Hjemsted is a village near the German border in Jutland. It is this area where many Germans spend their (beach) holidays.
At Hjemsted, history and archaeology is presented in several ways. Among others Roman living history groups stay here in Summertime. Modern families are also invited to spend part of their Summer here.
Hjemsted Danernes verden is a member of a ‘generation’ of archaeological open-air museums in Denmark which were sponsored in the mid 1990’s by a large Danish holiday Fund. They were meant to make the offer for tourists more attractive. Hjemsted is presented as a family park and not as museum: “activity and experience” is the motto.
The service area contains the shop, the entrance and the restaurant. It also holds a room for presentations and a room for temporary exhibitions. Everything is bilingual Danish & German. Besides the workshops, the 13 hectares large archaeological open air museum of course has several “Iron Age” houses, but the novelty is their underground museum. The combination outdoor museum – indoor museum you find hardly anywhere in Denmark. Hjemsted is part of the regional group of museums, all under one organisational umbrella. Authenticity advice comes from the Haderslev Museum. The contrast between the reconstructed ground floor and the modern museum in the basement is huge. Hopefully this triggers some reactions with the visitors; the confrontation is refreshing. The downstairs exhibition is focussed on death in Iron Age, when in the park it is about life!
The Iron Age houses form two farmsteads – not merely the farms themselves, but everything that goes with it. One of the houses has a ‘berøringsmuseum’ in it, a kind of small hands on exhibition. Another one of the smaller sheds is turned into a play den. The artificial lakes are perfect for canoeing.
