The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History – Norsk folkemuseum
For Optional day, we will visit the beautiful Museum of Cultural History. Some parts of the museum are hilly, and good walking shoes are recommended.
The Museum of Cultural History is Norway’s largest museum of cultural heritage. The 160 buildings in the Open-Air Museum represent different regions in Norway, different time periods, as well as differences between town and country, and social classes. The collections are mainly from the time period after the reformation. The Gol Stave Church dating from 1200 is one of five medieval buildings at the museum.
The museum is located on Bygdøy, a peninsula west of the center of Oslo. Bygdøy holds a large number of museums, the Royal Farm, and a beautiful landscape with forests, trails and nice beaches.
Program
09:00 – Buses leave from Oslo city center (St. Olavs plass). The bus ride takes approx. 15 minutes.
09:30 – 11:30 Educational walking tour of Bååstede: The Return of Sámi Cultural Heritage.
Bååstede (“return” in the south Sami language) ia a project initiated in 2007 started in 2009 and formally ended in 2022. The Background for the project is the right to manage one’s own cultural heritage according to national and international indigenous law, conventions, and museum ethics guidelines.
The project is a collaborative project between the Norsk Folkemuseum, the Museum of Cultural History/ Univ. Oslo, the Sámi Parliament, the Sami museum Association and the six consolidated Sami museums in Norway. Through the project, full legal ownership of more than 1,600 objects were transferred to the Sami museums in 2019.
Lunch 11:30 – 13:00
Lunch is served at Gjestestuene after the educational tour
Photo: Gjestestuene / Norsk folkemuseum
Photo: Morten Brun
13:00 – 16:00
After lunch you are free to explore the museum or Bygdøy at your own pace.
16:00 Return to City center (St. Olavs plass)
Bus tours home from the museum are arranged at 16:00 (4.00 pm).
You can also return to the city center at your own leisure. Bus number 30 stops right outside the museum and leaves every 10 minutes. Alternatively, take the ferry from Dronningen, which takes you directly to the pier at the city hall. Note: This particular ferry is run by a private company and is not covered by tickets from the public transport company (“Ruter”).
