The Story of the Foundry Museum
The Foundry Museum is a museum dedicated to industrial history and working-class culture, with a focus on iron foundry work. The museum is housed in one of the original factory buildings where Morsø Iron Foundry once produced everything from pots and pans to stoves and ovens.
Morsø Iron Foundry was established in 1853 in Nykøbing Mors, where the company still operates today. At that time, it was the young N.A. Christensen who left a position as a bookkeeper at an iron foundry in Thisted and settled in Nykøbing with a business partner skilled in the art of foundry work. Together, they founded a small iron foundry with just a handful of employees in a building that can still be seen near the museum on the old foundry grounds.
The partner, Wilhelm Bonne, soon left the enterprise, leaving N.A. Christensen in sole charge of the business. Nevertheless, it grew steadily year by year, expanding as needed. The factory’s main products included tile stoves, cookers, window frames, pots, and flat irons.
Despite tough competition from many other iron foundries in towns across the country, Morsø Iron Foundry managed to expand its market to cover most of Denmark, and the factory continued to grow. Around the year 1900, the foundry employed 250 people — blacksmiths, molders, turners, carpenters, and unskilled foundry workers.
In 1886, due to declining health, N.A. Christensen appointed a managing director, K.E. Messerschmidt. The following year, he moved to Hellerup, where he lived until his death in 1914. However, the factory in Nykøbing continued its strong growth into the 20th century.
In 1913 and 1944, the iron foundry constructed the striking buildings that today make up Støberigården, home to the Foundry Museum and the public library. At that time, the building complex was much larger — a dense and somewhat chaotic mixture of large and small buildings interwoven like a labyrinth that only locals could easily navigate. Despite this, production was well-organized, and Morsø Iron Foundry consistently delivered quality products that met market demands.
After some challenging decades before and during World War II, the 1950s brought better times. The factory kept pace with the broader development of Danish industry, focusing increasingly on mechanized production — a process that continues to this day. The main products were stoves, and the company adapted to the shift from old coal- and wood-fired models to warm air heaters, gas-fired boilers, and more. At the same time, the product range of cookware was expanded, and renowned designers were brought in to create the housewife’s favorite kitchen tools. The Copco/Nacco series, in particular, became a well-known product line from Morsø Iron Foundry.
Wood-burning stoves, however, remained a core product for Morsø Iron Foundry. In the 1980s, the company chose to focus solely on this area — and it is indeed wood-burning stoves that Morsø is best known for today. In 1993, after 140 years in the center of Nykøbing, the company moved to modern facilities outside the town. A major renovation of the old factory site followed, and much of the original complex was removed. Remaining are some of the beautiful foundry buildings that clearly reflect the significance Morsø Iron Foundry once had — both locally and nationally. It is within these historic buildings that you’ll find the Foundry Museum.
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