Ringsted – between lakes, trails and history

Ringsted can be explored through two very different themes: the city’s history and its landscapes of lakes, forests and trails. Cultural sites, museums and nature experiences offer different ideas for shaping your stay.

City history and museums

The Ringsted Museum presents the city’s history in permanent and special exhibitions. Historical films about Ringsted are shown in the cinema area; children can also try making flour using an old hand mill. Visitors can therefore encounter the city’s history both through exhibitions and with a hands-on experience.

The Ringsted Radio Museum offers a different focus. Its 50 themed exhibitions cover technological development from 1885 to around 2010. About 1,000 of its collection of approximately 5,000 devices are on display.

Sct. Bendts Church and Ringsted Monastery also shape the historical perspective. The church contains the tombs of Danish kings and queens. The monastery was founded in the 1080s, making it one of Denmark’s oldest monasteries. It remained a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation in 1536. At Ringsted Windmill, meanwhile, you can learn about a distinctive milling tradition: it is Denmark’s only working gallery smock mill.

Lakes, forest and trails

The landscape around Haraldsted Sø offers a variety of natural experiences. The lake stretches for about five kilometres, covers approximately 200 hectares and winds through narrow passages. At Vrangeskov, there is a marked 1,000-metre swimming lane for long-distance swimming. Check local conditions before swimming. Visitors may launch their own canoes, kayaks, SUP boards or rowing boats from municipal bathing jetties on the lake; local rules for using the water may change.

Vrangeskov brings together several striking landscape features: twisted beech trees, slopes with numerous springs and views across Haraldsted Sø towards Ringsted. The lakeside nature trail crosses streams and wetlands, where wooden bridges shape the route. If you would like to include longer distances in your plans, Ringsted Oplevelsessti is a 25-kilometre nature and activity trail that runs through most of Ringsted Municipality. It stretches between Høm in the south and Haraldsted in the north, and shares sections with long-distance hiking route 6, Sjællandsleden.

Ringsted Oplevelsessti includes marked routes, toilets, birdwatching towers, shelters, and Bike Friends and Hike Friends facilities. Along the trail, you may spot white-tailed eagles and other birds of prey, although sightings depend on the season and are not guaranteed. The white-tailed eagle nests at a secret location in Humleore Skov and feeds especially around Haraldsted Sø.

More nature and cultural sites

Allindelille Fredskov is 460 years old and known for rare plants such as the fly orchid. The protected area covers about 65 hectares. Gyrstinge Sø offers a different landscape: at 263 hectares, it is the largest lake in Ringsted Municipality.

A pilgrimage route also connects cultural history with the landscape: Knud Lavard’s Pilgrimage Route begins at his grave in Sct. Bendts Church and ends in the village of Haraldsted. Those interested in the history of natural areas can find another point of interest at Kværkeby Bird Sanctuary. In 1970, Gunnar Goddik established the sanctuary in a disused gravel pit with surrounding peat diggings.

The Ringsted Medieval Festival takes place in Klosterlunden in central Ringsted and was first held in 2009. Programme highlights include fire shows, music, theatre and the family area Valdemars Værksted; the programme may vary from one edition to another. Check the dates and programme for the relevant edition before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Haraldsted, Ringsted, Jystrup Midtsj, Faxe Municipality, Vordingborg Municipality, Næstved Municipality, Holbæk Municipality, Sorø Municipality.

For the main travel overview: Zealand.