Visiting address: Lade Allé 60, N-7041 Trondheim. See map »
By bus: take bus no 3 or 4 from the centre of Trondheim to Lade (bus stop Ringve Museum).
By car: follow road signs from E6 or city center. View parking map »
Opening hours
| Opening hours | Guided tours | German | French |
|---|
| May: 20th - 31st | 10 - 16 daily | 12, 13, 14 &15 | | |
| June | 10 - 16 daily | 12, 13, 14 &15 | 13.30 | 14.30 |
| July - Aug | 10 - 18 daily | 12, 13, 14,15 & 16 | 13.30 | 14.30 |
| Sept - Dec | Tues - Sun 11 - 16 (Closed on Mondays) | Tues - Sun: 13 (Closed on Mondays) | | |
Group activities
We arrange musical guided tours in combination with other activities such as mini concerts, dining and exclusive visits in the private salons of Victoria Bachke. Guided tours can be booked all year from 8 am – 9 pm and we have own group rates.
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Exhibitions
Ringve has two main exhibitions: The exhibition in the Barn which is open all year (opens in May 2013 due to reconstruction) and the exhibition in the Manor. The Manor can only be visited with one of the museum guides in the summer season, so take a look at our scheduled tours when planning your visit.
Exhibition in the Barn
Here you can wander around among a multitude of instruments from all around the world. Pick up an audio guide and hear exciting stories and musical treats of your choice.
In the exhibition in the Barn we present some of the many various phenomena of music history such as the development of the public musical life through the musical societies, the private music making in the homes of the middle- and upper classes in the 1800s, the introduction of the new era with the invention of the piano 300 years ago, the growth of jazz in the 1920s and -30s and the first decades of rock- and pop music. Further, the exhibition demonstrates how sound is made, even up to the electronic instruments of today.
Open all year.
Exhibition in the Manor
Our talented musical guides take you through music history demonstrating historical instruments. Just imagine the original sound of a house organ made in the 18th century and a self-playing piano from 1917. The interiors date back to the 1880’s and provides a suitable setting to enjoy the tour. The Manor can only be visited with one of the museum guides, and a guided tour lasts about 45 minutes.
Season: April - October due to climatic conditions.
Ringve Botanical Garden
Ringve Botanical Garden is a place where you can enjoy the luxuriant flowers, experience a diversity of herbs, bushes and trees from around the globe, find inspiration for your own garden or simply relax. The botanical garden is a part of Trondheim’s university NTNU, was established in 1973 and covers 35 acres. Situated with a great view of the Trondheim fjord, the garden surrounds the buildings as a green oasis. Open all year, free entry.
The garden has six main sections - and nearly 2000 different plants:
The System is a maze with 50 compartments where you can see how botanists view the relationship between various groups of plants.
The Renaissance garden is a historical herb garden and consists of around 120 ornamental plants, vegetables, medicinal- and herbs used in Trondheim in the 17th century.
The Arboretum has a collection of around 80 of the most common forest trees from the northern hemisphere. The trees are organized in geographical groups from different continents around a pond, made to represent the Arctic Ocean.
The Park is kept in English landscape style with winding paths between the great trees. The majestic centre of the Park is the “Ringve-beech”, almost 200 years old, and the largest tree in the park.
The Prime rose Garden consists of a colourful collection of various prime roses.
The Traditional Perennials houses a selection of traditional garden plants from central Norway.
Visit Ringve Botanical Garden's homepage »
Tordenskiold Café
Waffle with sour cream and jam, ice cream, lovely Danish sandwiches, a good cup of hot cocoa, or 3-course dinner for festive occasions. The café lies in Ringve’s oldest building which dates back to the 18th century. Musical gift shop
In the museum shop you will find a wide range of products related to music, botany and the way of living in country estates. Instruments you can carry in your pocket, jewelry, toys, design- and utility articles, literature and fine travel memories – you find small and big surprises for most occasions, musical as unmusical.We have technical drawings of instruments that are possible to order.
The history of Ringve
Welcome to Ringve – the music museum, the country estate and the botanical garden. Ringve is Norway’s sole special museum in its field, with national responsibility for music and musical instruments. Since the beginning in 1952, instruments from the four corners of the world have found their way to the exhibition rooms at Ringve, and the museum has distinguished itself as an enthusiastic communicator of music history. But Ringve aims to be a museum of tomorrow as well, and to reflect and comment on new musical currents in a modern, multicultural Norway. We shall preserve and renew, be both guardians of tradition and prophets of the future.The museum’s existence and operations are rooted in the country estate of Ringve and its characteristic architecture, which forms an exciting and unique framework around the collections.The old estate park was also the point of departure for the foundation of Ringve Botanical Garden NTNU in 1973.
Ringve past and present
In the course of history, Ringve has been royal demesne and church property and has also belonged to a number of famous families in Trondheim and the Trøndelag. It has fulfilled several functions: country estate and model farm, museum and botanical garden. It has been home to great and small, rich merchants and humble servants, both in the Big House on the top of the hill and in the small crofts round about on the property.The people and the melodies of the golden age of the country estate can still be heard on light summer evenings, but now add their voices to the sound of the world’s musical instruments.
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Our collections
Today Ringve Museum is Norway’s national museum of musical instruments with a collection of around 2000 numbers. About 700 of these are so called classical European instruments besides European- and non-European traditional instruments. In addition to this the collection consists of around 25000 sheet music prints, an extensive collection of photographs, a sound archive with pianola rolls, polyphon records, phonograph rolls and various phonograms.The museum also owns single archives of people and institutions related to national and local musical life. Ringve Estate was the childhood home of Peter Wessel Tordenskiold (1690- 1720) and this is reflected in an exhibition about him and his era on the Estate.
The Museum’s keyboard instrument collection includes an unsigned Italian virginal from around the 1600, a spinet from ca 1700, a large selection of clavichords from the 1700s, a harpsichord by Jacob Kirkman from 1767, hammer pianos signed J.A. Stein 1783 and Conrad Graf 1826 and a harp piano by Chr. Dietz from around 1870. Important instruments from the collection of classic wind instruments are the alto recorder by J.B. Gahn around 1700, a clarinet quartet by Bilton, London around 1840. Other key instruments are string instruments like the violin by H&A Amati 1612, viola d’amore by Eberle, Prag 1755, viola da gamba from the workshop of Tielke, Hamburg around 1700 and electronic instruments like a Subharchord II synthesizer from 1968 etc.
Traditional Norwegian instruments make of course up a large section of the collection and include for example hardanger fiddles from the 17- and 1800s, Norwegian zithers “langeleik” from various parts of the country and a rich selection of instruments used at the mountain farm, for hunting, important ceremonies etc.
All continents of the world are represented with traditional instruments from for example Africa, Latin-America, Oceania and Asia. Amongst these , important collections come from Tibet, India and different countries of Eastern- Europe.
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Conservation
The only professional work shop for conservation of musical instruments in Norway is located at Ringve Museum. Here extensive analysis are made, and conservation and documentation carried out. Research within an international network of related institutions all over the world is part of the work.In periods, as a part of their education or studies, young trainees work with the chief conservator.
Conservation of the musical instruments at Ringve Museum is highly specialised and time-consuming work and an important tool for reaching the goal of the museum, which is an optimal preservation of the objects for our own time and for future generations.
Tehnical drawings of instruments may be ordered from the museum shop.
