Hjerl Hede

Hjerl Hede is an open air museum of the Skansen type at Vinderup in the municipality of Holstebro in West Jutland. 35 km W of Viborg. Hans Peter Hjerl Hansen (1870-1946), a successful industrialist, a philanthropist and, for a time, the Danish finance minister bought the heathland which was named after him in 1910. The museum was established in 1930, supported by the foundation that Hansen set up. Its national importance was recognised in 1979 by the government, which provides some support, although the museum remains dependent upon the foundation.

Hjerl Hede portrays rural life in West Jutland, and in particular the ways in which it changed n the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Exhibits include a post mill of 1778, a watermill of 1858, shops for a coachbuilder, a cooper and a rope-maker and a wheelwright, and a re-erected creamery of 1897 with a small steam engine driving machines by line shafting and belts. One section relates to forest industries and another shows the importance in Jutland of peat bogs, exhibiting peat-cutting machinery and moulds for making peat bricks for household fuel. A small sawmill is powered by a portable engine by Marshalls of Gainsborough, England. Potters make traditional Jutland black wares and there are demonstrations of home-based weaving. Shops from towns include buildings intended for the sale of fish, salt, hops and haberdashery. The museum keeps old breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry and has an historical playground where children can enjoy boot-throwing, take rides on penny farthing bicycles, and try on historic costumes and clogs. Traditional festivals, including the hop harvest, the potato holiday in October and Christmas, are enthusiastically celebrated.

Hjerl Hede
Hjerlhedevej 14
7830 Vinderup
Denmark
+45 (0) 9744 - 8060
Homepage