Lysoen

Ole Bull, the violinist who was Norway's first international musical celebrity, bought this island in 1872 and built a summer villa on it that answers to no known style: a timber building with an onion dome, a minaret-like tower, carved arches and pierced woodwork, with a music hall inside lined in pine and lit from above. He laid out thirteen kilometres of paths and bridle ways across the island through pine and heather, with viewpoints over the fjord. His descendants gave the island to the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments in 1974, it opened as the Ole Bull Museum in 1984, and it is now part of KODE. A small boat runs from Buena kai on the mainland during the summer season, and the island is otherwise closed.

History

The island was the site of a single farm from around 1670 until Ole Bull bought it in 1872 and built his villa; he lived here until his death in 1880, and in 1903 his American descendants built a lookout tower on the highest point, 76 metres above the sea. The family owned the island until 1974, when it was given to the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments, and since 1984 it has been the Ole Bull Museum Lysøen (Wikipedia, Lysøya).

What's there

• The villa - a timber fantasy with onion dome, tower and carved arches.
• The music hall - a pine-lined room used for concerts.
• The island paths - thirteen kilometres of walks laid out by Bull.
• The boat crossing - a short ferry from the mainland quay.

When to go

May to September, the only period the boat runs and the house opens; concerts are held in the music hall on some summer dates. Outside the season there is no access at all.

Good to know

Access depends on a small seasonal boat with limited sailings, and the last crossing sets a firm deadline. Facilities on the island are minimal. The villa is small and the visit is as much about the walks as the house.

Nearby

Troldhaugen and Siljustol are the other KODE composer homes; Bergen lies thirty kilometres north.