Synnejysk Sysselbiks

Synnejysk Sysselbiks interactive workshop: Tuesday 13 October 2026, 10:00–13:00, Foreningshuset – Sønderborg Kaserne, Sønderborg. Tickets cost 195 kr.

Synnejysk Sysselbiks - a journey of discovery into the past

A sysselbiks is a South Jutlandic word for a place where people work on something - essentially a South Jutlandic version of the English "workshop". In this sysselbiks at the Barracks in Sønderborg, participants embark on a shared journey back to the schoolroom from around 100 years ago: old school activities, games and everyday life from a time most people know only from stories.

The idea originated in 2020 at Cathrinesminde Teglværks Museum, where Asta ran a schoolroom as it was in the old days. Drawing on her own childhood and school years, she has collected toys, games, books, school notebooks, picture books and history books. In the sysselbiks, you can write with chalk on the blackboard, practice penmanship with pen and ink, draw, try word games with South Jutlandic words, rhymes and nursery rhymes - and compete in a betting pool with the chance of getting all 13 correct. A story is also told in South Jutlandic and a song is sung.

Participants work in groups of 2-4 people and move between stations. The "schoolmistress" explains, helps with the game rules and keeps order - just as the teacher did back then. Neither internet nor mobile phones are needed; they hadn't been invented yet.

The sysselbiks is for all age groups - children, young people, adults and grandparents - and it is ideal to come as multiple generations. No prior knowledge is required, only curiosity.