Nexø Museum

A historic sandstone sentinel on Nexø’s harbour

Housed in a solid sandstone building right beside the harbour, Nexø Museum immediately feels rooted in the town’s maritime story. The structure dates from 1796, when it was built as “Nexøe Vagt,” the local guard house overseeing the busy port and coastline. Its thick stone walls and gabled roof once symbolised security and authority in a town that lived by the sea. Over time, as Nexø grew and a new town hall took over civic duties in the mid-19th century, the harbour building shifted into use as a warehouse. The walls were heightened to create two full storeys and outbuildings sprang up around it. Today, with those later additions gone, the museum stands as a compact but characterful remnant of the town’s older harbour front, its weathered stone and simple lines mirroring the practical, hard-working life of this fishing town.

From fishing village to Bornholm’s east coast hub

Inside, the museum’s rooms open a window onto Nexø’s transformation from modest fishing village to one of Bornholm’s key harbour towns. Exhibits trace the rise of sea fishing and trade, showing how the harbour was gradually expanded to handle larger fleets and growing commerce. Old tools, navigation instruments, harbour equipment and trade documents bring to life a period when the town’s fortunes rose and fell with the catch. Panels and photographs explain how Nexø became the largest fishing port on the island, drawing workers, merchants and shipbuilders. You can follow how new quays, warehouses and processing facilities reshaped the shoreline. The museum situates Nexø’s story within the broader Bornholm context, highlighting the island’s dependence on the Baltic Sea and the constant interplay between local livelihoods and wider regional currents.

War, occupation and the 1945 bombardment

One of the most striking parts of Nexø Museum focuses on the Second World War and the Soviet bombing of the town in 1945. Here, archival photographs show Nexø before and after the attacks, revealing just how much of the built-up area was destroyed in a matter of hours. Uniforms, helmets, weapons and emergency equipment add a tangible weight to these stories. Text panels and documents describe the German occupation of Bornholm and the unusual post-war period, when Soviet forces remained on the island for several months after the rest of Denmark was liberated. The displays emphasise the human cost, but also the resilience of residents who rebuilt their lives and homes. Standing in this solid 18th-century building, it is easy to imagine the contrast between the stability of stone and the upheaval outside.

Everyday objects and maritime curiosities

Beyond the wartime material, the museum’s collection of everyday items paints a quieter picture of Nexø’s past. Household objects, toiletries, clothing and tools hint at domestic routines in a working harbour town. There are maritime curiosities too, including cannons, signal gear and hefty diving equipment that speak to the dangers and ingenuity of life at sea. Photographs and documents chart local social life, from community events to working scenes on the docks. Taken together, these displays show Nexø not as an abstract name on a map, but as a lived-in place shaped by weather, work and the rhythms of the harbor. The modest scale of the museum makes it easy to absorb these layers of history without feeling overwhelmed.

A compact museum with a strong sense of place

Nexø Museum is small enough to explore in an hour or two, yet rich in atmosphere. Many texts are in Danish, but visual material, objects and layouts are straightforward to follow, and printed English information is usually available to help international visitors navigate the themes. The setting by the harbour means that stepping outside, you immediately see modern Nexø framed by the same sea that defines the exhibits inside. This is not a grand national institution but a locally run museum focused on its own town. That focus is its strength: it offers context for everything else you see in Nexø, from the rebuilt streets to the active fishing harbour. For travellers exploring Bornholm’s east coast, Nexø Museum provides a grounded, human-scale introduction to the island’s maritime history and its experience of war and recovery.