
MM Editor•Apr 19, 2026
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek — A Beer King's Winter Garden of Sculpture
At a Glance
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek sits behind Copenhagen's City Hall, Denmark's largest sculpture museum, opened 1897. Built from the private collection of Carlsberg heir Carl Jacobsen, the red-brick Vilhelm Dahlerup building houses antiquities, French Impressionism, and 37 Rodin sculptures — the world's largest collection after the Musée Rodin.
The Beer King's Collection
Jacobsen bought directly from Paris and Rome to bring world art to a late-19th-century Denmark. He donated everything to the city in 1888; the museum opened nine years later. Henning Larsen added a 2006 contemporary wing.
Must-See
- Winter Garden under a 20 m glass dome.
- Rodin — Thinker early bronze and letters with Jacobsen.
- Second-largest Gauguin collection in the world.
- 1,000+ Egyptian pieces.
- 19th-century Danish Golden Age — Købke, Hammershøi.
Visiting Tips
8 min from Copenhagen Central, next to Tivoli. DKK 130; free Tuesdays. 2.5 hours. Closed Mondays. Pair with SMK.