Copenhagen is preparing to welcome one of Denmark’s most ambitious cultural projects in more than a century when Natural History Museum Denmark opens on March 6, 2027. Set within the city’s historic Botanical Garden, the new museum brings Denmark’s national natural history collections together in a dramatically reimagined setting, combining historic buildings with new underground exhibition galleries. Designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects with Claus Pryds Architects, the museum will feature eight exhibitions exploring the Universe, Earth, Life, Denmark, the Arctic, Biodiversity, Humans and the Ocean.

The architecture is intended to make the surrounding landscape part of the museum experience, with daylight filtered into the underground galleries through skylights and spaces designed to evoke natural phenomena. Behind the exhibitions is a collection spanning roughly 400 years and approximately 14 million objects, from animals, plants and fossils to minerals and meteorites, alongside a living collection of about 8,000 plant species. The museum’s opening is positioned as a new chapter for natural history in Denmark, bringing research, collections and public engagement together in the heart of Copenhagen.

The Curated Take

The most intriguing element is the decision to build a new museum beneath a historic botanical landscape. Rather than separating nature from architecture, the project aims to blur the boundary between the two, giving visitors a sense of moving from the city into another world. For travelers already drawn to Copenhagen’s design and cultural institutions, the museum adds a substantial new reason to return in 2027.