Founded in 1894 and originally located in Oslo, the Norsk Folkemuseum was moved to its current location in 1902, adjacent to King Oscar II’s royal collection. The latter was incorporated into the museum in 1907, and it has continued to expand to the present day by obtaining collections as diverse as Sami artifacts and historical pharmaceuticals. It currently encompasses over 160 buildings on probably as many acres, including a visitor center and several indoor exhibitions. I visited for an entire day, which wasn’t nearly enough.
After paying admission at the visitor center, I entered the Town Square. A rough, symbolic map is provided with the major buildings presented. Tours in English are given several times a day although I elected to explore on my own. I started roughly in a counter-clockwise fashion at the English and French gardens, towards the school and chapel, with a lengthy stop at the Stave Church. Farm buildings from various time periods and regions in the country follow, including the Setesdal (18th C farmstead), Numeral (village life in the 19th C), and Trondelag (displaying life on a farm in 1959). The festival grounds ensued, with various people playing farm games like horseshoes; the highlight here was definitely the Jaeren farmhouse from ca. 1907 which explained the plight of Norwegian immigrants to the U.S. An expansive Old Town roughly rounded out the open-air portion of the site, with various buildings from Oslo including homes from the 19th and 20th centuries and an old pharmacy and herb garden. Sprinkled throughout the “regions” of the area were character actors doing everything from baking lefse (which you can purchase), telling fairytales, teaching an entire classroom of elementary students, and making a scarecrow among other activities. Numerous indoor exhibits rounded out the intellectual smorgasbord, which included topics as diverse as Sami culture, the Reformation, and Norwegian urban life. I easily spent the entire day here.
In summary: wow. There are museums, and then there are museums. This was not only the best experience I had during my stay in the country but one of the best museums I’ve seen in my seventeen years of international travel. The highlight without question were the actors and actresses, who played their part so authentically it was almost surreal. As much as I appreciate the digital smoothness of indoor museums, the outdoor “analog” version here of watching kids paint with watercolors and seeing a blacksmith help a child make an iron hook was magical. The museum also emphasized Norway’s geographic diversity as well as dispensing with the stereotype of an easy Scandinavian life made possible by wealth; the stories from the Jaeren farmhouse were indelible.
Anyone visiting Oslo for more than 24 hours should make this their number one priority. Fantastic.