Bygningsmuseet i Kongens Have

Abstract

This thesis’ main focal point is the emergence of the open-air museum – both as a physical manifestation, but also as a concept and idea. Why did it emerge at the time it did and who came up with the idea? What kind of role does this concept have regarding the different approaches to exhibitions and museum practices – how does the open air museum differ from other museological discourses and what are the limitations in terms of historical interpretations? These are some of the questions this thesis is concerned with and trying to unravel. The main issue which is addressed, is formulated thus:

Hvilke samfundsmæssige og museologiske strømninger lå bag Bernhard Olsens introduktion af frilandsmuseums-tanken i Danmark ved oprettelsen af Bygningsmuseet i Kongens Have i 1897? Hvilke historier formidles der til publikum gennem Bygningsmuseets objekter og hvilken genstandsforståelse er de udtryk for? Hvordan har Bygningsmuseets tilgang til materialet påvirket den danske museologiske praksis – både i samtiden og i de efterfølgende perioder frem til nutiden?

In English:

What social phenomena and museological influences have led Bernhard Olsen to found a building museum in Kongens Have in the year 1897? What stories and historical perceptions are transmitted to the audience by means of the Building Museum’s exhibited objects and what exhibitional practice do they reflect? In what way has the Building Museum’s approach to exhibiting historical material affected Danish museological practice – at the end of the 19th century and in the following periods until today?

The theoretical foundations are based upon semiological views – especially the theoretical framework set forth by Roland Barthes. As a supplement to the strict semiotics, the use of the works of various museologists is implemented. The approach is inspired by post-modernity in its broadest sense, as a heterogenic world view that is fragmented and fluid. The textual structure is influenced by the chronology of events, but should not be perceived as an evolutionistic account of the history of the open-air museum. Rather, the ambition is to show the different phenomena and influences that led to the consolidation of an open-air museum on Danish soil in 1897. As well as investigating the different tendencies in Europe from the end of the 18th century up until the beginning of the 20th, the text is also concerned with the tendencies today, at the beginning of the 21st century, where buzz-words such as oplevelsesøkonomi (roughly it translates to entertainment or experience economy) are widely used in the Danish museological debate.

In the following, a rough sketch of the structure and content of this thesis is drawn.

Our journey of discovery begins with a short introduction to the areas of interest and the theories concerning museums. Then the text proceeds to examine the Danish Building Museum in Kongens Have – from the contemplation of the idea to the manifestation in physical form. Furthermore the Great Exhibitions/World Expositions of the 19th century are shortly described, as these were of great inspiration to the founders of the open-air museums. The text examines both Danish and foreign sources concerned with the ‘World exposition’ phenomenon. This draws our attention to the emergence of the displaying of culture and history in exhibits by the means of elaborate dramatization, as amongst others seen done by the Swedish scholar Arthur Hazelius in Paris 1878. The Danish entrepreneur and self taught scholar Bernhard Olsen attended the Parisian World exposition in 1878, where he was greatly inspired by both the exhibit created by Arthur Hazelius, but also a Frisian display of a Hindeloopen living room. Thus spurred by the impressions which he got at the world exhibit, Bernhard Olsen started elaborating on the idea of displaying original, non-dramatized buildings in Denmark. To begin with, Bernhard Olsen founded the Danish Folk Museum – Dansk Folkemuseum, where he displayed only the interiors of peasant living rooms, but from the very beginning his ambition had been to erect complete, original buildings and thus create a building-museum open for the general public. In 1897 this vision became reality as two houses brought from Sweden were opened to the public in Kongens Have in Copenhagen. Next, the different approaches to exhibiting objects are described in a short overview. The Danish Agricultural Museum – Dansk Landbrugsmuseum, plays a significant part in the exhibition practices and approaches to cultural history implemented by Bernhard Olsen – therefore this topic is elaborated on in greater detail. The Royal Danish Agricultural Society – Det Kongelige Landhuusholdnings-Selskab founded in the year 1769, and the opening of the first museum made accessible for the general public – The Model Chamber – Modelkammeret, are also discussed. This museum displayed objects collected by the agricultural society, and its main purpose was to broaden the knowledge of primarily farmers, in order to make farming in general more effective, with the use of the most efficient technology presented through the exhibit. On a small regional scale, one could say that the activities of the agricultural societies all over Europe were a source of inspiration for the later magnificent international World Expositions. The societies can also be accredited for introducing a focus on the function and practical properties of an object, within the framework of a museum exhibit – a great inspiration for the later open-air museums. Next, this thesis examines one of the factors that made open-air museums so popular over the decades – nostalgia. Nostalgia can be considered the life force of the open-air museums, the emotion that has sustained this particular form of museum till this day, hence it is important to take a closer look at the history and use of this term. Re-enactment strategies and ‘oplevelsesøkonomi’ are dealt with in the final chapters ending with a short discussion and an overall conclusion of the uncovered phenomena relating to the first Danish open-air museum in Copenhagen.

The main issues addressed in this thesis are; exhibition practices, typology/chronology, industrialism, nostalgia, nationalism/scandinavianism and the interpretation/presentation of history through museum objects. As mentioned before, the current debate about the role of museums is discussed in the final chapters.