Troldhaugen

Grieg built Troldhaugen in 1885 and lived there each summer for the last twenty-two years of his life, and the yellow timber villa above Nordasvannet lake is kept much as he left it, with his Steinway of 1892 in the drawing room. Below it, at the water's edge, stands the composing hut, a single room with a desk, a piano and a window on the lake, where he wrote for hours each day. He and his wife Nina are buried in a rock tomb in the cliff nearby. A modern museum building and the Troldsalen concert hall, opened in 1985 with a glass wall looking out at the hut, host daily lunchtime recitals of his music in summer and a full concert programme through the year.

History

The villa was designed by Grieg's cousin, the architect Schak Bull, and finished in 1885, and it was Grieg's home from April 1885 until his death in 1907, after which Nina Grieg moved to Denmark. The name joins trold, "troll", with haug, "hill", and Grieg gave it to his piano piece Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Opus 65, No. 6 (Wikipedia, Troldhaugen).

Highlights

• The villa - Grieg's summer home with his 1892 Steinway in place.
• The composing hut - a one-room cabin at the lake's edge.
• The rock tomb - the burial place of Edvard and Nina Grieg in the cliff.
• Troldsalen - a concert hall whose glass wall frames the hut.

When to go

May to September for daily lunchtime concerts and full opening; the concert programme continues year-round with fewer dates and the museum keeps reduced winter hours. The Bergen International Festival brings extra performances in late spring.

What to expect

The walk from the light rail is about twenty minutes and partly uphill. Concert tickets are separate from museum entry and sell out in summer. The house is small and the visit brief without a concert.

Nearby

Fantoft stave church is close on the light rail line; Lysoen and Siljustol are the other composers' homes.

Key facts