
The manor garden - for pleasure and use
In this summer exhibition, Gammel Estrup focuses on the story of the manor's kitchen garden, orchard and greenhouse, as well as the many employees it took to tend the large manor gardens in the past. The time is the period around 1900, when the manor houses were the local community's largest workplaces and the setting for countless people's lives.
Manor gardens
Around the turn of the last century, all manor houses, large and small, had ornamental, kitchen and fruit gardens. The function of the gardens was to create a beautiful setting for the estate owner's home and to supply the household with fruit and vegetables.
The kitchen garden produced food for the lords and their servants, and was therefore crucial to the functioning of the large apparatus that was the manor house. There was therefore close contact between the kitchen and the gardener.
The lady of the house and the lords were interested in having fresh and flavoursome vegetables all year round. And since fruit and vegetables were not imported all year round like they are today, it was the gardener's job to stretch the season for fresh produce as far as possible. This required a great deal of knowledge and skill from the gardener, and the manor garden was one of the most innovative places in the manor houses, where exotic plants were cultivated and new varieties of fruit and vegetables were developed, along with new methods for producing the produce and extending the season.
The garden staff
The large gardens required many employees for both the extensive parks and the kitchen garden. The manor gardener headed a colourful group of apprentice gardeners, husbands and wives and, not least, a number of older and well-off men and women who were worn out after a long and hard working life on the manor. In the garden, they were given lighter tasks that ensured them a small income, so they avoided the poorhouse.
During the Summer holidays, the exhibition ‘The Manor Garden - for pleasure and use’ is supplemented by children's activities and more.
Gammel Estrup Danish Manor Museum
Gammel Estrup Danmarks Herrregårdsmuseum is Denmark's only manor house museum where you can step into the history of the Danish manor houses. Since 1930, the museum has worked to preserve and develop Gammel Estrup, while at the same time communicating and researching the fascinating stories of the manor houses. Here you can gain insight into everything from magnificent architecture and beautiful landscapes to culture, history, agriculture and economy - both in Denmark and in an international perspective.
Read more about Gammel Estrup Danish Manor Museum