Norwegian Folk museum, Oslo

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Now I would say this were the center-piece of the museum, the beautiful Gol stave church. I so wanted to see this church and it is the reason why I visited Norsk folkemuseum.

You have to walk up a hill to get to the church, I didn´t find it in my first try. You walk past the old school and the chapel Bethlehem and on seeing the church my breath was taken away. It is magnificent!

The Gol stave church was built in Gol ca 1200 and relocated to Bygdöy in 1884. Stave churches are the oldest preserved wooden buildings in Norway and are original to Norway. Only 28 stave churches are left out of ca 1.000.

It was being tarred when I visited and looked different from the photos I had seen of it - my photos are not of such poor quality, the church was blackish because of the tar, but beautiful all the same.

Not to be missed.

Unfortunately the photos I took of the altar-piece inside the church were blurred.

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The last area I visited at Norsk folkemuseum was the old rural area. It was ever so lovely, an old grocery store sold all kinds of food - it was like stepping back in time. Here are all kinds of old beautiful houses, a post-office (I add the photos in a travelogue), a gas-station, a gold/silver-smith where artisans sell their art, the pharmacy with a herb-medicine garden. A bank and a dentist, an apartment house with exhibitions. And Enerhaugen - a street with working class houses from ca 1910. One could go inside and have a look at what life was like in Norway back in 1910.

On the other side of the square by the main entrance there is Karterud, a big red house with a lovely garden - and a doll house with big dolls inside (see my travelogue).

This visit was just ever so lovely and highly recommended.

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Walking on from Hordaland to Tröndelag there are more and more beautiful old timber farmsteads with outhouses, kitchens and workshops. One can also visit some of the houses here and inside are curators dressed in the old Norwegian costumes.

In Tröndelag the farmstead shows what farmlife was like in 1959.

There are some farm-animals here as well, sheep and horses, and they look so much alike the Icelandic sheep and horses that I think they got hold of some of our farm-animals to show what the horses looked like in the olden times in Norway. The horses in Iceland are small and sturdy, the same horses the Vikings brought with them to Iceland in ca 874. You can see on my 4th photo how small the horse is compared to how big the horses are now in Norway.

I add more photos in a travelogue.

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The houses at the Open-Air museum at Norsk folkemuseum are divided into two areas - the rural farmsteads and the urban houses. I started by visiting the old farmsteads and was overwhelmed. I had never seen old houses built like these.

The first farmsteads are from Telemark, then you visit the framsteads of Hallingdal and go further to visit the houses of Östlandet and Hordaland. Most of the houses in this area are closed, but seeing them from the outside is enough, they are just awesome.

I noticed that the old Norwegian name for kitchen was used "eldhus" - which is the same word we Icelanders use for our kitchens "eldhús".

I add another tip on the Tröndelag farmsteads, as I just couldn´t stop taking photos.

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Now this museum has got the "wow" factor - it is just amazing. And visiting it on a sunny June day like I did added to the awesome experience. Be prepared for a lot of walking as the outdoor museum area is vast. There are 158 houses which show houses from different periods from 1500 until today in different regions in Norway. And a Gol Stave church from 1200. I have added additional tips on these houses as they deserve a special tip of their own.

There is also an indoor museum showing toys from different periods in the Norwegian history. And an exhbition on the Sami culture.

Opening hours: summer time - every day from 10-18, winter time weekdays from 11-15 and weekends 11-16.

Admission fee: NOK 100

A highly recommended visit.

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No getting away from it - the Folke Museum or Norwegian Museum of Cultural History is a little bit too folksy in parts but there are several reasons to visit.

Firstly, getting there. Sailing across the Oslo Fjord on a sunny afternoon is just about the nicest way to get to a museum that I can think of. Pier 3, across from the Radhus, the boats leave as regularly as a bus or a tram.

Secondly, the whole environment. The Bygdoy Peninsula is a total change from the city and the grounds of the Folke Museum are extensive. The biggest attraction here is the Gol Stave Church, dating fom 1200 A.D. This classic piece of Norwegian church architecture was reconstructed here and it's absolutely stunning. With its many angled roofs and decorative dragons,it looks a little like a Chines temple from the side and inside and out, it's packed with interesting features Stave churches are a unique part of Norwegian culture and the chance of seeing one in Oslo is not to be missed.

Apart from the church my favourite reconstruction was that of a 19th century apartment block, of the type you see everywhere in the city. Downstairs were the usual exhibits and historical detail but on the first floor, two apartments on opposite sides of the landing have been fully furnished and decorated. One is done in 19th century style and one is completely contemporary. A nice little piece of social history and finished in very precise detail.

I loved the layout of the buildings, spread across large open spaces, patches of woodland and idyllic country gardens. If you don't have the chance to travel any further into the Norwegian countryside , then this is definitely a worthwhile substitute. We were lucky enough to visit on a gloriously sunny afternoon and it really is like being way out in the country

Worth noting for people with walking or breathing dificulties, is the fact that the 800m walk from the ferry terminal, is quite a steep uphill climb. A better alternative might be the number 30 bus which runs every 15 minutes from outside Oslo S and Nationaltheatret.

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The Norsk Folkemuseum displays daily life and living condtions in Norway from the 16th Century to the present. A wide array of historic and traditional Norweigan buildings and other Norweigan artifacts have found a home here in Bygdoy Penninsula at the Folk Museum. We were able to visit a Stave Church that is 800 years old. In 1153 it was a Catholic Church. Seeing a Stave Church was something I have wanted to do so I was ready for it on this tour. There are only 28 left in Norway, when at one time there were hundreds. Churches had to be tall, starting with a stone foundation, then logs, then staves. The Rhune alphabet was used in some churches. I can't imagine how cold it must have been for the people that attended church 800 years ago.

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The Norwegian Folk Museum exhibitions provide colorful pictures of daily life and living conditions in Norway from 1500 and until the present day. The museum consists of an Open Air Museum, basically a recreated village (of particular interest is a stave church brought here from Gol in 1885). and many permanent and temporary exhibitions indoors in more modern buildings, medieval houses and pharmacy museum etc. The main building contains collections of everyday objects, silver, carpets, funiture etc, together with a Lapp Exhibition (costumes, tents and equipment for reindeer herding, hunting and fishing). In the same building is Ibsen's study from Oslo.

I have visited quite a few of the old time recreated life type places but this is by far the largest and the best of them. Highly recommended.

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The Norwegian Folk Museum exhibitions provide colorful pictures of daily life and living conditions in Norway from 1500 and until the present day. The museum consists of an Open Air Museum, basically a recreated village (of particular interest is a stave church brought here from Gol in 1885). and many permanent and temporary exhibitions indoors in more modern buildings, medieval houses and pharmacy museum etc. The main building contains collections of everyday objects, silver, carpets, funiture etc, together with a Lapp Exhibition (costumes, tents and equipment for reindeer herding, hunting and fishing). In the same building is Ibsen's study from Oslo.

I have visited quite a few of the old time recreated life type places but this is by far the largest and the best of them. Highly recommended.

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When you are near one of those Stave Churches, don't miss it because there's only very few left in the world! Norway has 28 remaining.
There is a Gol stave church at the top of the hill at the edge of this 35 acre park which has 150 reassembled historic buildings. This church is a must see and was built in 1212 in Hallingdal, one of the few remaining stave churches in the world. Stave churches have a different feel inside, with the thick sturdy dark wood and also shows the intermingling of Christianity and the Viking ideology. Sometimes, you will see some folkdancing in front of the church which is guarded by native Oslo-ans garbed in national costumes. At the time I visited, some schoolchildren were practicing dance and I have included a video here on VT.

entry 90 Kr, 70 Kr off-season (2008)
daily mid-May to mid-Sept 1000-1800, and off-season daily 100-1500