February 10–14, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Winter break: Woolworkshop
Get hands-on with wool during the winter break at Esrum Monastery & Møllegård, where you can spin, card, and felt the fine, warm, and sustainable natural material in the wool workshop, following ancient craft traditions.
This winter break activity is for both children and adults.
Children aged 5–18: 65 DKK (0–4 years: Free entry)
Adults: 95 DKK
Tickets can be purchased at the shop upon arrival.
Sheep's wool is one of the oldest natural materials humans have used for textiles and tools.
During the winterbreak you will learn traditional Nordic wool crafts.
Learn wool crafts
During the winter break, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, you can try various crafts in the wool workshop at Esrum abbey. You will use your hands, feel the material, and immerse yourself in working with wool. Both children and adults can participate in all the crafts.
You’ll learn:
- Dogma Knitting: Knit with raw wool directly from the sheep. The unprocessed wool is an experience in itself, allowing you to feel and work with the raw material.
- Felting: When wool is felted, the fibers are tangled together under pressure, creating unique items like hats and slippers with a distinctive texture and thickness.
- Carding and Spinning: Carding is the process of loosening the wool fibers, resulting in fluffy wool that is ready to be spun into yarn.
In the wool workshop, you’ll be guided by Regine Thomsen, a clothing designer educated at Copenhagen’s Fashion and Design School, as well as an outdoor guide and bushcraft instructor at the Forest School.
Experience a living cultural history
Sheep’s wool has been a valuable material used by humans in daily life for thousands of years. Wool can cool, warm, insulate, and protect. Even when it gets wet from the rain, it retains its many beneficial properties. With the help of various crafts, it can be transformed into a wide range of products.
At a time when overconsumption of clothing is a pressing issue, we highlight wool as a sustainable natural material. Wool production does not require energy-intensive chemicals, unlike synthetic materials. It naturally decomposes over time, is durable, and resistant to wear.
The monks at Esrum Monastery kept sheep on the monastery meadow specifically because of wool’s many useful qualities. The monks crafted their robes from wool using the same techniques you’ll get to try during the winter break.
Experiences for all ages
Beyond the wool workshop inside Esrum Monastery, many other experiences await you during the winter break:
- Nature Playground: Feel the wind in your hair and burn off energy at the nature playground, or take a stroll through the beautiful winter landscape.
- Mill Café: If you get hungry or crave a sweet treat, you’re welcome to visit the Mill Café, open every day during the winterbreak.
- Learn the History: Listen to our skilled storytellers share the fascinating history of the abbey daily at 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM. You’ll get 900 years of history in just 20 minutes.
- Explore the Exhibition: Step behind the thick brick walls and learn about the monks’ lives at Esrum Abbey.
- Esrum Watermill: Experience the installation The Power of Water at Esrum Watermill daily. On Thursday, February 13, our volunteer mill team will start the mill wheel, and on this day, you can see the watermill in operation
