On Saturday 13 June 2026, Den Gamle By (The Old Town) in the Danish city of Aarhus has been crowned European Museum of the Year 2026 during an award ceremony in Bilbao. The open-air museum was praised for setting a “benchmark for innovation and relevance”.
Every year since 1977, the European Museum of the Year Awards (EMYA), a competition organised by the European Museum Forum (EMF), select one museum within the continent that showcases excellence and innovation in its field. In 2025, the prize went to the Manchester Museum, and now a new winner has been chosen.
2026’s European Museum of the Year Award went to Den Gamle By, the Danish National Open-Air Museum of Urban History and Culture located in the city of Aarhus. At the museum, visitors get a taste of 400 years of history through interactive and immersive exhibitions Den Gamle By tends to focus on the lives of ordinary people, while educating visitors on a variety of topics including sustainability, equality, and empowerment.
During the ceremony, the museum was praised for it ability to transform the open-air museum genre into a vibrant and influential platform for dialogue, reflection, and action.
“The museum positions itself as a dynamic agent of social change rather than merely a site of nostalgia. Through a variety of hands-on interactions, joyful reenactments, and community-driven storytelling, 400 years of the city’s history are brought into dialogue with the present, where important contemporary societal questions take centre stage,” the European Museum Forum said in a statement.
According to the organisation, the museum excels through its carefully researched narratives. By addressing themes such as migration, identity, and social justice, authenticity is assured and simplified or romanticised representations of the past are challenged. Outreach initiatives, including collaborative urban gardening and biodiversity projects, create a dialogue with the community while educating people on pressing subject such as sustainability.
“It is a huge recognition to receive from the rest of Europe. The award is a tribute to over 100 years of development through a very special spirit in Den Gamle By with a team of dedicated employees who live and breathe every day to give guests the best possible experience,” Dean Gamle By director Julie Rokkjær Birch said about the award.
Other awarded museums
The European Museum of the Year Award is not the only prize to be awarded by the European Museum Forum. In 2026, five other institutions were given an award for their outstanding efforts within the museum industry.
– Young V&A (United Kingdom): Council of Europe Museum Prize
– Museum of Madness (Slovenia): Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity
– AlpenStadtMuseum in Sonthofen (Germany): Silletto Prize for Community Participation and Engagement
– Museum of the Rural Civilisation of Mendrisiotto (Switzerland): Portimão Museum Prize for Welcoming, Inclusion and Belonging
– Lahti Museum of Visual Arts Malva (Finland): Museum Prize for Environmental Sustainability
In 2027, the European Museum of the Year Awards will celebrate their 50th edition during an award ceremony in Bern, Switzerland.
