Roskilde Municipality: Culture, Nature and Hotels

Culture and History

The Viking Ship Hall at the Viking Ship Museum permanently displays the five Skuldelev ships and tells the story of the ships and Nordic maritime adventure during the Viking Age. The museum island also has a boatyard where visitors can watch boatbuilders at work. From 1 May to 30 September, the museum offers daily sailing trips in a traditional Nordic wooden boat.

The Rockmuseet tells the story of Danish rock and pop music from the 1950s to the present day. It features interactive exhibitions and music-related installations that visitors can explore. Musicon provides a different cultural setting as a post-industrial platform for urban culture, community and entrepreneurship. Roskilde Museum presents the cultural history of Roskilde and the surrounding region through archaeological finds and more recent objects.

In the centre of Roskilde, Sankt Laurentius comprises a church tower and an underground church ruin two metres below Stændertorvet. Roskilde Cathedral is a Gothic medieval cathedral, royal mausoleum and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Roskilde. Its richly decorated royal chapels are the burial place of more than 40 Danish kings and queens; the cathedral also offers guided tours of the royal chapels.

Trails and Tours

The marked circular route “Sti til Naturen” is 12.5 kilometres long and starts at Roskilde Cathedral. Roskilde Municipality has five signposted, family-friendly circular cycling routes ranging from 10 to 20 kilometres in length. For longer distances, the Fjordstien is available as a combined cycling and hiking route of approximately 275 kilometres in total around Roskilde Fjord and Isefjord.

The Hedebostien connects Roskilde Fjord and Køge Bay while also passing close to natural and cultural-historical experiences. The medieval town of Roskilde is an important part of Skjoldungernes Land National Park. Bolund, a protected peninsula north of Risø in Roskilde Fjord, is also part of this national park.

Nature and Water

Roskilde Fjord is designated as an international nature conservation area under Natura 2000. Roskilde Municipality has at least nine bathing spots. Alongside the cycling and hiking trails, this provides designated destinations by the water.

Gundsømagle Sø is a bird sanctuary with an 800-metre footpath along the southern shore and a jetty approximately 300 metres long through the reeds. In the Gundsømagle Sø nature reserve, visitors can follow paths into the reeds and to the birdwatching towers, experiencing protected wildlife and plant life. A circular route from the car park near Østrup to the reed labyrinth and back is approximately 3.5 kilometres long.

The path to Bolund runs approximately 500 metres across the beach meadow; the entire circular route is approximately 3.2 kilometres long. This protected destination therefore has both a spatial description north of Risø and a short, clearly described route.

Events

The Roskilde Festival is an eight-day music and cultural festival held annually in Roskilde. In addition to concerts, it offers art, talks, films, workshops, communal meals and activities on the festival site and in the camping areas.

Getting There

The train journey from Copenhagen to Roskilde takes approximately 25 minutes. Thanks to the manageable distances, Roskilde is easy to explore on foot or by rental bicycle.

Further destinations: Roskilde, Svogerslev, Greve Municipality.

To the overview of the wider travel region: Zealand.