A new titanic-sized Natural History Museum of Denmark will be built in the heart of Copenhagen by 2020 when the current Natural History Museum, the Geological Museum and the Botanical Museum are merged into one massive museum.
The University of Copenhagen (KU) will be able to begin the construction of the new museum after securing 550 million kroner of funding from private foundations.
”With these generous gifts from the foundations, the University of Copenhagen has a unique opportunity to strengthen our work within outreach, research and education,” Ralf Hemmingsen, the rector of KU, said in a press release.
”We decided to join our three museums of natural history back in 2004. We now celebrate the results of a ten-year effort and I am very grateful for the support we have received throughout the entire project.”
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Whales, dinosaurs and meteorites
The new museum, which will become one of the world's largest natural history museums, will be located in the Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen and will offer guests everything from exotic plants, rare meteorites and dinosaurs to one of the biggest whale collections on the planet.
Approximately 12,000 sqm in size, the exhibition area will contain many of the 14 million items that the museum has at its disposal, and it is estimated that about 400,000 guests will visit the museum every year.
Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter and architect Claus Pryds are behind the design of the museum, which will cost a total of 950 million kroner to construct.
Aside from the four funds – Villum Fonden, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Det Obelske Familiefond and Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond – which have coughed up the 550 million kroner, the project is also being funded by the Danish state and KU.
