Ringve Music Museum

Ringve was the estate of Victoria Bachke, a Russian-born collector who with her husband gathered musical instruments from across the world and left the property as a museum on her death in 1963. The collection now runs to around two thousand instruments, displayed in two parts: the manor house, where guides play period keyboards and strings during the tour, and a converted barn holding a larger exhibition covering instrument families, folk instruments including the Hardanger fiddle, and Norwegian music history. Around the buildings, the Ringve Botanical Garden covers about thirteen hectares of the old estate with themed planting, an arboretum and a herb garden, free to walk and used by the city as a park.

What you actually see

• The manor collection - period instruments played by guides on the tour.
• The barn exhibition - two thousand instruments across families and traditions.
• The Hardanger fiddles - Norwegian folk instruments in context.
• The botanical garden - thirteen hectares of estate grounds, free to enter.

When to go

May to September, when the garden is at its best and the manor tours run most frequently; the barn exhibition opens year-round on reduced winter hours. The garden is open and free at all times.

Honest expectations

The manor is seen only on guided tours at set times, which limits flexibility. The barn exhibition is self-guided but large. Getting there needs a bus or car from the centre.

Nearby

Lade's coastal path runs nearby; central Trondheim and Bakklandet are fifteen minutes away.