The Invisible World of the Servants – New Permanent Exhibition at Gammel Estrup
The Manor house attics could be used for storing sacks of grains or coffee beans. Photo: Gammel Estrup
On June 21st, Gammel Estrup – The Danish Manor & Estate Museum will open a new exhibition in the old attics of the manor, which have never before been open to visitors.
With this new exhibition, visitors will experience the unique atmosphere of the manor house attics, where the lord and lady of the house rarely ventured, but where the servants had many tasks.
Approximately 100 years ago, the maids Anna, Inger, Sofie, and Stense would have climbed the many stairs to the attic each week during the winter to hang the household’s laundry. Photo: Gammel Estrup
Visitors will see how the attics were used for drying clothes in winter and for storing food, old furniture, and various objects that were no longer in use. These include outdated furniture, moth-eaten hunting trophies, old musical instruments, and birdcages that had been removed from the fine rooms.
The exhibition showcases the interior of a typical Danish manor house attic around 1920, combined with various light and sound installations. It also features a large model of the manor house showing the maids’ routes. Visitors can also admire the impressive roof construction, which remains in its original state with exposed rafters and roof tiles spanning the large attic.
Manor house attics, filled with discarded furniture and clothes stored away for the season, were often a popular playground for the children of the house. Photo: Gammel Estrup
Opening the attics to visitors is part of the museum’s strategic focus on the manor household, which has been pursued by the museum and its research department, The Danish Research Centre for Manorial Studies, in recent years.
For further information about the exhibition, please contact curator Marie Andersen at ma@gammelestrup.dk.