The Danish Jewish Museum has a new entrance

The Danish Jewish Museum is being expanded with a new entrance. It is being carried out by the Polish-American star architect Daniel Libeskind, who has previously been responsible for the museum's distinctive architectural expression. The entrance area will grow out of the existing forecourt in front of the museum in Bibliotekshaven in the heart of Copenhagen. This will create a better and more visible entrance to the museum. In addition, it is in many ways a completion of the work that was begun with the foundation of the museum in 2004.

When the country's other museums and cultural institutions reopened in April, the Danish Jewish Museum remained closed. The museum was in the process of packing up the exhibitions. This is because the museum must have a new entrance. The museum is located in the old building of the Royal Library with an entrance from the Library Garden. The vaults above Daniel Libeskind's exhibition architecture date all the way back to the time of Christian IV. In order to protect the objects in the exhibition against dust in connection with the construction, they will be temporarily stored and, if necessary, preserved.

"Of course, it felt a little strange to pack down when everyone else is closing up. But it has been a long and exciting process to get to this stage, where construction is finally underway", says museum director Janus Møller Jensen. "It is a fantastic feeling that we have now finally taken the first sod on the big construction project".

The new entrance will both ensure better access to the museum and at the same time contribute to the highly sensory experience of the museum. Libeskind's existing architecture is based on the story of the escape and rescue of the Danish Jews in October 1943. It thus contains a strong narrative and is a strong visual and almost physical experience with the many crooked angles on the walls and floors.

The entrance area will contribute to the narrative and can in many ways be seen as the completion of the original work that was created when the museum opened in 2004. It will be integrated into the existing forecourt, but at the same time also stand out as a more visible and inviting entrance to Dansk Jewish Museum. It will become a new attraction in the heart of Copenhagen in the unique historical and beautiful setting of the Royal Library's garden.

The entrance party will also signal that the Danish Jewish Museum is working hard to make Danish Jewish history more visible, accessible and current. In connection with the work on the entrance, a new strategy for the museum has been drawn up, and at the same time work is being done to create completely new exhibitions and experiences in the unique architectural setting. In this way, the new entrance also ushers in a new era for the museum and the dissemination of Danish Jewish history. The building is expected to be completed and inaugurated together with the first new special exhibitions and exhibition tools at the museum in February 2022. It also helps to mark the 400th year of the arrival of Jews in Denmark.

Fact:

• Daniel Libeskind was born in Poland in 1946 and became an American citizen in 1965. He is behind a number of world-renowned buildings, including the comprehensive master plan for Ground Zero in New York in 2003, which includes 1 World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial.
• The Danish Jewish Museum opened in 2004 and has been a state-recognized cultural history museum since 2011, which is to convey 400 years of Danish Jewish history.