Maihaugen is Norway's largest open-air museum, with over 200 historic buildings. It was founded by a dentist.
Anders Sandvig came to Lillehammer in 1885. He was worried that the old buildings and objects from Gudbrandsdalen were disappearing - either demolished or sold to museums in Stockholm. So he started buying them himself. Old farmhouses, storehouses, workshops. He put them up in his own garden.
By 1904 his collection had outgrown his property, so the town gave him the hill called Maihaugen. The museum opened that year and Sandvig kept collecting until he retired in 1946, aged 84.
The highlight is Garmo stave church, dating from around 1200. A local man named Skrap-Tron spent 35 years gathering the dismantled church pieces. He died in 1916, five years before the church was finally rebuilt here.
The museum is divided into three areas: Bygda shows rural life from Gudbrandsdalen, Byen recreates old Lillehammer with shops and a railway station, and Boligfeltet has houses from different decades of the 20th century - including the childhood home of Queen Sonja.
In summer there are actors in period costume and craftsmen demonstrating traditional skills. Plan at least half a day if you want to see it properly.