What was life like in the nineteenth century?
The noise of the carriages on the cobbled streets, the light of the oil lamps, the hemp clothes hand-sewn by the women in front of the fireplace. A slow life away from us that we will never know in person, or maybe yes.
The DISTRICT that still LIVES in the 1800s
# The neighborhood where time has stopped
We are in Denmark, more precisely in Århus, a city on the east coast of the Jutland Peninsula. Here time stopped two hundred years ago.
Getting to Århus is almost unbelievable: there are the wagons that slowly cross the streets, the colorful wooden houses, men and women dressed in traditional clothes of that time, all framed by an atmosphere that smacks of history.
But why does it seem to have gone back in time?
# The secret: Den Gamle By. You walk through the city and suddenly you find yourself two centuries back
The secret of this atmosphere is called Den Gamle By and it is actually a large open-air ancient museum that offers visitors a meticulous reconstruction of the city life of the past.
Den Gamble By, however, looks like anything but a museum: there are no entrances, signs or people to welcome you.
Strolling through the city you might arrive here by chance and believe you are crazy: in a second you find yourself in a Danish town of the 1800s.
There is the mayor’s house and the post office, customs, school and a theater. There are wooden houses, workshops furnished with period objects and a bakery that produces sweet and savory products following the original recipes of the 1800s.
And then there are the people, who welcome visitors and animate the streets, dressed as they once were.
# One of the largest open-air museums in Europe
The construction of this Old Town dates back to 1914.
This can be considered one of the largest open-air museums in Europe: at Den Gamle By buildings ranging from the 16th to the 19th century have been restored and rebuilt from all over Denmark and meticulously furnished inside.
Inside the open-air museum it is possible to visit other museums that collect various exhibitions such as that of watches, toys and porcelain.
#What era would you like in your town?
This original initiative could give life to a traveling museum.
Each year, a different city in the world could host this open-air museum. From one day to the next, in the neighborhood next to your house, there may be imposing carriages and elegant dances or, why not, dinosaurs. What would you choose?
ARIANNA BOTTINI
