Exhibits

Step into the Saga and Explore

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Outdoor Exhibits

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  • The Naust (Boathouse)

  • The Freydis Joanna (Viking Ship)

  • The Dagmar Pioneer Church 

  • Jelling Stone

  • Stendysse (Dolmen)

  • The Nielsen CPR House 

  • The Thomsen Cabin 

  • Lake and and Mermaid Sculpture

  • Brick Bridge 

  • Pioneer Gardens and Flower Beds

  • Children's Garden of Imagination

  • Memorial Wall and Pioneer Walk

  • Walking Paths

Indoor Exhibits

  • The Danish Library Exhibit Room

  • The Verbena Dormitory Exhibit

  • The Heritage Exhibit 

  • Hans Christian Andersen Exhibit 

  • The Immigration Exhibit Room 

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Artifacts

We have over 5000 Artifacts which, sadly, are not on display. However, we have cataloged all of our items, which you can view upon request.  We will be adding displays as budget permits.  If you would like to sponsor or donate to the museum and help an artifact, please use the red donation button at the top of the page.

Donation Of Artifacts

If you have a family treasure that you would like to donate to the museum, please contact the Collections Coordinator. We need the story and your  personal information to properly showcase your artifact. It is not as much the artifact as it is the memories and stories attached to the artifact that makes the artifact significant to us at the museum. 

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If you have a item and would like to donate it to the museum, please contact us.

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Donate an artifact
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Come see for yourself! Book a tour, and enjoy the beauty and history of the Danish Canadians.

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Saga of the Danish Canadians

The Danish-Canadian saga began over 1000 years ago, when Norsemen landed in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. Vikings had a reputation for pillaging and plundering, although it is believed that the Nordic expansion across the North Atlantic was a relatively peaceful one. Due to its small size, L’Anse aux Meadows probably served as a base camp for ship maintenance and repairs. A lack of resources and technology, in addition to harsh weather conditions, are attributed to the unsuccessful colonization of the Maritimes. UNESCO declared L’Anse aux Meadows a World Heritage site, and it is the most famous Nordic North American settlement, aside from Greenland.

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Jens Munk was the next notable Dane to come to Canada. In 1619, Munk set out to discover a shorter trade route with the East, as ordered by Christian IV. The expedition led Munk and his crew to the Hudson Strait, but the severe winter weather and an outbreak of scurvy devastated them, leaving few survivors to sail home the following spring.

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The Danish migration did not truly begin until the late 1800s when Canada’s development called for experienced farmers and skilled tradesmen. The next 100 years saw 3 waves of Danish migration, and there are now over 200,000 Danes living across Canada.

In the 1860s, Danish people began to emigrate from Denmark in large groups, settling across Canada and the United States. Notable Danish communities in Canada include New Denmark, New Brunswick; Pass Lake, Ontario; Standard, Alberta; and Dickson, Alberta – founded in 1903 and the location of the Danish Canadian Museum.

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In the 1920s when immigration was slowing down, the Canadian Pacific Railway developed the Ready-Made Farm initiative, encouraging farmers to settle in Western Canada by offering land and housing as a package deal. CPR land was available across Canada and attracted many Danish immigrants.

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After World War II, Canada’s economic prosperity and need for farm workers and skilled tradespeople invited a third wave of Danish migration. Danes settled in the thousands, nearly doubling the previous Danish Canadian population.