Denmark’s Den Gamle By (The National Open-Air Museum of Urban History and Culture) is celebrating after being honored with the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award. The Aarhus-based institution received the title during the EMYA awards ceremony held on Saturday night in Bilbao, Spain.
While presenting the award, EMYA co-chair and jury member Daniëlle Kuijten praised Den Gamle By as a “pioneering institution” that effectively merges historical and modern urban settings to tackle critical contemporary issues, including social justice, sustainability, and migration.
Designed as an open-air museum of urban history created “by (ordinary) people about (ordinary) people,” the institution in Denmark’s second-largest city allows guests to experience 400 years of history through immersive and interactive exhibits. Currently, visitors can journey from 1600 to 2014, experiencing everything from historic livestock and vintage advertisements to mid-century nuclear family life and a classic SAS ticketing office.
The museum is dedicated to community education on vital topics such as empowerment, equality, and environmental stewardship. The judging panel specifically highlighted the museum’s green initiatives, noting that sustainability is a growing theme in its recent activities, which include clothing and building repair workshops, gardening courses, and the cultivation of heirloom plant varieties.
Rather than offering a static experience, Den Gamle By focuses on creating an evolving space that fosters community cohesion, ensuring all visitors feel represented and heard. The awarding committee emphasized that volunteers are central to this mission, providing the personal experience and expert knowledge that anchor the museum’s narratives within civic life.
Several other institutions were also recognized during the ceremony in Bilbao. London’s Young V&A received the Council of Europe Museum Prize, while the Museum of Madness Institute in Trate, Slovenia, was granted the Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity.
Other notable honors included the Portimão Museum Prize for Welcoming, Inclusion, and Belonging, awarded to the Museum of the Rural Civilisation of Mendrisiotto in Stabio, Switzerland, and the Silletto Prize for Community Participation and Engagement, won by Germany’s AlpenStadtMuseum in Sonthofen. Finland’s Lahti Museum of Visual Arts Malva took home the Museum Prize for Environmental Sustainability.
Special commendations were also extended to the Obersalzberg Documentation Centre (Germany), Cern Science Gateway (Switzerland), Tartu City Museum (Estonia), Research Centre – Tsitsanis Museum (Greece), Sensoria – The House of Fragrances and Flavours (Germany), and Kunsthaus Baselland (Switzerland).
In their foreword, the EMYA Jury co-chairs noted that the 2026 winners represent a diverse range of geographies and methodologies, all united by a commitment to challenging established narratives, confronting difficult histories, and increasing the social relevance of their institutions.
The 50th European Museum of the Year Award ceremony is scheduled for May 30, 2027, in Bern, Switzerland.