When living in Horsens, you often have to house family and friends who are coming into town for one of those great concerts the city has become so well-known for.

Occasionally, so many guests arrive that our spare bedroom no longer can do. Then it is nice to be able to refer them to the hostel Horsens Vandrerhjem, which is beautifully located in the preserved natural resort Nørrestand – but still close to both Form Horsens and Casa Arena Horsens. If it is fully booked there are many other cosy Bed & Breakfasts in the area.

Last time we had such a visit, we chose to show our guests some of the other things Horsens is.

City life and shopping
In the afternoon, we went for a walk in the city centre. From experience, we know that our guests are impressed by the combination of the wide shopping street and the smaller and cosier side streets. We looked at the different shops - no, actually we split into two teams. Some sat down with a cold beer at one of the cafés enjoying the vibrant city life, while others (guess who!) just had to go snooping around the stores, which you can only find in Horsens. We got far and wide, and saw wonderful clothes in many of the city’s shops.

Horsens is nationally known for its large concerts, but the culture is always present in the city. At Søndergade, we admired two sculptures created by two of Denmark’s most outstanding artists: outside Jyske Bank in no. 42 we saw the “Madonna (Darfur)” by Christian Lermmerz, and on the other side of the street we admired Michael Kvirum’s “Double Blind.”
In the new year, you will be able to download podcasts via your cell phone and hear stories about the two sculptures (read more at page 23).

Famous art by Kvirum
When we returned from shopping, our husbands had agreed that the industrial museum was next on the schedule. As we would also like to visit the art museum, we decided to buy a multi-ticket, which for DKK 50 grants you access to the three large museums in Horsens. Then it would also be possible for us to revive the story of one of the world’s greatest explorers: because Horsens Museum has an exhibition about explorer Vitus Bering, who was born in Horsens. If the children had come along, they would have enjoyed the curious fingers’ corner – an exhibition with toys from the past 100 years.

After visiting the industrial museum, we went to Horsens art museum, which over the years has gathered an impressive collection of modern art. We were especially excited about the Kvirum collection.
Michael Kvium was born in Horsens, and his paintings are disturbingly beautiful. If art is something that moves you, then Michael Kvirum is definitely an artist – if anybody was wondering.

Enjoying the nature
Late afternoon, we drove our friends back to their hostel, so they could change before we went out for dinner and music. Outside the hostel, we enjoyed the spectacular view and started talking to a family who were on a cycling vacation. They had taken the trail from Silkeborg to Horsens along the old Bryrup railway. They told us how beautiful the trip was, and that they enjoyed being able to ride so many kilometres with their children without worrying about traffic. They had made a stop at one of the shelters along the road, and had a good time with other cyclists around the fire ring. We looked at each other, and thought “that might be an idea for next year?”

But before we got that far, we had a great experience ahead of us – and who knows, maybe we’ll see you next time there is a concert in Horsens?

Special concert offers
Most restaurants and cafés in Horsens have special concert menus. Thus, you are sure to get something delicious to eat and arrive at the concert venue on time.