Ever since the Middle Ages there have been water mills in the area where Bede Works lies, all producing different kinds of goods such as gunpowder, copper, and grain through the years and through different owners. In 1832 Brede Works began producing cloth and continued up until 1956 where it was closed down. In the 1960s it became part of the National Museum of Denmark and has since then shown exhibitions depicting Denmark’s industrialization history.
Brede Works
Brede Works is a museum depicting Denmark’s transition from a country largely focused on agriculture and into the modern age via the industrialisation and, most importantly, the people affected by it. Surrounded by breathtaking nature, it’s located in the small, charming town Brede just north of Kongens Lyngy and is part of Denmark’s largest protected industrial complex. Furthermore, it’s a branch of the National Museum of Denmark, which means that while it’s closed on Mondays, admission is completely free!
About Brede Works
Unlike many other museums, Brede Works has an interactive part that lets the visitor better experience just what life was like back in the day. When arriving at the museum, first pick up an ActiveTicket and activate it. If you don’t know how, the receptionist will show you, and it’s just as free as the admission.
Afterwards, you can go experience the exhibition called The Factory where you choose one of the six characters working at Brede Works back when it produced clothes. Each character has their own story you call follow through the exhibition.
Insert your ActiveTicket in one of the machines and stand at the appointed place to see your chosen character interact with one of the others. All screens have different stories and interactions depending on the character you chose, and afterwards you can go back to choose a new character to see the stories from their point of view instead. If short of time, you are free to bring home your ActiveTicket so you can log into Brede Works’ website to see the videos you missed on your computer
Interactive
With your ActiveTicket you can also experience the thrilling yet stressing life of working at an assembly line. There are two interactive assembly lines at Brede Works which opens up for a little “friendly” competition to further the understanding of the workers’ lives. Log into the different workstations with your ActiveTicket, make sure your friends do the same, and then you’re all set to try sorting, assembling, and quality checking as fast as you possibly can to produce as much as you possibly can. But be careful; a fast pace can lower the quality of the product, and only first grade goods get the best price on the international market. You don’t want the other team to win, do you?
There is also a more common exhibition using normal objects you’d expect to see in a museum, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. Silent they may be, but the objects each tell their own story of how far Denmark has come through the years, and here, too, you can use your ActiveTicket. Simply insert it into the different stations and start the small quizzes and videos to gain more knowledge of the evolution of modern society.
It’s no secret that the industrialisation of the world has forever changed our earth and our way of life.As part of the exhibition The Industrial Society, fourteen large globes have been decorated by artists all giving their interpretation of how the industrial society have affected our lives and how it’s driven by money, wars, and children’s dreams etc. And most importantly; where do we go from here?
