Norway's Resistance Museum

Norway's Resistance Museum (Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum) at Akershus Fortress in Oslo tells the story of Norwegian resistance during the German occupation of 1940–1945. It was established as a foundation in 1966 by leading figures of the civil and military home front and opened to the public in May 1970 by Crown Prince Harald, marking the 25th anniversary of liberation. Its first manager was Knut Haugland, and since 1995 the museum has been run by the Norwegian Armed Forces as part of the Armed Forces Museums.

The museum holds authentic objects, photographs and documents that give an insight into the resistance struggle from 1940 to 1945. The permanent exhibition, planned by the architect Otto Torgersen together with veterans of the underground forces, runs chronologically over two floors from the prelude in the 1930s to liberation in 1945. A reading room, archive and library hold more than 600 shelf metres of private and public archives from the Second World War, together with printed material from and about the occupation.

From September to April the museum is open every day from 10:00 to 16:00, and from May to August every day from 10:00 to 17:00. It will be closed for maintenance from 11 to 22 January 2027. A Christmas event, Jul på Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum, takes place from 10:00 on 5 December to 16:00 on 6 December 2026. The museum shares Akershus Fortress with the Armed Forces Museum and Akershus Castle, which can be visited on the same joint ticket.

Admission is NOK 160 for adults, NOK 110 for seniors and students, NOK 80 for children aged 6–17 and NOK 400 for a family of two adults and one to four children; children under 6 enter free. Entry is also free with the Oslo Pass, for Armed Forces personnel and veterans, and for companions with a companion card. The Akershus Fortress joint ticket, valid for the Armed Forces Museum, the Resistance Museum, Akershus Castle and drop-in tours from the visitor centre, costs NOK 320 for adults, NOK 220 for seniors and students, NOK 160 for children and NOK 800 for families.

The museum is inside Akershus Fortress in central Oslo (visitor address: Akershus festning, building 21, 0015 Oslo), within walking distance of Stortinget metro station, Nationaltheatret and Oslo Central Station. From the visitor centre and Karpedammen Scene, walk up the hill towards Akershus Castle; the museum is on the right just before the castle. The fortress has no parking for visitors, but there is street parking and there are car parks nearby. Taxis cannot be ordered into the fortress.

The permanent exhibition spans two floors and is accessible to wheelchair users by a stair lift, and the museum has an accessible toilet. The reading room and library, however, are not accessible by wheelchair. Access through Akershus Fortress involves walking up the hill from the visitor centre, and there is no visitor parking at the fortress. The museum will be closed for maintenance from 11 to 22 January 2027, so plan around those dates.