Family trip to the south side of Horsens Fjord

Start the day in an open-air museum with low ceilings

As soon as the car - or bicycle - is parked at Glud Museum, your senses begin to tingle. Here in the small village between Horsens and Juelsminde you can hear the surrounding fields rustling in the fjord wind. The church bells in Glud ring merrily from the west and mingle with the loud banging from the blacksmith’s workshop. The well-known metallic smell fills your nose, while your feet slow down under the humped cobblestones.

But don’t worry - it will not be boring or heavy here. Behind the walls of the crooked half-timbered houses are a lot of life-affirming and almost-too-fantastic stories about people and animals. Here, at the enormously family-friendly open-air museum, life in the countryside in East Jutland through the last 350 years is illuminated - for better or worse.

Take a guided tour and hear the incredible story of the museum’s founder Søren Knudsen, who in Glud was known as being quite unique, but today is considered to be an ingenious pioneer - Søren already believed at the beginning of the 20th century in the importance of organic farming, the necessity of preserving historic buildings, and the need to dare to take up the fight when one feels that the values of society are on uncertain ground.

Discover utensils made from whale bones that originate from Hjarnø. Here, in the 18th century, the surprised islanders found a stranded whale on the beach, and took anything that could be used at all - Hjarnø does not have many trees. 

See Rasmus Thomesøn’s farm, which Søren Knudsen moved several kilometres from one location to the museum, by dismantling the farm stone by stone and transporting it all in a wheelbarrow over a winter in 1911. Then he rebuilt the whole farm so that it stood as when it was built in 1662. It was the start of the museum, which today houses a small village.

In addition to the fun and crazy stories that every building in the museum has, the playground is also a hit with the little ones. Try a game of balance-demanding stilt-joust or try bowling as they did in the old days. Also remember to have a go-cart race! The museum often has working workshops, where volunteers tell and communicate, and you can learn old sustainable craft tips from them. 

Tractor pulling? No, then try a tractor tower ...

... and the world’s largest collection of Ferguson tractors and agricultural implements.

Continue in the afternoon 2.5 kilometres south of Stourupvej at Denmark's Ferguson Museum,

which houses the world’s largest private collection. Throughout his life, Henrik Nielsen, who owns the museum, has collected over 250 tractors, implements and other vehicles - most of which are the Ferguson make. “The little grey”, as the Ferguson tractor is popularly called, has played an important role in Denmark’s development as one of the world’s leading agricultural societies. You could almost say that the characteristic tractor with the small front wheels is a piece of real Danish cultural heritage.

Take a guided tour with Henrik and hear all the fun and quirky stories about the small machine, or explore the large collection, which contains everything from Ferguson tractors from 1919 onwards, military tractors, old steamrollers, vintage cars, mopeds and custom-built machines that you certainly haven’t seen before! Experience, for example, the amphibious “Rubber Duck” tractor that can float.

We can guarantee that machine-happy children will have a fantastic experience here at the museum!

Please note, however, that the Ferguson Museum has neither a playground nor a café, and be careful around the machines. There is a larger outdoor seating area where you are welcome to enjoy a packed lunch and drinks.