The Engine Collection

Located near the town of Grenå on the Djursland peninsula, the museum holds northern Europe’s largest collection of stationary internal combustion engines. After the heyday of the steam engine and before electric motors came to dominate, stationary diesel, oil or petrol engines were an important power source in agriculture and industry. The museum exhibits over 450 engines, most of which were made in Denmark in the golden age from 1890 to1930, when over 200 stationary engine manufacturers were operating in the country. The oldest engine exhibited is Otto-Langen’s ‘atmospheric engine’ from 1868. Other highlights include a selection of engines from Burmeister & Waine, Denmark’s largest engine manufacturer, which in 1930 had a 50-per cent share of the global marine diesel-engine industry. Engines by foreign companies such as Bamford, Berg and Deutza (from the United Kingdom, France and Germany respectively) are also on display. Volunteers restore the engines and most are in working order.