The Funen Village () is an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

located in the neighborhood of Fruens Bøge in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, Denmark.

History

The Funen Village was founded as a

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

project in 1942, during the German

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself Neutral countries in World War II, neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from Military occupation, occupying the country soon after the outbreak of ...

. The museum's open-air scene opened to the public already in 1944, and was used for patriotic song festivals (''alsangsstævner'') during the Occupation. It opened to the public on 1 April 1946. Among the guests attending the opening were King

Christian X of Denmark Christian X (; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 until his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, holding the title as a result of the personal union between Denmark and independent Icel ...

. It features 25 buildings from Funish villages, most of which date to the 18th and 19th century. The distribution of buildings includes a parsonage and watermill, an inn, a school, and a windmill as well as several residential structures. The vast majority are half-timbered buildings, as masonry buildings first became common in the countryside of Funen in the late 1800s. Tommerup parsonage farmhouse dates from 1692. The Bladstrup Brickwork dates from 1893. In addition to the buildings, the landscape contains examples ornamental gardens, with fruit trees of old Funen varieties. The village also features livestock, most often of Danish breeds:

Danish Red cattle Danish Red cattle, also known as Red Danish or Red Dane, are a major dairy cattle breed in northern Europe. There are 42,599 pedigree cows in Denmark. They can be used as a beef breed once they finish their useful lifetime. The breed The breed ...

Frederiksborg horse The Frederiksborger is Denmark's oldest horse breed. They were tremendously popular throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods and were considered luxury items. Today, the breed is rare, but has a loyal following. Stallions and mares undergo ...

s, Danish Landrace goats, Danish Landrace sheep,

Danish Landrace pig The Danish Landrace, , is a Danish List of pig breeds, breed of pig. It is of medium to large size, white in colour with a long body, fine hair, a long snout, and heavy drooping ears. There are two distinct varieties, the white (') and the pieba ...

s and Danish landrace geese.

Gallery

denmark-odense-fynske landsby-scenery.jpg, Scene from the Funen Village denmark-odense-fynske landsby-house.jpg, Traditional

timber framed Timber framing () 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 pegs. If the struc ...

house Denmark-odense-fynske landsby-mill.JPG, Flour mill Den Fynske Landsby, Denmark.jpg, Village stone house Old horse wagon in Fynske Landsby.jpg, Old horse wagon

References

Other sources

Frilandsmuseet Den Fynske Landsby

External links

Den Fynske Landsby official website
Museums in Odense Open-air museums in Denmark {{Denmark-museum-stub

History

Gallery

See also

References

Other sources

External links