Køge Things to Do

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It is located a few steps away from the Tourist Info so when we saw a small building (pic 2) that houses Koge Byhistoriske Arkiv (City History Archive) I decided to knock the door and give it a try. I realized that it is not some kind of a small museum or something but a place for research for those who are interested to seek “old” information about Koge and the surrounding area.

I was welcomed by a friendly guy that talked to me about the place and he was trying to think if I could do something there! The place is full of files, old documents etc He finally gave me a huge album with old pics of Koge! I stood there and checked the album that had a lot of black and white photos, most of them on the streets of Koge the same streets that I walked later on…

It’s open (September to may) Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10.00-11.30, Wednesday 14.00-20.00
June-august Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 10.00-11.30, Thursday 10.00-16.00

FREE admission

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Koge Torv (Koge square, also known as market square) is a large square covering an area of 9940 sq meters (the largest town square away from Copenhagen).

You can sit and relax at one of the benches or enjoy a coffee at one of the cafes. As in other Danish town square I didn’t like the numerous cars around but still we enjoyed walking around this nicely preserved medieval town square.

In the middle of the square we saw the statue of King Frederic VII (pic 4).
Frederick VII(1808-1863) was the King of Denmark between 1848 and 1863. Actually he was the last Danish monarch, he signed a constitution that turned Denmark into constitutional monarchy. He was also known for eccentric behavior including a lot of drinking, several marriages full of scandals etc

If you visit Koge on Saturday (or Wednesday) you will see a different view of the square because the Koge Market taking place there these days, a big open air market with flowers, food (fish, meat, fruits & vegetables), handcrafts etc It is a market that dates from 13th century!
The market is open 8.00am-14.00

By the way the square was also popular for something more brutal in the past, criminals were punished in public here…

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Koge museum is located in a preserved former merchant’s house that dates from 1619! (pic 1)

It’s not very big and its collection covers the history of the city from the Stone Age to the present. We saw a lot of items from Stone and Bronze Age but the grave with the skeletons from Mesolithic period was the most impressive.

Then we visited some rooms that represent a farmhouse, a lot of local costumes etc Nothing to die for on the collection, you will survive without a visit to this museum but its small size wont really put you out of your itinerary.

By the way at the back yard of the museum there is an old half-timbered house from the 1500 but the city is full of houses like that anyway. During our visit at the back yard (pic 5) there was a middle age market with lot of music and people dressed in traditional clothes, kids having fun running all over the place but we preferred to be somewhere with less noise so we left the museum and walked the peaceful streets again :)

The entrance fee for the museum is 30DKK.
The museum is open 11.00-17.00

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One block away from the train station we walked into Norregade, a pedestrian street full of people. It seems to be one of the main commercial streets of Koge but also the street where you can find some of the main attractions in the city (KOS museum, Nikolai Church etc).

What I liked most on the street was the numerous old buildings, especially some colorful ones are very picturesque so we spent some time just checking the buildings like the one at pic 3.

At Norregade 5 (pic 4) you can see a building that dates from 1620, actually only the second storey timber frame has been preserved.

At Norregade 4 you can see the Koge museum that is housed on a nicely preserved former merchant’s house that dates from 1619

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KOS museum is focusing on art in public places, the only museum of this kind in Denmark.
For those who are interested to see sketches and models for art works like that it must be an interesting place but we preferred to skip it although we spent some time at the benches in front of it where we took some pictures of the sculptures (pics 2-3)

By the way the collection of the museum houses the original model of Little Mermaid that we had already seen some days before in Copenhagen.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday 10.00-17.00

The entrance fee is 50DKK (free for those under 18, 20DKK for 28-24)

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Sankt Nikolai Kirke (St Nicholas Church) is the main church of Koge(pic 1), dedicated of course to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of all travelers and sailors, including VTers :)

First we checked the exterior, strolling round the church and sitting for a while at the benches next to the church.

The brick church has a late gothic look and dates from the 15th century although a church existed at the same spot since 1250. The tower impressive tower is 43 meters high, its walls are very thick, at the base 2.7m thick (while the eastern wall at the base is 4m thick!). It seems the tower used for fortification purposes too but also as a lighthouse.

Then we got inside (pics 2-3), we liked some of the frescoes but it was the tower that I was excited to see. And of course the best part was the visit to the tower. There was a young guy that gave me the ticket and informed me that he will also be my guide, I didn’t know there will be a guided tour but it’s always nice to learn something more.

We started to go up the staircase and after 2’ the boy told me “when I tell you cover your ears because the sound of the bell is very loud”!!
-What?! What sound?
-the bell! We wont have enough time to reach the top before the bell rings!
-…

I took some pics of the interior and zoomed on the bell too (pic 4) but I was thinking about the bell while the boy was checking his watch all the time! Then I remembered that always carry with me some earplugs that I use sometimes during concerts! When the boy said “now cover your ears!” I put them on and hopefully it didn’t last for too long. Then I started to enjoy the incredible view over the city from the windows of the tower (pic 5). The boy opened one by one the windows but not all together because it was very windy and he was also afraid of the birds that may come inside. I took the pics quickly and started to go down as fast as I could… I didn’t want to listen to the bell again :)

The church is open daily 10.00-16.00 (Sundays 12-16.00)
Free admission for the church but you have to pay 10DKK for the tower (it’s open with a guide tour Monday to Friday 12.00-16.00)
Address: Kirkestræde / Nørregade Directions: In the middle of town, 3’ away from the train station

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Kirkestraede(church street) is probably the most beautiful street in the city. It’s another pedestrian street parallel to Norregade, the difference is that here you wont see stores but 2 rows of colorful old buildings, hopefully thanks to the map we took from the info we had information about some of them. The street starts from the Market Square and from there it’s a great way to approach St Nicholas church (pic 1).

At n.13 (pic 2) we saw “Smedegarden”(The Smithy) that dates from 16th century, what attracted our notice were the 2 porch stones, which are the only ones in Denmark still at their original place!
At n.10 (pic 3) we saw a building that dated from the first half of 17th century and since 1856 has accommodated the Koge kindergarten.
Next to it at n.8 (the pink building at pic 3) is a renaissance house that dates from 16th century and restored recently with a neoclassical façade.
At n.3 (pic 4) we saw Oluf Sandersens Gatehouse that dates from 1638 with the names of the owners written above the gateway (Oluf Sandersen, Margareta Jorgensdatter)

Last but not least we saw the most famous house which is no other than the Det Gamle Hus at n.20 (pic 5). It dates from 1527 (!) and is the oldest half-timbered house in Denmark and obviously the oldest building in Koge. It’s built with monk bricks (street side) but the rest is from wattle and daub. Hard to believe how a big family lived in such a small place. When the library was built at the back side (formerly an nursing house) at the beginning of 20th century they wanted to tear down this tiny house but hopefully Koge museum saved it and after its restoration was used as a Tourist Info and since 1958 as a library for children.

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Not far from the Market square you will see a bridge. It’s Koge Bro(bridge) that is built on the Koge river that splits the town in two. The stone bridge replaced the old wooden one in 1637 following the order of King Christian IV.

We took some pictures of the river (pics 1-2), we saw the water tower and walked back to Brogade street to check some more buildings.

At n.1 is the Koge Apotek(pharmacy) (pic 3) that dates from 1660 although the façade is from 1865.
At n.7 is the Oluf Jensens Gaard(pic 4), a group of buildings (warehouses from 19th century) that represents how a merchant’s business was in former times. You have to check the yard to see the buildings.
At n.16 is a building (pic 5) from 1636, 3 years after the big fire. It was built by mayor Hans Christensen and it’s the longest half-timbered building in Koge.