Ibsen Museum

Ibsen lived in this apartment from 1895 until his death in 1906, writing John Gabriel Borkman and When We Dead Awaken here, and it has been restored to how it looked in his final years using paint analysis, photographs and inventories: the study with his desk and the portrait of Strindberg he kept where he could see it, the blue drawing room, the bedroom where he died. Access is by guided tour on the hour. Attached is a museum on his work and on Norwegian theatre, reopened in 2022 as the Ibsen Museum and Theatre with displays on productions of his plays worldwide, costumes and set models. He walked daily from here to the Grand Cafe, a route now marked with quotations set into the pavement.

History

Henrik Ibsen and his wife Suzannah lived here from 1895 to 1906; after Suzannah's death in 1914 the home was broken up, with the study and bedroom going to the Norwegian Folk Museum, the library to Skien and the dining room to Grimstad. In 1990 the actor Knut Wigert took the initiative of renting the apartment to open it to the public, and the Norwegian Folk Museum took over its running in 1993 (Wikipedia, Ibsen Museum (Oslo)).

What you'll find

• The restored apartment - Ibsen's last home returned to its 1906 state.
• The study - his desk and the Strindberg portrait he kept facing him.
• The theatre museum - productions, costumes and set models.
• The pavement quotations - his daily walking route marked in the street.

When to go

Year-round; the apartment is seen only on guided tours at set times, so arriving on the hour matters, and tours can sell out. The museum closes on Mondays outside high season.

Good to know

The apartment can only be visited with a guide on a timed tour, and the group size is limited. The rooms are few and the visit short. Much of what is displayed is reconstruction based on documentation rather than original placement.

Nearby

The Royal Palace and the National Theatre are minutes away; the Grand Cafe is on Karl Johans gate.

Key facts