Norwegian Museum of Cultural History

Norsk Folkemuseum (the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History) on Bygdøy in Oslo is a museum of cultural history with extensive collections from all social groups and all regions of Norway, and a large open-air museum of more than 150 buildings relocated from towns and rural districts. It was founded in 1894 by the librarian and historian Hans Aall and opened to the public in 1901. In 1907 it incorporated King Oscar II's neighbouring collection of five relocated buildings around the Gol Stave Church, founded in 1881 and recognised as the world's first open-air museum.

The best-known building is the 13th-century Gol Stave Church, one of five medieval buildings at the museum alongside the 14th-century Rauland farmhouse. The 1865 tenement moved from Wessels gate 15 in Oslo has flats furnished as they looked in different periods of the 19th and 20th centuries, including a Pakistani immigrant family's flat as it was in 2002. Indoor exhibitions surround the square. From 1 May to 30 September there are activities, music and dance, farm animals and hosts in traditional costume, and an English guided tour of the stave church and a farmhouse living room from 1738 is included with admission.

The museum says most visitors spend two to four hours, and that it is possible to spend the whole day exploring. It is a large open-air museum with wide gravel paths and extensive outdoor areas, so the time you need depends on how many of the relocated buildings and indoor exhibitions you want to see and on the season's programme. In summer the activities, music, dance and farm animals tend to fill more of the day, while in winter the museum is quieter and offers daily guided tours.

From 5 October to 30 April the museum is open Tuesday to Sunday 11:00–16:00 and closed on Mondays; from 1 May to 4 October it is open daily 10:00–17:00. It is closed on 1 January, 17 May and 24–25 December, and open on Monday 21 and 28 December. The museum describes winter as quieter, with daily guided tours, and December as the time of its popular Christmas market; the 2026 Christmas Fair runs on 5–6 and 12–13 December, 10:00–16:00.

Admission is NOK 200 for adults, NOK 140 for students and NOK 160 for visitors aged 67+ or with a valid concession card; children aged 0–17 enter free, and OBOS members get 25 percent off. Admission is also free with the Oslo Pass, and free tickets are collected at the Visitor Centre. Companions with a valid companion card enter free. Tickets do not need to be bought in advance and can be purchased at the Visitor Centre on arrival, though the museum suggests buying online during busy periods.

The museum is at Museumsveien 10 on Bygdøy, about 5 km from Oslo city centre. Take bus 30 to Bygdøy from the city centre and get off at the stop Folkemuseet. Ferries run every 20 minutes from Rådhusbrygge 3 to Dronningen, from where it is a 10-minute walk. There is bike parking for city bikes and regular bicycles just outside the museum, and municipal car parking outside the main entrance, charged from 08:00 to 20:00 every day, with spaces for disabled drivers.

Some areas of the open-air museum are steep or have terrain that can be challenging for wheelchairs, and access to certain historical buildings is limited. Accessibility is good at the Visitor Centre by the main entrance, with the café, shop and accessible toilets; in the buildings around the Square, which hold the indoor exhibitions and have an outdoor lift to the entrance; and at the Trøndelag Farmstead from the 1950s, which also has accessible toilets. Accessible parking is about 50 metres from the main entrance.