Museum Silkeborg – The Paper Museum (Papirmuseet)

From Industrial Mill to Living Paper Museum

The Paper Museum sits inside the old Silkeborg Paper Factory complex, once a major industrial engine for this lakeside town. For decades, these production halls churned out everything from writing paper to security paper for Danish banknotes and official documents. The mill’s story intertwines with Silkeborg’s own development in the 19th and 20th centuries, when waterpower, industry and forests turned a small settlement into a thriving town. Today, the machines are quiet, but the building still hums with activity of a different sort. Instead of workers at shift change you find museum guides, volunteers and visitors moving between vats, presses and drying racks. Many of the original features – brick walls, big windows, heavy beams and industrial details – have been retained, giving the museum an authentic factory feel while housing modern exhibitions.

The Craft of Handmade Paper Up Close

At the heart of Papirmuseet is its working paper workshop, where the traditional craft is kept very much alive. You can watch as cotton or cellulose pulp is mixed with water, scooped onto a mould and deckle, and gently shaken until a thin, even layer forms. The moment when the cloudy slurry suddenly becomes a coherent sheet is one of the museum’s small, quiet thrills. Guides demonstrate pressing and drying techniques, show how watermarks are created, and explain why certain fibres were chosen for banknote paper. The smell of damp pulp, the clack of presses and the sight of freshly formed sheets hanging to dry make the experience surprisingly sensory. It is a rare chance to observe a pre-digital technology that still underpins books, artworks and archives all over the world.

Interactive Experiences for All Ages

One of the museum’s biggest draws is the opportunity to make your own sheet of paper under supervision. Children and adults alike don aprons, dip moulds into the vat and lift out their first wobbly sheet, often adding simple decorations or a personal watermark. The process is simple enough to grasp quickly yet full of nuance, sparking questions about thickness, texture and durability. Beyond the workshop, compact exhibition rooms use tools, documents and models to explain the evolution of papermaking in Denmark. Diagrams trace the journey from rags and wood pulp to finished rolls, while display cases show banknotes, letterhead and packaging produced in Silkeborg. Labels focus on clear stories rather than technical overload, making it easy for families and casual visitors to follow.

Stories of Money, Machines and Local Identity

Because the factory once produced paper for banknotes and securities, the museum also touches on themes of trust, value and forgery. Displays explore how watermark designs, fibre mixes and production controls helped secure the national currency. Old photographs introduce the people who worked here, from machine operators to laboratory technicians, and highlight how the factory shaped everyday life in the surrounding neighbourhood. The industrial setting adds another layer of interest. Tall windows frame glimpses of the regenerated Papirfabrikken district outside, where cafés, housing and offices now occupy former factory land. Inside, surviving pipes, tanks and steel structures remind you that this was once a noisy, steamy workplace. That contrast between past and present gives the museum a quiet poignancy as well as educational value.

A Compact Stop in the Papirfabrikken Quarter

Papirmuseet is relatively small, and most visitors comfortably explore it in one to two hours, including a turn at the vats. This makes it easy to combine with a stroll along the riverfront, a meal in the surrounding dining spots or a visit to other Museum Silkeborg departments elsewhere in town. Occasional temporary displays highlight contemporary paper art or design, connecting traditional craft with modern creativity. Practical facilities are straightforward: there are basic amenities on site, and staff are accustomed to welcoming families and international guests. With its blend of tactile activity, local history and industrial atmosphere, the Paper Museum offers a focused but memorable look at the material that carries so many of our stories, contracts and currencies.