Himmelbjerg souvenirs


In the museum there is an exhibition of original Himmelbjerg souvenirs made from wood.

This local handicraft is a direct offshoot from the wooden shoe production in the area. The wooden shoe makers had the skill to carve small souvenirs, which soon found custom among the tourists who sailed to Himmelbjerg.

In the beginning the homemade wooden products were sold from a tray which hung from the sellers’ neck. Later the well-known kiosks were built, among them "Ugleboden" which was built in 1905.
 

The best known of all the Himmelbjerg souvenirs is the Himmelbjerg walking-stick and it quickly became the traditional souvenir one came home with after a visit to Himmelbjerg.

The first walking-sticks were made from naturally shaped branches or small trees around which ivy had twined itself around for many years causing the twining in the wood.

The Himmelbjerg walking-stick, which can still be bought today, is one of the last of the original souvenirs still made.

Among other Himmelbjerg souvenirs made are flutes, wooden vipers, birds carved for special uses (for example penholders), paper knives with a hare’s head or bird motif, turned napkin rings, doorstops and wooden boxes with carved or branded motifs.  
 
In time souvenir production became more and more industrialized and most of the goods were produced by machines. In the area around Himmelbjerg there were several manufacturers, who produced wooden products each with its special characteristics. The wooden products became so popular that they were also sold in other tourist regions in Denmark.

In the 1950’s and 1960’s the import of foreign made souvenirs began and products from the Far East, especially, appeared in the kiosks and slowly but surely wooden products were priced out of the market by plastic souvenirs.
 

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