The new roles of "the old town ”Museumandragogical opportunities of the Den Gamle By open-air museum in Denmark

Abstract

Did you know that living in a Viking-inhabited house was more unhealthy than being a chain smoker in contemporary New York? And do you know what kind of environment a Greenlandic university student recently lived in in Aarhus? Most importantly, what justifies the scientic presentation of all these issues within a museum space? These are among the questions that visitors may find answers to in “the old town.”

Den Gamle By skanzen in Aarhus, Denmark, is a prominent institution in the Scandinavian museum model, presenting both the characteristics of the Viking age and the social problems of the recent past. Based on the author's observations made in August 2025 as part of a Pannonia research scholarship, the study analyzes the operation and museum andragogy practices of Denmark's open-air museum. After a brief overview of museum theory, the study reviews the most important objectives of the Danish museum sector and outlines the first stages of the development of the open-air museum movement. It then presents the operation of Den Gamle By, with particular emphasis on initiatives aimed at actively involving visitors, which define the museum's experience-based, reflective, and socially sensitive operation.