The
Openluchtmuseum or
Open-Air Museum in The Netherlands is just north of Arnhem and gives a
flavor of life in that country for the past couple of hundred years. The
museum was founded in 1912 and comprises a wide array of buildings from
different regions. Farmhouses, windmills, bridges,
shops, breweries, and more are on display. The park is so large it has
its own train that circles the perimeter!
Our first stop was the blue farmhouse from Harreveld, which dates back to the time farm animals would live with the farmers. The family cooked over an open fire, which allowed the rye harvest to dry in the rafters but did cause health problems.
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| The blue farmhouse |
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| Kitchen and living area |
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| L shows where the animals were kept |
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| Rye drying |
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| Farm implements |
Outside are a small clay oven, which eventually took over for the indoor fire, and a wheelwright workshop, where the farmer would work in the winter to earn extra money. The workshop had a fellow inside making wheels and talking to the visitors.
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| Outdoor oven |
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| Wheelwright at work |
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| Wheels made in the shop |
An oil mill from Achterhoek shows how horses were used to turn a millstone and thereby extract oil from rapeseed. The horses are only film projections at the mill and sadly didn't show up in my pictures.
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| Achterhoek oil mill |
A farm house from Varik had the farmer's wife working inside and talking to visitors. J and L enjoyed the well just outside the house.
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| Varik farmhouse inside |
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| L at the well |
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| J at the well |
Another farmhouse had two sides. One was for people to live in, the other was for the animals!
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| Duplex farm house! |
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| People quarters |
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| Animal quarters |
We found a variety of other homes from a variety of times.
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| A fairly modern home! |
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| Moluccan Barrack where soldiers lived with their families |
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| More quaint houses |
By this time, J and L were tired of walking around, so we got on the small train to ride for a while and see some more of the park.
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| The historic tram |
More of our adventures in the next post!
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