The Vendsyssel Historical Museum (VHM) is a regional museum, preserving and exhibiting the history of the region of

Vendsyssel Vendsyssel () is the northernmost traditional district of Denmark and of Jutland. Being divided from mainland Jutland by the Limfjord, it is technically a part of the North Jutlandic Island, but the name often used informally for the entire island. ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The museum works as an

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

for a total of five departments and six exhibitions in Vendsyssel. It was initiated in 1889 and attained recognition by the State of Denmark in 1959.

Exhibits

The VHM has extensive collections on the natural history of the region and also conducts and archives archaeological excavations. Some of the excavated items originated as early as 10,000 BC. The museum exhibits in

Hjørring Hjørring () is a town on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Hjørring Municipality in the North Jutland Region. The population is 25,644 (accor ...

, two places in

Hirtshals Hirtshals is a town and seaport on the coast of Skagerrak on the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark, Europe. It is located in Hjørring municipality in Region Nordjylland. The town of Hirtshals has a po ...

, in Mosbjerg and at Rubjerg Knude: * Hjørring: This is the site of the headquarters of VHM, taking residence in several buildings both old and new, all encompassing a small enclosed park with herb gardens, a playground and facilities for

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

s. The exhibits holds artifacts and tells stories from the earliest

Nordic Stone Age The Nordic Stone Age refers to the Stone Age of Scandinavia. During the Weichselian glaciation (115,000 – 11,700 years ago), almost all of Scandinavia was buried beneath a thick permanent ice cover, thus, the Stone Age came rather late to thi ...

to modern times, rooted in finds from the region of Vendsyssel. The museum and its collections was initiated by the first

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

in Hjørring J. J. Lønborg Friis and his old preserved clinic can also be studied here. There is a museum shop and a café at the complex. * Hirtshals Museum: Situated in an old fisherman's house from 1880, this museum exhibits and tells the story of Hirtshals and its strong relations to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

through the ages. The interior of the house is reconstructed to show how ordinary fishermen's families lived anno 1915 in this region. The museum also tells the story of the 'Bjesk', the old traditional

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

of Vendsyssel and gives information and assistance on how to use the many local herbs found in the dunes along the west coast, for producing one's own 'Bjesk'. Bitters are an old and widespread tradition in Scandinavia, and is generally referred to as

snaps Snaps ( ) is a Danish and Swedish word for a small shot of a strong alcoholic beverage taken during the course of a meal. A ritual that is associated with drinking snaps is a tradition in Scandinavia, especially in Denmark and Sweden, where ...

in Denmark. * Bunker Museum Hirtshals: The shorelines around the city of Hirtshals was part of the German

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...

defence 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 museum presents the only excavated complete WWII bunker system in Denmark and holds 54 bunkers and many artillery nests between radar and lighting facilities spread out over a 3.5 km long strip of shoreline. * Mosbjerg: The department in Mosbjerg 20–30 km east of Hjørring, is a landscape- and agricultural museum (see

ecomuseum An ecomuseum is a museum focused on the identity of a place, largely based on local participation and aiming to enhance the welfare and development of local community, local communities. Ecomuseums originated in France, the concept being develope ...

) placed in a hilly and geologically interesting landscape. The museum is a working museum, imitating the agricultural practises in the early part of the 1900s and is based in two separate farm buildings. There are three designed hiking paths in the area associated with the museum; "Oldtidsstien", "Markstien" and "Skovstien", which translates as ''The Prehistoric Path'', ''The Field Path'' and ''The Forest Path''. The trails are focusing on

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

, various agricultural landuses and a characteristic forest meadow habitat respectively. The long-distance hiking trail of

Hærvejen Hærvejen (Danish, literally: ''the army road'', german: link=no, Ochsenweg, literally: '' oxen way'', nds, Ossenpadd, literally: oxen path), sometimes referred to in English as the Ox Road, is the name given to an ancient trackway in Denmark and ...

passes through the area in the east. * Rubjerg Knude: The old coastal farm of ''Strandfogedgården'' ("The Wreck Master's Farm") a few kilometres south of the decommissioned lighthouse of Rubjerg, has been administered by the VHM since 2000. As the name implies, it was formerly the home of the wreck master at Rubjerg Knude, going back to 1860s. The relentless winds, drifting sands and migrating dunes, hints at the rather harsh living conditions here in former ages. VHM has a permanent, but ever evolving exhibit at the farm, telling the stories of the four coastal parishes covered by Lønstrup Cliff (including Rubjeg Knude) and the unique conditions of life and nature found here. The Wreck Master's Farm is also known as Jens Thomsen's farm, in remembrance of a former owner - and the first wreck master of Rubjeg Knude - who overtook the place from his father in 1838. The place has been on the hands of the Thomsen family since 1814, when Jens' father Thomas, acquired the farm and it is now owned by the great-great grandson of Jens.

Gallery

Bjesk (5302632571).jpg, A bottle of Bjesk from Tornby near Hirtshals. Fire control post 636a.jpg, The bunkers at Hirtshals. Leuchtturm Rubjerg 01.JPG, The harsh landscape at Rubjerg Knude.

References

Sources

* {{Coord, 57, 27.65, N, 9, 58.98, E, region:DK_type:city, display=title Vendsyssel Museums in the North Jutland Region