I consider the Hagen Open Air Museum as one of the great places I visited in Germany. For some reason, I have a soft spot when it comes to open air museums. For me they are like time machines that transports back to past cultures.
A few year back, my husband and I went to Germany to visit his family. We also made some day trips to nearby places within the Ruhr area. One of them is Hagen.
Exploring Hagen Open Air Museum
Hagen is one of the cities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Like its surrounding areas, its growth began in the 19th century through coal mining and steel production. One of the key features of the city is its open air museum dedicated to display and preserve various crafts and techniques.
The museum is about 42 hectares with with more than 50 facilities. These facilities are mostly old houses or buildings from different parts of Germany. This is to showcase traditional residences and the craftsmanship behind each infrastructure. Using our maps, we tried to go and explore each of these buildings.
Walking around, I personally enjoyed the combination of the old houses and the lush green surrounding. Inside some of these traditional buildings are tools and machineries from the Industrial Era. There are also demonstrations of different crafts like smithing, paper making, and basket weaving.
We also tried the fresh bread made from a traditional bakery inside the village.
One whole day is not enough to explore the open air museum and Hagen City. Maybe on our next visit, we could explore the city too.
Germany is one of the places I want to visit