Ringve Music Museum

A modern museum keeping musical history alive

TEXT: ALYSSA NILSEN | PHOTOS © RINGE MUSIKKMUSEUM

On a beautiful country estate surrounded by a lush botanical garden, just outside the city centre of Trondheim in Norway, you will find Ringve Music Museum. Here, modern times and history go hand in hand.

Spread out across four buildings from different centuries, the main house has recently been restored to mirror the period around the 1880s, the ‘golden era’ of Norwegian music history. On a guided visit at Ringve, you can walk through history while the guides play historical pieces played on period instruments.

With a collection of over 2,000 instruments from cultures all over the world, there are quite a few oddities and rarities on display. Among the international tourists, the Norwegian instruments are most certainly one of the most popular sections. To get the most out of them, you can borrow audio-guides with sound samples and explore the try-it-yourself stations.

Ringve Music Museum offers several exhibitions on a wide spectrum of musical themes. Contemporary music has its natural and designated place in the museum, with a digital exhibition fitted with iPads to allow visitors see and listen to various instruments.

With around 30,000 visitors each year, Ringve is one of the top-rated museums in Trondheim and is one of the shore excursions of the Norwegian coastal cruise Hurtigruten.


Current and upcoming exhibitions:


The Main House: A musical journey to Norway in the 1880s. Guided tours with live music

Instrument Collection: Explore a multitude of instruments from all around the world

Drumroll and Fanfare: 2002 Years of Norwegian Military Bands (until 2 December 2018)

Boxed Music: People, music and mechanical instruments (from 2 February 2019)


Web: ringve.no/en

Facebook: ringvemusikkmuseum

Instagram: @ringve