Museum Sønderjylland – Drøhses Hus

A baroque townhouse at the heart of old Tønder

Drøhses Hus occupies a narrow gable plot on Storegade, the historic main street of Tønder, where merchants and officials once lived above their trades. Built in 1672 for county clerk Friedrich Jürgensen, the baroque house was designed to signal status, with its stepped gable, deep doorway and finely worked details that still catch the eye as you walk past. The building later took its name from bookseller F.W.E. Drøhse, who bought the property in the 19th century and left a lasting mark on its story. Centuries of careful maintenance, followed by a major restoration completed in the 1980s, have preserved both the street façade and the intimate scale of rooms behind it, earning recognition for conservation of historic architecture.

Inside rooms frozen in time

Step over the threshold and the modern town quickly recedes. Low, painted ceilings, creaking floorboards and panelled walls create a series of cosy chambers that hint at the lives once lived here. The old kitchen, with its hearth and heavy utensils, evokes the routines of cooking and heating in a south Jutland townhouse before modern conveniences. In the vaulted cellar, the museum broadens the perspective from one building to the wider town. Here you can find models and displays on Tønder’s architecture, from brick gabled houses to richly carved doorways, alongside heavy cast‑iron stoves that once heated local interiors. Moving between floors, you get a strong sense of vertical living, where work, storage and refined parlours fitted into a surprisingly compact footprint.

The delicate world of Tønder lace

Drøhses Hus is also a gateway into the intricate craft that made Tønder famous far beyond Denmark: bobbin lace. Exhibitions on the upper floors showcase fine Tønder lace pieces, patterns and tools, revealing how nimble fingers and countless hours produced airy motifs that decorated collars, cuffs and household textiles. Interpretive displays trace how lace production shaped the region’s economy and social life, with women and girls contributing income through home‑based work. Temporary shows sometimes highlight contemporary textile and craft artists, placing historic lace in dialogue with modern design and keeping the tradition alive in new forms.

A garden patterned like lace

Behind the house lies one of its most unexpected features: a small, meticulously structured garden inspired by a 200‑year‑old lace pattern from the museum’s own collection. Beds, paths and low hedges echo the rhythm of threads crossing and twisting, turning horticulture into a three‑dimensional piece of needlework. This green pocket offers a pause from the town’s cobbles, with clipped box, seasonal flowers and the brick rear of the house forming a sheltered backdrop. On a calm day you can almost imagine lace makers taking a short break here, resting their eyes from the fine work at the pillow.

Today’s role as museum and welcome point

Today Drøhses Hus forms part of Museum Sønderjylland and also accommodates the local tourist information office on the ground floor. Staff introduce the story of the building and the lace tradition, then leave you free to wander through the historic rooms and out into the garden at your own pace. The house’s modest size makes it easy to explore without feeling rushed, whether you are interested in period interiors, craft heritage or simply curious about how a well‑to‑do Tønder household once looked and functioned. It is a compact window onto baroque architecture and delicate textile artistry in the southernmost corner of Denmark.