The variety was developed on Funen. Architects Frank Maali and Gemma Lalanda designed the building. Built in 2013, this very modern building is inspired by the colours and materials of the old half-timbered houses in this district.

Pernille Lykke’s Dwellings

In the poorhouse called Pernille Lykke’s Dwellings, two small interiors bring you very close to history.

Noblewoman Pernille Lykke had both cottages built here in 1617. One of them was intended to provide free accommodation for some of the city’s many impoverished widows and orphans. The other cottage contained two apartments that two poor families could rent. Poverty-stricken, old widows lived in these small houses right up until 1955.

Falk Gøye’s Town House

You will find the “Life in the City” exhibition in Falk Gøye’s Town House.

With its carved rosettes and painted brick, this building is one of the city’s finest Renaissance buildings. Painting the bricks made the rough masonry appear finer than it really was. The building was erected here in 1646 as a town house for a nobleman called Falk Gøye, who also owned two country estates, Hvidkilde and Nakkebølle. In the mid-1700s, the building was converted into a merchant’s house and later still into two shops and several family apartments. The property has housed Odense’s city museum since 1930.

The Children’s Museum

The yellow buildings offer two great experiences for children (of all ages): The Histotorium and The Children’s Backyard.

The property is from 1799. It represents a typical urban layout of that time. It is a row of buildings that functioned as homes, warehouses, workshops, stables with one or more backyards. Down the ages, this property has had a multitude of purposes. It has functioned as an inn, brandy distillery, dyeing house, boarding house, grocery store and rental property.

The Nyborg Barn

The barn was originally erected in Nyborg in the 1600s where it lay behind a merchant’s home. To preserve the barn, it was moved brick by brick to Møntergården in the 1950s. In the 17th century, the barn belonged to a brother to Tordenskjold, a famous Danish mariner. In the 1890s, when he was only an apprentice merchant, the famous Danish author, Morten Korch, wrote his first stories in this barn.

This large yellow building house our special exhibitions that change during the year.

Østerbye’s House

In this old half-timbered building, you can visit doll-maker Patricia Homolova’s little workshop. Patricia makes funny, pretty and even some creepy wooden dolls. Her craft dates back to the religious wooden figures that decorated medieval churches.

The house itself is from 1631 and features elegant Renaissance-style ornament. The building was originally erected at Vestergade 76 as a town house for the parish priest in Nr. Lyndelse. It was demolished in 1903 and re-erected at Møntergården in 1945.

Eiler Rønnow’s House

This old half-timbered building houses an art school and studios run by The Tinderbox – Cultural Centre for Children. (Classes are taught in Danish only).

This house was originally erected at Nørregade 62 in 1547. It was a town house built for nobleman Eiler Rønnow, who also owned two country estates, Hvidkilde and Fårevejle. Over the years, its successive owners included merchants, cobblers, innkeepers and dyers. In the 1800s, it functioned as a brandy distillery. The City of Odense acquired the property in 1900. It became Fynens Folkemuseum in 1910. The building was demolished in 1939 and rebuilt here in Møntergården.

Møntestræde and Møntergården

Møntergården is named after a narrow alley, Møntestræde, which is one of the city’s best-preserved medieval streets. The alley got its name about 600 years ago because a mint master lived here (the Danish word “mønt” means coin, “stræde” means ally). A mint master was responsible for producing Royal coins and had to guarantee the weight and metal content of his coins. It was an important office and one that made the mint master a prominent citizen.