The Workers Museum

Posted on by Stephen Edwards

Copenhagen, Denmark

Leave it up to the egalitarian Danish to create a museum that honors workers. As the majority of us have to ply a job or trade to make a living, it is a turn of events to see a museum that focuses on the Everyman, as most of us in society qualify under that description.

The entrance to the museum evokes a task that everyone can relate to: laundry. In city streets, it was not uncommon to see clothes drying on lines between buildings.

The Workers Museum or Arbejdermuseet is located at the Workers Assembly Hall, a historic building built in 1879. The Workers Assembly Hall is the oldest in Denmark and has inspired meeting locations across the country. The Workers’ Assembly Hall is also the oldest still existing building of its type in Europe. The 19th-century Danish Government tried to prevent the working class from gathering in public places, so workers could only meet in spaces built and funded by Danish unions. This building was built with funds raised by the workers who were served by it. Although the building has been a museum since 1982, it still serves as an important gathering space for holidays like May Day, which was originally celebrated worldwide as the first Labor Day.

Known as the ‘September Agreement‘, this agreement marked the beginning of the Danish Model, in which agreements were reached between employers and their employees. Even today, Denmark ranks among the world’s best labor markets for employees. In a recent work-life balance survey, Denmark ranked 6th worldwide in 2025, but has usually ranked in the top three. The United States ranks 59th out of 60 nations surveyed. This image was enhanced with ChatGPT’s glare reduction.

So many things were taken for granted by the first worldwide labor movements, such as 40-hour workweeks, universal suffrage, workers’ health care, vacation compensation, and weekends. The workers who gathered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries challenged the ruling class and forced them to make changes that benefited the majority of workers, who in turn represented the majority of society.

Adrienne did not look very comfortable in the tenant room, and I knew there was no way I was going to fit on this bed.

As for the museum itself, there are some neat exhibits including the old banquet hall, which we did not make it to in time for lunch, an exhibit that focused on the 1950s and the rise of the middle class in Denmark post World War II that was heavily influenced by the United States, an exhibit that displayed tenant housing, and exhibits that focused on the history of the labor movement.

My sister-in-law, Logan, invokes something fun when she travels, and that is to ‘Spot Elvis.’ Elvis was definitely featured in the 1950s-era exhibit, as American culture had a major impact on post-World War II Denmark. Between the Danish adopting a love of American music, TV, and movies, and the Americans adopting a love of Danish Cookies (which have a way of housing sewing kits), Legos, and now Ozempic, our two countries have been close allies for many years.
Brylcreem, nope, I’m a Dapper Dan man.

Overall, the museum is a decent stop at a historic building that focuses on common people. The museum in 2026 is 135 Danish Krone for adults 25+, 110 Danish Krone for adults 18-25, and free for everyone under 18. The museum is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily, with later hours on Thursday until 8:00 PM. The museum is included on the Official Copenhagen Card, which is how we entered. The cafe is highly rated, but we did not have the chance to have a meal in the building. There were other places we went in Denmark that were more exciting, but it was memorable to visit a building that is historically important to commoners like most of us. There is a current movement to add this building to UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, and if it were to be added, it would likely attract more international travelers. I think that the Workers’ Assembly Hall is a great reminder of what people can accomplish if they come together for a common goal.

Coming from a Right to Work state and a very anti-union home background, I would have never thought that I would be okay with staging for a photo for a worker’s union, but a lot of it is because we allowed ourselves to be controlled by propaganda from people who did not have our best interests at heart. The Danes have not always had high standards of living and work-life balance, but their workers fought for those rights. Americans tend to get caught up in cultural wars without realizing that we are being played against each other in a class war where most of us are not in the upper echelon, benefiting from our division. I happen to believe that most of us share many of the same desires and wants in life, and we need to stick together to make them happen.

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