Denmark’s Den Gamle By (National Open-Air Museum of Urban History and Culture) is celebrating after winning the coveted European Museum of the Year Award. The Aarhus based arts centre collected the title on Saturday night at the EMYA award’s ceremony in Bilbao, Spain.
Presenting the prize, EMYA’s co-chair and jury member Daniëlle Kuijten described Den Gamle By as “a pioneering institution that brings together historical and contemporary urban environments to address urgent contemporary questions, including migration, sustainability and social justice.”
Den Gamle By is an open-air museum of urban history that was created “by (ordinary) people about (ordinary) people”. The cultural institution, located in Denmark’s second-largest city, invites the public to explore 400 years of history through its interactive and immersive exhibitions.
Currently, four exhibitions allow visitors to travel through time from 1600 to 2014 and pet horses, see colourful ads, meet the nuclear family or visit SAS’s ticketing office, all in the same place.
The museum’s aim is to educate the community on different pressing topics, such as sustainability, equality and empowerment.
One of the key areas of the museum’s focus is the environment. In a statement praising its green credentials, the judging panel said: “Sustainability is an increasingly prevalent theme in the museum’s newly developed activities, which include cultivating and promoting heirloom plant varieties, courses on gardening, and workshops on clothing and building repair.”
Den Gamle By’s central idea has been the creation of an ever-evolving space rather than a static museum experience – all while bringing the surrounding communities together where everyone feels seen and heard.
“Volunteers play a central role, contributing expert knowledge and personal experience to the narratives explored, while participatory projects embed the museum deeply within civic life,” writes the awarding committee.
Those vying for the prestigious award did not leave the northern Spanish city empty-handed. There were several other honours presented at the ceremony.
Young V&A in London, United Kingdom, won the Council of Europe Museum Prize. The Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity was won by the Museum of Madness Institute in Trate, Slovenia.
The Museum of the Rural Civilisation of Mendrisiotto located in Stabio, Switzerland, collected the Portimão Museum Prize for Welcoming, Inclusion, and Belonging.
The Silletto Prize for Community Participation and Engagement was awarded to AlpenStadtMuseum in Sonthofen, Germany.
Finland’s Lahti Museum of Visual Arts Malva won the Museum Prize for Environmental Sustainability.
Special commendations were given to Obersalzberg Documentation Centre (Berchtesgaden, Germany), Cern Science Gateway (Meyrin, Switzerland), Tartu City Museum (Tartu, Estonia), Research Centre – Tsitsanis Museum (Trikala, Greece), Sensoria – The House of Fragrances and Flavours (Holzminden, Germany), Kunsthaus Baselland (Basel, Switzerland).
“The 2026 award winners reflect a broad spectrum of thematic priorities, geographies, and working methods. What unites them is a commitment to change: to question established narratives, to engage with difficult histories, and to strengthen the social relevance of their institutions,” write the co-chairs of the EMYA Jury in their foreword.
The 50th European Museum of the Year Award ceremony will be held in Bern, Switzerland on May 30, 2027.
Additional sources • EMYA