The history of Kommandørgården
In the old days, Rømø's main business was always connected to the sea. The island's own navy had been destroyed by wars and natural disasters in the early 17th century, and most adult men hired out on Dutch, German and Schleswig whaling ships. As they were very experienced sailors, they were often in command of the ships. As a commander (Captain) they got a good salary and built beautiful farms, the so-called "Kommandørgårde" on the home island.
Rømø's museum 'Kommandørgården' has been passed down through 12 generations. The current building was built in 1749 and rebuilt in 1770. The owner at this time was Hans Peter Hansen, a lace merchant. He had made a fortune from the production and sale of genuine Tønder lace to the Danish and North German elite. The interior of Kommandørgården is Frisian style, which can be found all the way along the Waddensea to the Netherlands.
In one long part of Kommandørgården, an entire whale skeleton is on display, so you can take a closer look at the large animals that the commanders caught in their heyday.
The National Museum's Kommandørgården on Rømø (natmus.dk)
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible due to steps. The barn with the whale is available.
Rømø old school
Next to the museum Kommandørgården you will find a small building measuring 6 x 6 m. It is the country's oldest and smallest preserved school building in Denmark. Toftum school was established by the Rømsers themselves in 1784, i.e. 30 years before compulsory education was introduced in DK.
*Rømsers is the native word for habitants of the Rømø.
The school can only be viewed from the outside.
Availability: Yes.
Højer Mill
The Dutch mill in Højer is the largest wooden windmill in Northern Europe. It is built in 1857 and is located in the middle of Hojer town. The mill has 7 ceilings and is 22 meters high. Today, the mill is a museum, where a large part of the interior is the original. The mill also contains an exhibition about life in Marsken and a nice café, as well as a small shop.
On special occasions (eg mill day) the mill is put into use and the millers' guild grinds grain into flour.
The garden from around 1900, in front of Højer Mølle, has been re-established with plants and furnishings that have been found in old drawings and descriptions. Here you can enjoy your coffee in lovely surroundings.
Open: April – October. Closed for winter from Nov. - March.
Højer Mølle – Museum Sønderjylland (msj.dk)
Availability: Partly. There is access for wheelchair users to the miller's residence and the exhibition in "Store Spiker".
Not far from the mill you will find Højer Water Tower which was built in 1934.
The 20 meter high water tower is located at one of the highest points in the city approx. 5 meters above sea level. Today, via a new 34 m long spiral staircase, you can go from the bottom up into the former water tank, from which there is now access to a viewing balcony. You can walk all the way around the tower, and thus have the opportunity to enjoy the view of the countryside and the Waddensea. In clear weather, you can also see the islands of Sild and Rømø as well as eight church towers, including the two south of the border.
Højer Water Tower – Your view of marshland, the Waddensea and Højer town (marsken.dk)
Availability: No
Drøhses Hus – Laceing museum (closed throughout 2023)
Drøhse's house is a listed baroque house from 1672, the house is located in the middle of Tønder's pedestrian street with an impressive entrance portal. The house was built as a merchant's farm, and is named after a bookseller who owned the house in the 19th century. Today, Drøhses Hus is a museum, furnished in a West-Silesian style with the Dielen* on the ground floor, bay window room facing the street and the fine living room facing the garden. The old kitchen with fireplace has been preserved, and in the basement there is an exhibition about architecture in Tønder, a city model and a collection of iron stoves. On the ground floor, lacework from Tønder's golden period between the 17th and 18th centuries is displayed.
* South Jutland word for front room in a house or a farm.
Adjacent to the house is a garden, laid out with inspiration from a 200-year-old lace pattern from the museum's collection. The garden was designed by landscape architect Niels Junggreen Have.
Drøhse's house – Museum Sønderjylland (msj.dk)
Availability: Partially. Wheelchair users have the opportunity to see the ground floor, where there are both special exhibitions, a shop and the beautiful living rooms.
Zeppelin Museum
The airship base in Tønder or the official German name, "Fünfte Marine-Luftschiff-Detachment Tondern" has been Germany's northernmost airport to the "Kaiserliche” Marines airships. The tasks have been reconnaissance cruises over the North Sea and Skagerrak. During World War 1, three major events occurred hydrogen-explosive fires at the base with the loss of five zeppelins, including the last two by the bombardment on 19 July 1918.
The base's three airship hangars were demolished and the area was used until 2002 by Tønder Barracks.
Zeppelin & Garrison Museum Tønder was inaugurated on 8 May 1999, and is located in the immediate vicinity of the old base area. The museum contains a large collection of photographs and objects from the period. Among other things. original propellers from the giant airships as well as uniforms and weapons.
The museum's purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit and disseminate the military history in Tønder from 1914 to 2002.
Open: At the weekends, Saturday and Sunday, between 10-15 in the period May to October or for groups by agreement.
Check website for possible changes http://www.zeppelin-museum.dk/main.php?lang=dk
Availability: Partially; not first floor.
Museum Tønder
Tønder Museum was established in 1923 as a cultural history museum for West Sønder Jutland, approximately where Tønderhus Castle once stood. The museum was arranged in the gatehouse and in a museum wing, designed by the local architect Lauritz Thaysen.
The museum consists of 3 parts:
- Cultural History Museum
Here you will find exhibitions of silver, Tønder lace, furniture, faience and Dutch tiles, which were produced or imported to the area in connection with the flourishing shipping and trade that the area experienced in the 18th and 19th centuries. About the region's Renaissance castles Trøjborg and Grøngård, as well as the housing culture in the 15th-17th centuries in the form of chests, cupboards and sandstone reliefs from Tønder Castle. In the oldest part of the museum – the old gate building to Tønderhus from the 16th century – you can experience Tønder's old prisons, which have been preserved as they looked in 1916.
In addition, Denmark's national symbols, the "gold horns", are on display at Tønder's museum. The originals were made approx. 400 AD and found near Tønder by Gallehus.
- Art Museum
The modern exhibition building dates from 1999. The architect is Niels Frithiof Truelsen, who is known for simple and clear room flows and refined use of wood. In Tønder, he created a 1,115 m2 exhibition area with 7.3 m to the ceiling and 220,000 pine blocks on the floor.
The art museum shows changing exhibitions of modern Danish and Nordic art from the 20th and 21st centuries by both well-known and lesser-known artists.
- The Water Tower
The water tower is approx. 40 meters high, and was built in 1902 during the then German administration of the city. The water tower and waterworks were in use until 1980, when better pumping methods made the tower redundant - after that it stood unused for 15 years. In 1995, the water tower was renovated and rebuilt.
A gallery corridor was established between Tønder Art Museum and the Water Tower, so that the tower is now part of the museum. The tower is equipped with a total of eight decks. There is an elevator to the 7th deck, from where you can take the stairs up to the panoramic deck. From here there is a magnificent view of Tøndermarsken and Tønder town. The seven lower decks of the tower contain a permanent exhibition with some of the best chairs by the well-known furniture architect Hans J. Wegners, who grew up in Tønder.
Tønder Museum offers a range of activities such as a knitting cafe, lectures and holiday activities for children and actively contributes to a rich cultural life in the city.
In addition to the art museum, you can also experience a combination of South Jutland handicrafts and art industry at the cultural history museum, which is located at the same address - your entrance ticket is valid for both museums.
The art museum in Tønder and the cultural history museum are located on the castle bank, where Tønderhus castle was located until 1750. From the museum's landmark, the Water Tower, you can see the outline of Tønderhus castle in the park.
Until 1750, the castle Tønderhus was located on what is today Wegner's Square. Today, only the gatehouse remains, and here you will find the entrance to Cultural History Tønder and the Art Museum in Tønder.
Nolde Museum, Seebüll
Emil Nolde is today known for his brightly colored paintings and watercolours. He is one of the greatest German expressionistic painters.
Emil Nolde was born in 1867, as Hans Emil Hansen in the village in Southern Jutland Nolde, 15 km east of Tonder. Later he adopted the name of his birthplace. At that time the area was German and with the border move in 1920, Nolde became a Danish citizen and lived in various places in and around Tønder and Seebüll, for periods also in Als and in Berlin. From 1916 to 1926 the couple lived in Ubjerg near Tønder and in 1926 they moved to Søbøl (in German Seebüll) in North Friesland, South Schleswig south of the Danish border.
The villa in Søbøl in southern Schleswig (Seebüll) was transformed in 1957 at the request of Ada and Emil Nolde into one museum exclusively for his art. At the museum, a sumptuous, brightly colored flower garden was laid out. There is also a nice café.
Accessibility: Partially – The front room with Nolde's paintings, watercolors and drawings as well as the garden is accessible, the historic Noldehus has wheelchair access.
Museum Holmen
Museum Holmen's building was originally a family farm from the end of the 18th century. Back then it functioned as a farm, inn and guest house, but in 1971 the farm was converted into an exhibition place for visual arts. At Holmen, small, unique highlights within art and culture are presented with a focus on contemporary art. Together with Løgumkloster church and Klokkespillet, the museum forms a higher unity between interpretation of life, modernity and Christianity. Holmen has formed the setting for a number of exhibitions with both national and international artists, for example John Lennon, Maja Lisa Engelhardt, Peter Brandes, Günther Grass, H.M. Queen Margrethe II and many more.
Availability: Partially
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