Ringsted museum inherits nearly nine million kroner from US-based woman

Ringsted Museum and Archive has inherited nearly nine million kroner from a Danish woman who lived in the United States, DR reports. The money was deposited into the museum’s account earlier this month.

Ruth Else Christensen, who died in Pasadena, California, in early 2025, left part of her estate to the museum. She was born in 1923 in Benløse, near Ringsted, and moved to the United States in 1956 to join her Danish boyfriend. They married but had no children.

Despite living thousands of kilometres from Denmark, Christensen and her husband maintained ties to the country and returned at least once a year. Museum Vestsjælland director Eskil Vagn Olsen said she had expressed a strong affection for her Danish roots near Ringsted.

The museum has not yet decided how to use the inheritance. Olsen said it would take time to work out how the money could make the biggest difference.