Slagelse: Churches, Museums and Walking Trails

Slagelse brings together historic churches, museums and marked walking trails. The themes range from architectural and local history to the history of Danish social care and traditional printing crafts. For planning your visit, the visitor hours at Sct. Peders Kirke, the guided tours at Dansk Forsorgshistorisk Museum and the lengths of the Kløverstierne trails provide practical points of reference.

Churches and architectural history

Sct. Peders Kirke is the oldest preserved church building in Slagelse. It is open to visitors Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., except during church services and ceremonies. As opening hours may change, check the latest information before your visit.

Sct. Mikkels Kirke stands on Mikkelsbjerget and is named after the Archangel Michael. The present building dates from 1333 and is Gothic in style. The church complex also includes the Kirkeladen, whose origins date to around 1470. The different dates refer to the present church building and another element of the complex. By contrast, the focus for Sct. Peders Kirke is its status as the oldest preserved church building in Slagelse.

Museums: local history and crafts

At Slagelse Museum, Håndværkergaden takes you into a historic setting that reaches back some 200 years. The street is curved and paved with cobblestones. You can also visit a Latin school like the one H. C. Andersen attended during his time in Slagelse. This means the same museum brings together a historic street and a place of learning connected with Andersen’s time in Slagelse.

Using the former Andersvænge institution in Slagelse as its point of reference, Dansk Forsorgshistorisk Museum presents the history of Danish social care for people with intellectual disabilities. Guided tours led by a former staff member are offered on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and on the first Sunday of each month at 1:00 p.m. As the programme may change, check the current tour times before your visit. Slagelse Museum is about a ten-minute walk from Slagelse Station.

Walking trails and Slagelse Lystanlæg

Kløverstierne Slagelse consists of four walking trails that start at Fisketorvet and are marked with coloured clover signs. They range in length from 2.7 to 11.4 kilometres. You can compare the trails by distance, with their shared starting point and colour-coded markings providing two practical points of reference when choosing a route.

A large lake with an island shapes the landscape at Slagelse Lystanlæg. The island is known locally as “Øen i Søen”. If you would like to include a park with a distinctive body of water among your interests, alongside churches and museums, you will find a different kind of attraction here in Slagelse.

Historic sites in the surrounding area

The area around Slagelse also holds traces of history from various centuries. The ruins of Antvorskov Kloster and Slot preserve building elements from the earliest monastery buildings of the second half of the 12th century as well as from the castle period in the first half of the 17th century. Trelleborg, Denmark’s best-preserved Viking ring fortress, lies west of Slagelse. The two references point to different historical periods: Antvorskov includes elements from both its monastery and castle periods, while Trelleborg is classified as a Viking ring fortress.

Discover more destinations: Bisserup, Frølunde, Skælskør, Svenstrup, Rude, Årslev, Frølunde Fed, Boeslunde.

For the wider travel overview: Slagelse.