Forester's shed

The forest workers' shed is one of the museum's significant objects. It tells an important story about the working conditions of forest workers about 100 years ago. At the same time, we are presented with the names of two of the forest workers who used the shed, namely Børge and Verner.

The portable forest worker's shed, or the dining house as it was also called, is a two-man wooden shed, without floor or heating, which was used in the forest districts of Central Jutland until about 1970. The forest worker's shed is part of the museum's collections. We know the names of two of the forest workers who have used the shed. They are Børge and Verner, who have scratched their names above the seats. But that is all we know about them.

The portable shed is the physical object in the museum's collections that first shows that there was an improvement in the working conditions of forest workers in the early 1900s. Today we think of the portable forest worker's shed as primitive. Yet it is not difficult to imagine that the introduction of forest worker's sheds was a major advance for forest workers compared to sitting outside on the forest floor or on a tree trunk in all kinds of weather and eating a packed lunch that was sometimes frozen.

It was not until a collective agreement in 1919, about 100 years ago, that it was agreed that there should be a dry place for forest workers to rest in the winter. It was an advantage to have lightweight sheds, so the first models could either be disassembled and transported on a wheelbarrow or carried by two forest workers with carrying poles.

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