The museum shows how and where people have lived and worked in Westphalia over the past 500 years. In the museum it is are only a short distance from the Osnabrücker Hof (Osnabrück Farm) to the Mindener Hof (Minden farm) to the Lippische Meierhof (Lippe dairy). There is a view from here to the cap windmill and Paderborn village. On the other side of the hill one can find the Sauerländer Dorf (Sauerland village) and beside this the Siegerland chapel school of Werthenbach. There is a regional bakery in Paderborn village alongside the mills, humble peasants’ dwellings and the splendid Schönhof.
Only a few of the historical farm garden survive in the villages of Westphalia-Lippe. The reconstructed farm gardens in the Detmold outdoor museum show examples of these which are well worth a visit. Farm gardens from various regions of Westphalia and their special regional features are presented. The “Garten des Münsterländisches Gräftenhofes” is located on an island and is typical of around 1800. A sundial in the centre of the garden and a tree arcade of hornbeams are of particular interest. The “Garten des Valepagenhofes” shows a garden from the Paderborn region in about 1900, with clear divisions into vegetable garden, orchard and front garden. A noticeable feature of the “Garten des Westmünsterländer Hofes” is the way in which the garden is enclosed by a high hedge with large hedged arches at two entrances. Besides these, the museum has numerous further gardens based on historical models, which are explained in detail in a museum booklet.