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Johannes Larsen Museum, Kerteminde

An intimate artist’s home on a hill above Kerteminde, where luminous bird paintings, preserved interiors, garden paths and sea views bring Funen’s coastal light to life.

4.6

Perched on a low hill above the water in Kerteminde, the Johannes Larsen Museum is both an art museum and a time capsule of early 20th‑century Danish coastal life. Housed in painter Johannes and Alhed Larsen’s beautifully preserved home and studios, it showcases luminous nature and bird paintings, original interiors, an old mill and a lush garden that spills towards views of the Great Belt. A modern exhibition wing, tranquil grounds and a cosy coffee house round out this intimate, atmospheric museum.

A brief summary to Johannes Larsen Museum

  • Møllebakken 14, Kerteminde, 5300, DK
  • +4565321177
  • Visit website
  • Duration: 1.5 to 3 hours
  • Mid ranged
  • Environment icon Mixed
  • Mobile reception: 4 out of 5
  • Monday 10 am-5 pm
  • Tuesday 10 am-5 pm
  • Wednesday 10 am-5 pm
  • Thursday 10 am-5 pm
  • Friday 10 am-5 pm
  • Saturday 10 am-5 pm
  • Sunday 10 am-5 pm

Local tips

  • Plan at least 1.5–2 hours so you can see both the historic house and the modern exhibition wing, and still have time to wander the gardens and mill hill.
  • If you enjoy context, read a short introduction to the Funen painters beforehand; it adds depth when you encounter Larsen’s bird and coastal motifs.
  • Bring a light layer even in summer—the grounds can feel breezy due to the exposed position above the water.
  • Check current exhibition information for special shows in the modern gallery, which can change the focus and works on display during your visit.
  • Combine your visit with a stroll through Kerteminde’s old streets and harbour to see the coastal environment that inspired much of Larsen’s work.
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Getting There

  • Regional bus from Odense

    From Odense city centre, take a regional bus towards Kerteminde; the journey typically takes around 40–50 minutes depending on the service. Buses run several times per hour during the day, with reduced frequency in the evening and on Sundays. A one-way adult ticket usually costs in the range of 40–60 DKK and can be purchased from ticket machines or via local transport apps. From Kerteminde’s central bus stops, expect a pleasant walk of about 10–20 minutes through town streets to reach the museum on Møllebakken.

  • Car from Odense and Funen

    Driving from Odense to Kerteminde generally takes about 30–40 minutes along main roads across northeastern Funen. The route is straightforward and suitable for all standard vehicles. Parking is available in Kerteminde near the museum area, but spaces can be in higher demand on sunny weekends and school holidays, especially in summer. Fuel and any applicable bridge or road costs will depend on your starting point elsewhere in Denmark, but there are no special vehicle requirements for reaching the town or the hill where the museum is located.

  • Combined train and bus from elsewhere in Denmark

    If you are coming from other Danish cities such as Copenhagen or Aarhus, travel first by train to Odense, a major rail hub with frequent intercity services. Journey times vary from roughly 1.5 to 2.5 hours depending on route and departure, and standard adult fares typically start in the low hundreds of DKK for second-class tickets when bought in advance. From Odense, change to the regional bus towards Kerteminde, adding about 40–50 minutes of travel. Factor in transfer time at the station and check timetables, as evening and weekend services may be less frequent.

Johannes Larsen Museum location weather suitability

  • Weather icon Mild Temperatures
  • Weather icon Clear Skies
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Discover more about Johannes Larsen Museum

An artist’s home overlooking the Great Belt

The Johannes Larsen Museum sits on Møllebakken, a gentle hill in Kerteminde with sweeping views towards the Great Belt and the Kattegat. Here, in the early 1900s, painter Johannes Larsen and his wife Alhed created a combined home, studio and gathering place for the circle of Funen painters. The whitewashed buildings wrap around sheltered courtyards, with red roofs, small-paned windows and paths that lead out into the garden and down towards the sea light that inspired so much of Larsen’s work. Step inside and you move from the bustling streets of a harbour town straight into an artist’s private world. The creak of wooden floors, low ceilings and tiled stoves all speak of a prosperous yet unpretentious bourgeois home shaped around creativity and nature.

Rooms frozen in an artist’s morning

One of the museum’s most striking qualities is how lived-in the house still feels. Canvases lean against walls, easels stand by windows, and personal objects sit on tables as if the family has just stepped out for a walk. The dining room, with its painted decorations and carefully laid sideboards, hints at long evenings of conversation among painters, writers and friends. In the studios you can trace Larsen’s working process: sketchbooks, bird studies and coastal landscapes show the path from quick observation to finished canvas. Alhed Larsen’s presence is equally strong in the domestic spaces, where she combined her own artistic practice with running a household that welcomed visiting artists for decades.

Nature, birds and the art of Funen

The core of the collection is Johannes Larsen’s nature-focused art: flocks of wild birds wheeling over low coasts, marshes lit by winter sun, and intimate studies of owls, swans and seabirds. Paintings, prints and drawings are displayed both in the historic rooms and in a purpose-built modern gallery, allowing you to see small studies beside larger compositions. Alongside Larsen you encounter works by other Funen painters, whose soft light and everyday subjects helped define a distinct regional current in Danish art. Temporary exhibitions delve into themes such as bird art, landscape, or contemporary responses to nature, keeping the museum’s dialogue between past and present alive.

Garden paths, mill hill and sea air

Outside, the garden is an attraction in its own right. Sheltered beds, fruit trees and lawns unfold around the house, with glimpses of the fjord and the strait beyond. Sculptures punctuate the greenery, and gravel paths lead to an old mill that helps define the skyline of Møllebakken. From here you can sense how the surrounding coastline, migrating birds and changing seasons fed directly into Larsen’s imagery. On fine days, the garden feels like an open-air extension of the galleries. Benches invite you to pause with a sketchbook, a camera or simply your own thoughts, while the ever-present sea breeze reminds you how close the shoreline lies below the hill.

Café hygge and a compact museum experience

Tucked within the grounds, the museum’s coffee house offers a calm break with cakes and light meals prepared from seasonal, often local ingredients. Large windows and a terrace frame the view towards the water and the Great Belt Bridge, making it easy to linger after a tour of the house and exhibitions. The museum is compact enough to explore in one unhurried visit, yet varied in its mix of historic interiors, art displays, garden and mill. Whether you come for Danish painting, for a sense of old Funen coastal life, or simply for a peaceful cultural stop in Kerteminde, the Johannes Larsen Museum offers a rounded, quietly evocative experience.

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