Ringve Music Museum occupies a historic manor house on the Lade peninsula, overlooking the Trondheimsfjord. It is Norway's national museum for music and musical instruments, housing a collection that spans centuries and continents.
The museum has two main exhibitions. In the manor house itself, guides demonstrate instruments from the collection in the rooms where the founding family once lived. You hear a harpsichord played in a baroque salon, a music box wound up in a Victorian parlour, and a piano from Edvard Grieg's time played in the room where he once performed. The instruments are not behind glass; they are played for you. This approach makes Ringve unusual among music museums.
The second exhibition, in a converted barn, covers popular music history from the early 20th century onward, with synthesisers, electric guitars, and studio equipment visitors can try themselves.
The estate was donated to the public by Victoria Bachke in 1946. She and her husband Christian Anker Bachke had spent decades collecting instruments during their travels. The manor dates from the 1700s and sits in Ringve Botanical Garden, which is worth exploring on its own. The garden covers 14 hectares with herb gardens, Renaissance-style planting beds, and old fruit tree varieties, all maintained by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
The combination of live music, historic interiors, and a botanical garden in a fjord-side setting makes this one of Trondheim's more rewarding half-day visits.
The museum has two main exhibitions. In the manor house itself, guides demonstrate instruments from the collection in the rooms where the founding family once lived. You hear a harpsichord played in a baroque salon, a music box wound up in a Victorian parlour, and a piano from Edvard Grieg's time played in the room where he once performed. The instruments are not behind glass; they are played for you. This approach makes Ringve unusual among music museums.
The second exhibition, in a converted barn, covers popular music history from the early 20th century onward, with synthesisers, electric guitars, and studio equipment visitors can try themselves.
The estate was donated to the public by Victoria Bachke in 1946. She and her husband Christian Anker Bachke had spent decades collecting instruments during their travels. The manor dates from the 1700s and sits in Ringve Botanical Garden, which is worth exploring on its own. The garden covers 14 hectares with herb gardens, Renaissance-style planting beds, and old fruit tree varieties, all maintained by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
The combination of live music, historic interiors, and a botanical garden in a fjord-side setting makes this one of Trondheim's more rewarding half-day visits.
