The story of Sankt Hans
Sct. Hans Hospital (today, Psykia­trisk Center Sct. Hans) was founded in 1816 as the first psychiatric hospital in Denmark, following the hiring of its first chief physician. However, the history of the hospital dates back to the 1600s, when Sct. Hans (also known as the Plague House) was located in Copenhagen, housing ‘lunatics, the poor and people with incurable diseases’.

The hospital was moved out of the city and into the scenic surround­ings by Roskilde Fjord, inspired by the concept of recreation, and the belief that nature and fresh air would have a restorative effect on patients. As a ‘city outside the city’, Sct. Hans Hospital needed to be self-sufficient from the day of its founding.

Since 2023, the Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde has exhibited in the beautiful surroundings of the former psychiatric hospital. Until the end of 2026, the museum will continue to inhabit the scenic recreational area with exhibitions and numerous related events. The program is published on an ongoing basis.

About the Exhibitions
The large group exhibition Non Performing marked the beginning of the Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde’s three-year engagement in the Sankt Hans area. Visitors were taken on a walk through Sankt Hans, along a route stretching from Sct. Hans Garden, past the industrial central warehouse, the Kurhuset building designed by Gottlieb Bindesbøll, and finally to the former patient residence, Villa d’Este.

In the spring of 2024, the Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde opened its second exhibition at Sankt Hans. The exhibition Living Dead Time – a revolt against the productive society presented works and large-scale installations by Italian artist Danilo Correale. Correale transformed the former laundry, the Centralmagasin, into a theatrical office installation, a dream scenario of a future without work, and a profound study of sleep.

With Sct. Hans Garden and the surrounding nature as the exhibition space, the museum presented In the Dark We Ask the Sun to Remember Us. Here, 10 works by both Danish and international artists became part of the natural environment in Sct. Hans Garden’s many oases. The works each explored, in their own way, the human connection to nature, speaking directly to the anxiety about climate change and the care for nature that now resides in us all. The works in In the Dark We Ask the Sun to Remember Us participated in the rhythm of nature in Sct. Hans Garden, changing expression in step with the seasons, from late summer to autumn and eventually winter.

The upcoming exhibition Kaåårååline’s Verses opens on September 14 in the Kurhuset. Uniquely, this exhibition presents works by a former patient of Sankt Hans. Focusing on Karoline Ebbesen (1852–1936), who despite her productive body of work has been overlooked in Danish art history, Ebbesen’s works will be shown side by side with those of Danish and international contemporary artists, including Lise Haller Baggesen, Gudrun Hasle, Georgina Maxim, and Matilde Duus, who have drawn inspiration from and found kinship with Ebbesen’s world of text and images.