Traditional architecture in the “Hessenpark”

The museum has been established in 1974. The aim is to show to the ensuing ages the way of living in the past centuries. Northern-Hesse estates, a day-labourer´s house from Middle-Hesse, and an old tavern from South-Hesse show in a very colourful manner the different regions of Hesse – also the visit of an old village-school is possible. But sometimes you might find it not too comfortable to visit this area, as some of the assemblies still demonstrate the difficult development of the rural life in Hesse...

Since 1974 there have been built up new houses in regular intervals. So even a historic windmill is not missing any more. In 2003 a copy of the historical row of houses of the former market place in Giessen was added. By today these houses accommodate shops, a restaurant, and the “Landhotel zum Hessenpark” (Countryside hotel).

But still the “Hessenpark” remains uncompleted. Numerous old houses are waiting for the construction.

Besides the visit of the historical buildings you can marvel at old handicraftsmen working. You can experience the countrymen performing field work with the power of horses, oxes or cows. A blacksmith is throwing the hammer on an anvil, a basket-maker shows his creations, in an old bakery you can watch the baking of bread, a charburner shows his sooty job: and there are a lot more of traditional skills kept alive in the “Hessenpark”.

Some of the houses accommodate continuous exhibitions to communicate vital informations about former traditions – such different themes as church-clocks, the times of emigration, or the painting in Hesse. Other exhibitions of the “Hessenpark” are informing about the history of typography, or about the history of photography. In a post-house you can emphasise how close up to each other the telehone-communication, and the post itself have been in the first half of the 20th century. Another house shows different traditional costumes of the region.

The original buildings which could not be preserved at its orginal locations were moved from the several regions in Hesse to the “Hessenpark”. On an area of 65 hectare the visitors get a very close experience of the about 100, on scientific principles re-constructed, buildings, and how the people lived and worked at those days. This unique collection of frame-work architecture shows the configuration of the buildings in the structural, social, and economical context of those times.

The houses are organised into five assemblies, representing typical settlement areas of the particular regions. This makes it easier to understand the different kinds of villages as scattered village, row village or hamlet. The whole spectrum of historical house-, and courtyards in Hesse can be followed, to range from the estate to the crofter-, day labourer-, and herdsmen-houses.
So the walk around the open-air museum “Hessenpark” is like a promenade through the country of Hesse.

The open-air museum offers an extensive range of museums-educational programs for different groups of visitors, beginning with theme-related guided tours up to projects for
school-classes.