The magic at the open air museum "Den Gamle By" begins on November 19th, when the living history market town of more than 75 restored vintage buildings puts on its holiday finery. In each room, visitors step directly into a world gone by, with all the details in place.
The half-timbered trading houses are part of a superb collection of around 75 historic buildings in the second largest Danish town of Århus. Presented as an open-air museum and with buildings gathered from all over the country (some nearing 500 years of age), Den Gamle By works as a "living" village with bakers, blacksmiths and grocers capturing the essence of a Danish market town. Furnished to the times, the buildings can be explored highlighting the tougher living conditions of times past. A mayor's house is one of the highlights of this historic town.
While some excellent open-air museums are sprinkled around northern Europe, Den Gamle By started the concept of open-air museums in 1914 and makes for a wonderful travel wonder to explore while in Denmark.
Marselisborg Castle & Park in Aarhus
South of Aarhus you will find this beautiful castle which belongs to The Royal family.
In 1661 King Frederik III was debt-ridden and was forced to hand over one of his crown properties to a major creditor - a Dutch merchant named Gabriel Marselis who supplied weapons and salt to the Danish government.He chose to relinquish Havreballegaard.Thereafter two of Marselis' sons moved to Denmark from Holland and setteled in the Aarhus area.
One son,Constantine Marselis later meneged to have Havreballegaard raised to the status of a baronetcy- called Marselisborg.The Marselis dynasty was unable to remain in Marselisborg and for 200 years it had a series of different owners.
Marselisborg castle was given by the people of Denmark as a wedding gift to the crown prince(later Christian X) and his consort proncess Alexandrine.They used it as their summer residence.
The current palace was rebuilt in 1899-1902. In 1967 King Frederik IX transferred the palace to his daughter Crown Princess Margrethe ( our Queen) and her consort Prince Henrik.RThe Royal couple also use Marselisborg castle as their summer residence.
The park was laid out in the traditional English style.
Besides a number of works of art ( my next posting) the park contains a beautiful rose garden and a herb garden. When the Queen and her family stay at the palace in the summer,there is a changing of the guards ceremony at noon.
The palace is beautifully situated high above the Aarhus bay with a magnificent view and you can take a walk in the park and get close enough to glance through the windows.
The Moesgård Manor in the woods south of Aarhus provides the setting for the Moesgård Museum. The building housing the museum is over 200 years old.
The permanent exhibition shows a range of exceptional archaeological finds from Denmark’s prehistory. The Grauballe Man is one of the most spectacular Danish finds from prehistory. The Grauballe Man is the best preserved bog body from Iron Age Europe.
Furthermore you can see the impressive sacrifices of weapons from the nearby Illerup river valley, which gives a detailed insight into the warfare and sacrificial traditions of the Iron Age.
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