Skolemuseet Latinskolen

About the museum

Skolemuseet Latinskolen (the Latin School Museum) is housed in Norway's oldest school building. The town's cathedral school was located here from 1706 to 1840, and the building was erected after the great fire in Bergen in 1702. Cathedral schools were originally priests' schools with roots going back to the mid-12th century. In Bergen the school was located for its first four hundred years at Holmen, today Bergenhus, before it moved to Vågsbunnen around 1550.

From the 17th century the school was no longer purely a priests' school, but prepared pupils for studies at the university. In the 18th century entry requirements and school fees were introduced, and the Latin school became a place for the children of the upper class. Several of the teachers were central to the Enlightenment, and the school building housed one of the country's largest collections of scholarly literature. The school's most famous pupil was Ludvig Holberg, who had his last school day in Bergen during the fire of 1702.

Today visitors can see the school interior and the flat where the headmaster lived with his family, some of the book treasures from the school's time, and an exhibition of school wall charts on the second floor. The museum is part of Bergen City Museum (Bymuseet i Bergen) and has a small shop. In the headmaster's residence, the Holbergsalong holds lectures and talks on current topics.

Highlights

• Norway's oldest school building, from the time after the Bergen fire of 1702
• The headmaster's residence and the school interior
• Book treasures from the Latin school's library
• Exhibition of school wall charts on the second floor
• Holbergsalong with lectures and talks

Permanent exhibitions

• Skoleinteriør og rektorbolig – The schoolroom and the flat where the headmaster lived with his family, furnished as they were in the Latin school's time.
• Skoleplansjer – Exhibition of attractive school wall charts used in teaching, on the second floor.
• Bokskatter fra latinskolen – School books and scholarly literature from the old Latin school's collections.

Founded

2003

Operated by

Stiftelsen Bymuseet i Bergen

Admission & discounts

Tours can be booked by arrangement. Separate prices apply to groups outside regular opening hours; contact the museum.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is not adapted for wheelchair users.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

Suitable for children and families as well as adults.

Getting there & parking

The museum is next to the cathedral (Domkirken) in central Bergen, about a 10-minute walk from Bryggen.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Small museum shop with its own range, including tote bags and posters with motifs from the school wall charts. Simple refreshments by arrangement in the Rektors salong (headmaster's salon).

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit