Roskilde

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Roskilde

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Discover Roskilde

Roskilde is in West Zealand, Denmark, 35 km west of Copenhagen. Roskilde is an ancient city dating from the Viking age. The most important historical sights are the Viking Museum and Roskilde Cathedral, World Heritage site. Roskilde is also home to the giant rock music event, Roskilde Festival. Roskilde is south of Roskilde Inlet with the Viking Museum and some of the accommodation and restaurant options nearby. Central Roskilde is 1 km further south centred on the pedestrian street Algade/Skomagergade and Roskilde Cathedral. The city centre is quite small at around 1 km² bordered by a ring road. The train station is at the southern end of the city centre. Roskilde Festival is 4 km south from the train station along Køgevej.

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Taste of Roskilde...

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History

A Rich Past

Explore the historical roots that shaped Roskilde into what it is today.

Roskilde was established more than 1,000 years ago, at which time it had a wooden church and a royal farm. In the 12th century, Roskilde Cathedral was built and Roskilde became the seat of the bishop and was also granted the status of a market town. The town was one of the most important in Denmark for the next few centuries until the reformation ended the importance of the church. From Copenhagen Central Station (København H), it is about a 25-minute trip to Roskilde Station, with multiple trains every hour throughout the day. On weekdays, there are also direct trains from Copenhagen Airport that go to Roskilde bypassing Copenhagen Central Station, though these are much less frequent. There is also a small branch line with local trains from Roskilde to Køge and onwards to Rødvig. Intercity buses to and from Jutland lines 882 to Fjerritslev and 888 to Aarhus/Aalborg, makes stop at the Q8 gas station at Darupvej 2, by the highway. It is quite far from the city centre, but there are several bus lines connecting from Roskilde Station, e.g. 600S. Important regional buses includes 600S which runs an arch around Copenhagen proper from Hillerød in the north (Frederiksborg castle) to Hundige Station in the south. 233 runs between Roskilde and Lejre Forsøgscenter, 234 connects with Slagelse and finally 229E and 239 with Frederikssund. You can easily walk from the train station to the main square with the cathedral and from there to the Viking Ship Museum....

Plan Your Trip

Essential Information

Getting There

Multiple Options

From Copenhagen Central Station (København H), it is about a 25-minute trip to Roskilde Station, with multiple trains every hour throughout the day. On weekdays, there are also direct trains from Copenhagen Airport that go to Roskilde bypassing Copenhagen Central Station, though these are much less frequent. There is also a small branch line with local trains from Roskilde to Køge and onwards to Rødvig. Intercity buses to and from Jutland lines 882 to Fjerritslev and 888 to Aarhus/Aalborg, makes stop at the Q8 gas station at Darupvej 2, by the highway. It is quite far from the city centre, but there are several bus lines connecting from Roskilde Station, e.g. 600S. Important regional buses includes 600S which runs an arch around Copenhagen proper from Hillerød in the north (Frederiksborg castle) to Hundige Station in the south. 233 runs between Roskilde and Lejre Forsøgscenter, 234 connects with Slagelse and finally 229E and 239 with Frederikssund....

Travel Tips

Getting Around & Staying

Getting Around

You can easily walk from the train station to the main square with the cathedral and from there to the Viking Ship Museum. There are a few local buses running from the train station. The legendary Roskilde Festival is still going strong despite more than 50 years of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll! started by a group of friends in 1971 inspired by the Woodstock festival, it has grown from a few thousand guests in its first year, to over 115,000 visitors from all over the world, and is routinely sold out with over half the tickets sold outside of Denmark. The festival takes place in late June, early July on Roskilde Dyreskueplads south of the city. To Get in there are several options; daily during the festival trains depart from Roskilde Station to the festival's own station inside the camping area (West) every 30 minutes for 20 kr. There are also shuttle buses from Roskilde Station to the camping area (East) all day during the festival.

Money & Budget

From Roskilde festival the nearest supermarket is Fakta at Køgevej 108, about 1300 meters (a 15-20 minute walk) due north (past the highway) from the eastern entrance. The downtown area which has a pedestrianized area full of different shops is a further 1½ km away (or 30-40 minutes by foot).

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