Esbjerg Art Museum and Water Tower

This entry brings together two of Esbjerg's cultural landmarks in southwest Jutland: the Esbjerg Art Museum and the city's iconic Water Tower. The Esbjerg Art Museum (Esbjerg Kunstmuseum), an independently owned institution founded in 1910, moved in 1962 into a purpose-built home in the City Park and since 1997 has formed part of a larger complex that also houses the Esbjerg Performing Arts Centre. Its collection focuses on 20th- and 21st-century Danish and international art, with particular strength in Danish modernism, graphics and contemporary work, and the interplay of art and architecture gives the visit a distinctive character. A short distance away stands the Water Tower, completed in 1897 and designed by Christian Hjerrild Clausen, who drew inspiration from the medieval Nassauer Haus in Nuremberg. Set on a Bronze Age burial mound at the top of a cliff above the harbour, it has become the enduring symbol of Esbjerg, and climbing to the top rewards visitors with panoramic views over the city, the port and the Wadden Sea beyond. The art museum charges admission and generally keeps daytime hours, closed on Mondays; the tower is a landmark to take in from outside or ascend for the view. Together they make an easy cultural pairing in the heart of Denmark's largest North Sea city — and both sit within walking distance of the waterfront, close to Esbjerg's other famous sight, the giant white sculptures Man Meets the Sea.