Melstedgård, also known as Bornholms Landbrugsmuseum (Bornholm's Farming Museum), is an old farm west of
Svaneke
Svaneke (''Swencke'' in 1410, from old Danish ''swan'' swan and ''*wīka'' inlet) is a small town on the eastern coast of the Baltic island of Bornholm, Denmark. It lies mainly in Svaneke parish and partly in Ibsker parish.
It is Denmark's easte ...
on the
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
island of
Bornholm
Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland.
Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...
. Built in 1801, the half-timbered farmhouse now serves as the centre of a farming museum. One of its main attractions is the windmill,
Tejn Mølle
Tejn Mølle (Tejn Windmill), also known as Melsted Stubmølle, is a post mill on the Danish island of Bornholm. It was recently moved from Tejn on the west coast to Melstedgård near Gudhjem where it is part of Bornholms Landbrugsmuseum (Bornhol ...
, which opened in 2009. Melstedgård is operated s a part of the
Bornholm Museum
Bornholm Museum is a cultural history museum located in Rønne, Denmark. The museum collects, preserves, researches, and exhibits artifacts in order to raise awareness of Bornholm's cultural heritage.
History
The museum's association was first ...
.
["Melstedgårds historie"]
Bornholms Museum. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
["Melsted Stubmølle"]
Bornholms Museum. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
History
The farm can be traced back to the 17th century, when the fields were tilled by a farmer who lived nearby. The first farmhouse, built at the end of the 17th century, was demolished around 1796, allowing today's half-timbered building to be completed in 1801 on the same site. In 1982, it was acquired by the Bornholm authorities who have entrusted it to
Bornholm Museum
Bornholm Museum is a cultural history museum located in Rønne, Denmark. The museum collects, preserves, researches, and exhibits artifacts in order to raise awareness of Bornholm's cultural heritage.
History
The museum's association was first ...
.
[
The first owners were Svend Thorsen and Kirstine Pedersdatter. Their initials can be seen on the farmhouse. Hans Svendsen bought the farm in 1857, adding several ]outhouse
An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be used ...
s and renovating the farmhouse in 1862. Milking facilities were added in 1873 paving the way for increased milk production. Sevendsen and his son Julius also made improvements inside the house, adding a kitchen and modernizing the rooms. Svend Andersen, Julius' nephew, took the farm over in 1947, becoming its last private owner.
Farmhouse
The house has been preserved with its historic furnishings (or copies thereof), reflecting its appearance in the 19th century. In the living room, there is a Swedish oven from the 17th century. The alcove in the wall contains a bed. There is also an 18th-century Bornholm grandfather clock.["Stuehuset"]
Bornholms Museum. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
Pantry and kitchen
The pantry has a large oven while the adjoining kitchen has an iron stove with hotplates, bought in the 1870s to replace an open fire. The old kitchen implements are on display.[
]
Bedroom
The room is painted blue to keep the flies away, just like the toilet and the stable. A separate bedroom with a double bed was unusual in farmhouses in the 1860s as beds were usually in the living room. A washing stand and jug for daily washing form part of the bedroom furnishings.[
]
Servants rooms
At the back of the house. there is a small room with two beds which could be used by the maids, children or visitors. The two beds could be extended if necessary. The two wardrobes housed their personal belongings. At the other end of the house there are three bedrooms for children or guests, one a little larger than the others.[
]
Drawing room
The little wall-papered drawing room is better kept than the living room with fine curtains and a cloth on the table. It is heated by an iron oven.[
]
Office
The farmer had his private office where he could handle accounts and keep a diary. The old photographs on the walls reflect the interest in photography triggered by photographers from Copenhagen who visited the island from the 1860s. The bird cage reflects the family's high standard of living.[
]
Veranda
The veranda or conservatory was originally for guests or family gatherings but from 1862 it was used by the family as a living and dining room. The room was designed for relaxation with a rocking chair, sofa and armchairs where guests could be received or books could be read aloud. The room contains pictures of Hans and Ane Margrethe Svendsen who owned the farm from 1857 to 1903.[
]
Outhouses
There are three outhouses. The one on the left served as a repair shop and also had an unheated room for the farm hands as well as a stable and a box for a foal. The southern outhouse houses old farm machinery as well as three old tractors, one of them a 1948 John Deere
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, a ...
sent from the United States under the post-war Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
. There is also harvesting machinery and an old sledge. The east outhouse was originally used for storing and drying grain. The area used for cows and pigs has been converted into a shop and exhibition. In the entrance there are some of the museum's carriages including a late 19th-century Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...
, a charabanc
A charabanc or "char-à-banc" (often pronounced "sharra-bang" in colloquial British English) is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It has "be ...
and a pony trap
A trap, pony trap (sometimes pony and trap) or horse trap is a light, often sporty, two-wheeled or sometimes four-wheeled horse- or pony-drawn carriage, usually accommodating two to four persons in various seating arrangements, such as face-to-fa ...
from 1920."Gårdens udlænger"
Bornholms Museum. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
The windmill
Tejn Mølle, as its name implies, used to stand above the village of Tejn
Tejn is a harbour town on the north-eastern coast of the Danish island of Bornholm, south of Allinge-Sandvig. As of 1 January 2022, it has a population of 858. Initially a fishing village, it grew considerably during the 20th century as the harb ...
on the island's west coast. Dating from around 1800, it was moved to Melsted after the surrounding buildings and trees prevented its proper functioning. It now stands in a field on the other side of the main road from Gudhjem to Svaneke
Svaneke (''Swencke'' in 1410, from old Danish ''swan'' swan and ''*wīka'' inlet) is a small town on the eastern coast of the Baltic island of Bornholm, Denmark. It lies mainly in Svaneke parish and partly in Ibsker parish.
It is Denmark's easte ...
where it is used for grinding feed for the farm animals. There is an exhibition about mills on Bornholm as well as a demonstration of the mill.[
]
References
External links
Bornholms Museum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melstedgard
Museums in Bornholm
Windmills in Denmark
Listed buildings and structures in Bornholm
Houses completed in 1801