The port of Esbjerg is just 20 minutes walk from the centre of Esbjerg, this makes it the ideal gateway into the region. The port of Esbjerg is served by DFDS Seaways sailing between Harwich and Esbjerg, the Dana Sirena the youngest ship in the fleet makes the sailing 3 times a week.
The port of Esbjerg is just 20 minutes walk from the centre of Esbjerg, this makes it the ideal gateway into the region. The port of Esbjerg is served by DFDS Seaways sailing between Harwich and Esbjerg, the Dana Sirena the youngest ship in the fleet makes the sailing 3 times a week.
The city museums bring the past to life, Esbjerg museums are always worth a visit, offering experiences for the whole family. The Fisheries and Maritime Museum is in an international class of its own. It illustrates the history of fishing and shipping, while in the large outdoor exhibition it is possible to experience a real harbour environment. The museum also contains a large saltwater aquarium, a sealarium (the seals are fed at 11am and 2:30pm), and a complex with live mink. In the Fishing Harbour lies the former motorised lightship “Horns Rev”, which is now a floating museum. At Esbjerg Museum the history of the city and its local area is illustrated. The museum also contains Denmark’s finest amber museum, which illustrates the history of amber over a period of 10,000 years.
While Esbjerg Museum focuses on museum items, the City Archives concentrate on printed and illustrative material. The archives also have a unique collection of illegal pamphlets and publications from the Occupation during the Second World War. The Museum of Printing is a demonstration museum, where you can see the old printing machines in operation. At the Water Tower there are changing exhibitions - as well as a magnificent view out across the harbour and the city. Finally, mention should be made of Esbjerg Art Museum, which contains one of the country’s finest collections of contemporary Danish art.
Modern Art. In front of the Esbjerg Art Museum stands Robert Jacobsen’s sculpture ‘Esbjerg’ (1963) - a major work within constructive art, though containing figurative elements such as church spires and falling coins. In Hjerting Kirke is an altar decoration from 1992 that tells the story of Christ’s Passion with both simplicity and empathy. The architecture is also interesting, since it combines the medieval church tradition with a modern conception of space. It is the work of Alan Havsteen-Mikkelsen. On the way out towards Hjerting stands the nine-meter tall colossal sculpture ‘Man meets the Sea’ (1995) by Svend Wiig Hansen, depicting man gazing out into the magnificence of nature. Fascinated by creation and itself a masterpiece. At the Market Square lies the garden of Heerups Have with a score of small granite sculptures by Henry Heerup, who belonged to the COBRA group. At the West Jutland Academy of Music in a converted electricity works the city’s latest work of art has been placed. Thorbjørn Lausten’s ‘The Clock’ (1998) combines image and sound in a rigorous composition that is governed by the aesthetic principles of geometry.
At the West Coast road you will see Eva Koch and Steen Høyer’s ‘Light Mound’ (1997), a colossal mound of earth with tiny cupolas of light spread out over it. It is Denmark’s largest works of art, 180 metres in diameter, with an adjacent earthwork of 320 metres that is intersected by a road. The ‘Light Mound’ will not be complete until it is clad with heather, a process that will take years. The pulsating of the light is best seen at night - the light intensity and rhythm being determined by the intensity of the traffic on the West Coast road.
