The Aalborg Defence and Garrison Museum ( da, Aalborg Forsvars- og Garnisonsmuseum, links=no) is a military museum in

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

, Denmark that covers all branches (except naval) of Danish defence organizations.

History

The museum is located in a seaplane hangar, built by German occupation forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The German seaplane base

Seefliegerhorst Aalborg Seefliegerhorst Aalborg was a German seaplane base at Aalborg during the occupation of Denmark 1940 to 1945 On 12 April 1940, three days after the German occupation of Denmark, the first German seaplanes landed on the Limfjord on the western ou ...

was established there in 1940. Following the war, the hangar was used as a storage depot for equipment of the Danish Civil Defence Forces. In August 2001, the hangar was provided to the Garrison Historical Society of Aalborg for the creation of a military museum. The building was renovated and the museum opened on 22 June 2002. In 2009 a second exhibition hall was opened creating a total exhibit area of approximately .

Exhibits

The museum covers most branches of Danish defence organizations—the Danish Navy was excluded because it was already represented in the city's maritime museum. The branches include the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

, the

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...

, the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...

, the

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

, and the

Danish Emergency Management Agency The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) ( da, Beredskabsstyrelsen) is a Danish governmental agency under the Ministry of Defence. Its principal task is to manage an operational part who work out of six Emergency Management Centres, and adm ...

with an emphasis on their activities during and after World War II to the present. There are also exhibitions of Denmark during World War II 1940–45, and about Aalborg as a garrison city since 1779. In the original command bunker of the seaplane base are exhibitions on the three German airbases in Aalborg during WW II and the camps for German refugees after the end of the war.

Funding

The museum is a private institution that does not receive government grants for the operation. The museum is almost exclusively run by volunteers, who have served in the Danish armed forces. Defence authorities provided most of the museum's exhibits, especially the heavy equipment such as vehicles and fighter jets, thus the museum contains a large portion of stockpiled equipment during the Cold War. The museum is open daily from 1 April to 31 October. Because the hangar is unheated, the museum is open only by special arrangement from 1 November to 1 April. However the museum is open in week 7 and 8 (Danish winter vacation period. The museum had more than 18,500 visitors in 2012.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Museums in Aalborg History of Aalborg Military and war museums in Denmark