The Hessenpark is an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

Neu-Anspach Neu-Anspach is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Neighbouring communities Neu-Anspach borders in the north on the town of Usingen, in the east on the community of Wehrheim, in the south on the town of Bad Homburg and ...

(near

Wehrheim Wehrheim is a municipality in Hesse, Germany some 30 km (20 mi) north of Frankfurt am Main. The town's nickname is "Apfeldorf Wehrheim" (''Apple-village Wehrheim''). Geography Location Wehrheim lies from 300 to 600 m above sea lev ...

-Obernhain),

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was founded in 1974 by the Hesse State Government headed by

Albert Osswald Albert Osswald (16 May 1919 – 15 August 1996) was a German politician (SPD). He served as the 3rd Minister President of the state of Hesse from 1969 to 1976 and as the 27th President of the Bundesrat in 1975/76. Biography Oswald was bor ...

(

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

). The museum showcases

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

buildings from the

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

of Hesse. As of 2006, there were almost 100 houses on display. The Hessenpark is a popular family destination.

Concept

One of the major goals of Hessenpark museum is to preserve and display traditional buildings from various regions around the state of

. Exhibits are grouped into "Baugruppen" (building ensembles) that represent the way these buildings may have been found in their original locations, such as villages, farmsteads or workshops, often including historical furniture, tools and machinery. Due to

cultural heritage management Cultural heritage management (CHM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management (CRM), although it also draws on the practices of cultural conservation, restoration, museology, archae ...

laws in Germany, traditional buildings can only be moved or demolished under exceptional circumstances. Hessenpark represents one of the ways in which such a building may avoid demolition. In this case, the building is carefully deconstructed, moved to the museum grounds and re-erected. In this manner, the museum is able to provide its visitors with new exhibits on a regular basis. Other goals of Hessenpark include * to give an impression of typical village life in Hesse over the last centuries * to preserve knowledge about traditional building techniques and materials * to preserve and display crafts and trades typical for the region, such as

basket weaving Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

bread making Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made food ...

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

charcoal burning A charcoal burner is someone whose occupation is to manufacture charcoal. Traditionally this is achieved by carbonising wood in a charcoal pile or kiln. Charcoal burning is one of the oldest human crafts. The knowledge gained from this indust ...

and others * to use and demonstrate traditional farming methods, grow traditional crops and vegetables and keep farm animals that would have been typical for the time period. Besides the educational aspects, Hessenpark is frequently used for events such as weddings. It also offers an annual

christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...

. The

marktplatz A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

building ensemble hosts several restaurants, shops and a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

Landmarks

* the Village Church * the Synagogue * the Village School * the Post Office * the Market Place * the Bakery * the Windmills * the Water Mill * the Blacksmith's Shop * the Typography

Image gallery

Image:Hessenpark_fg01.jpg, Hessenpark Image:Hessenpark_fg02.jpg, Marketplace Image:Hessenpark_fg03.jpg, The Old Blacksmith's Shop Image:Hessenpark_fg04.jpg, Children building a replica Image:Hessenpark Lollar.jpg, The

Lollar Lollar is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the river Lahn, 7 km north of Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the d ...

Chapel at night

References

External links

Hessenpark website
Ethnographic museums in Germany Rural history museums in Germany Open-air museums in Germany Museums established in 1974 Museums in Hesse 1974 establishments in West Germany Taunus {{Hesse-struct-stub