Kerteminde between harbour, beach and history

Harbour, beach and historic town

Kerteminde combines coastal landscapes, maritime heritage and an old town dating back to the Middle Ages. At North Beach, you will find chalk-white sand and shallow water extending far out to sea. Kerteminde Marina is located at the entrance to Kerteminde Fjord, while the garden of the Johannes Larsen Museum offers views of the Great Belt.

Old town with distinctive buildings

Kerteminde Church stands in the centre, right in the middle of the market square. According to tradition, it was built in 1476 in the late Gothic period; inside is a Gothic cabinet dating from around 1525. Several Renaissance buildings can be seen on Langegade. This makes it possible to trace Kerteminde’s historic character not only through the old town as a whole, but also in individual streets and buildings.

Trade, mills and changing exhibitions

Toldboden recalls Kerteminde’s former role as a harbour town serving Odense. It was built around 1590 by the Odense merchant Niels Bager and rebuilt in 1735 after its destruction during the Scanian War. In the old Toldboden, Østfyns Museer and Kerteminde Kunstforening take turns presenting exhibitions. Møllebakken is also home to Svanemøllen, built in 1852 and the only surviving one of the three windmills that once stood there.

Artists’ home and town life

The home of Johannes and Alhed Larsen became a central meeting place for artists of their time. Today, Johannes Larsen’s home is largely preserved as it was when the Larsen family lived there. Rare trees and plants grow in the garden, which is also home to birds and other animals. Farvergården presents exhibitions across three floors, including exhibitions about the lives of craftsmen and fishermen in Kerteminde. A small cinema shows films about Kerteminde recorded between 1938 and 1962.

Harbour, fishing and marine research

Fjord&Bælt is an aquarium as well as a research and educational centre, located at Kerteminde harbour. A long underwater tunnel reveals life on the seabed. The museum ship Rylen lies in the museum harbour on the southern shore of the harbour. Lillestranden offers another insight into the area’s maritime history: the old fishermen’s quarter is part of Kerteminde, and fishing still takes place from there.

Routes for walks and cycle rides

The Blue Cloverleaf Trail in Kerteminde is 4.6 km long and passes through the harbour and town area. For a longer connection, the cycle route from Kerteminde to Odense is 24.5 km long. Public access is available throughout Sybergland. The area offers good paths, a fire pit and a shelter site. This provides different route lengths and landscape settings for planning: from a walk through the town and harbour to a longer cycle route and a stay in Sybergland.

Finding your way around

The town walk through Kerteminde begins at Tornøes Hotel on Strandgade. In addition, Kerteminde has decentralised, self-service tourist information points available all year round. These two fixed orientation points complement the routes through the old town, harbour and town area and make it easier to organise your sightseeing independently.

Other places in the same higher-level destination

For orientation within the same higher-level destination, you can also explore Martofte, Mesinge, Langeskov, Munkebo, Kertinge, Dalby and TÃ¥rup.

To the higher-level travel overview: Kerteminde.