Description of the attraction
The Roskilde History Museum was opened in 1929. It is located in several buildings at once, with the main ones being the "House of Sugar", previously owned by a sugar factory and "House of Liebe", previously owned by a wealthy merchant named Liebe.
The building, which previously housed a sugar factory, was built in the first half of the 18th century from yellow brick - this is the only structure of this kind in all of Denmark that has survived. Initially, it was a very successful enterprise that owned its own large merchant court, delivering sugar from Indian plantations. The factory employed about 7-10 workers, but in 1779 sugar production began to decline, and the business had to be closed and the factory sold. Liebe's house was built a little later, in 1804, and is made of red brick. Both of these buildings are under state protection.
It is in these rooms that the main collection of the Roskilde Museum is located - a variety of exhibits are presented here, from prehistoric times to the 20th century. Particular attention is paid to the era of Viking rule in Denmark and the Middle Ages.
The museum owns many other buildings of historical value. Among them, for example, one can distinguish an old grocery store, a butcher's and a merchant's. All these rooms have preserved the authentic decoration of the early 20th century. Also, the Roskilde Museum includes 13 mills from 1840, which are still operating today, a museum dedicated to the history of the neighboring municipality - the town of Leire, and a museum of instruments. The last museum displays appliances and tools that were used by Danish artisans - carpenters, joiners, blacksmiths, shoe-makers and woodcarvers in the 19th-20th centuries. The city's Cathedral Museum is also a branch of the Roskilde Museum.
