The Ostenfeld farm at the open-air museum; Aspects of the role of folk museums in conflicts of national heritage

Authors

  • Mette Skougaard

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5617/nm.3717

Abstract

The founder of the Danish Folk Museum and the Open-Air Museum, Bernhard Olsen, took a special interest in former Danish provinces; Scandinavian areas lost to Sweden in the 17th century, and Schleswig lost to Prussia in 1864. This paper examines the efforts made by Bernhard Olsen to obtain a farm house from the village of Ostenfeld in Schleswigfor the Open Air Museum, and the struggle between the Danish and the German elements in the attempt to define the national and cultural heritage of the region. These nationalistic intentions are seen in relation to the choice of exhibits and exhibition language in the new folk museums of the period. 

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