Øhavsmuseet is closing its exhibition building at Faaborg harbour to visitors and staff with effect from 30 June 2026.
The decision was taken by the Øhavsmuseet board at an extraordinary board meeting on 29 June 2026.
The closure is for safety reasons.
The museum management and Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality were informed in April of structural issues in the exhibition building. Since then, new and significant information has come to light which, taken together, means that the Øhavsmuseet cannot assume responsibility for maintaining the building’s operations for visitors and staff.
This relates primarily to entirely new and recent information from the museum’s insurance company dated 25 June 2026. The insurance company has stated that, in light of the new findings regarding the structural condition of the building, the building insurance is likely to be restricted to fire cover only.
This means that the Øhavsmuseet can no longer assume that the building is insured under the previous terms.
The new information is based, amongst other things, on an assessment of the building’s structural condition carried out by an external surveyor, the findings of which were communicated to both the Øhavsmuseet and the municipality of Faaborg-Midtfyn. The report states that ‘the safety level of the building cannot be precisely determined and is considered inadequate’.
“We are closing the exhibition building for safety reasons. As we have both the assessment of an external expert, according to which the building’s safety level is considered inadequate, and new information from the insurance company indicating that the building’s insurance cover is likely to be restricted, we cannot accept responsibility for keeping the building open to visitors and staff,” says Jakob Holm, Chair of the Board of the Øhavsmuseet.
The structural problems were uncovered in connection with the recalculation of the structural integrity of the Frølageret as part of the work on the planned museum extension.
The Øhavsmuseet still hopes to be able to carry out the planned museum extension as intended.
The weather at the weekend has also made it clear that conditions can change rapidly. At the “Tinderbox” festival in Odense, a severe storm led to the music programme being interrupted, the entrance being closed and concerts having to be cancelled.
“The weather at the weekend shows that conditions can change rapidly. We cannot run a museum in such a way that the management has to constantly monitor weather forecasts and wind conditions to assess whether the building can be used. That is not a responsible approach for visitors and staff,” says Jakob Holm.
Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality is the responsible local building authority. The Øhavsmuseet is asking the municipality to assess whether the building remains suitable as an exhibition venue with access for visitors and staff.
The museum management will now work with the relevant parties to find a solution.
The Øhavsmuseet is keeping the exhibition building at the harbour closed until the municipality of Faaborg-Midtfyn, in its capacity as the building authority, has provided a clear and reassuring assessment as to whether the building can be used safely.
The closure applies exclusively to the building at the harbour. The Øhavsmuseet remains open to the public at the museum’s two other exhibition venues – Kaleko Mølle and Arresten.