Photo: KBerge · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Henrik Ibsen Museum

Ibsen's childhood home at Venstøp outside Skien, temporarily closed for restoration until the anniversary year 2028.

Temporarily closed

Temporarily closed (expected until 2028-03-20). The museum at Venstøp is closed for extensive restoration. Ibsen outreach, with guided tours and a city walk, is meanwhile held in Brekkeparken in Skien. The new museum opens on 20 March 2028.

About the museum

Henrik Ibsen Museum is located at the farm Venstøp in Gjerpendalen, about four kilometres north of Skien. The Ibsen family moved to Venstøp in 1834, and Henrik lived there from the age of seven to fifteen. The main building dates from 1815 and is protected, and the farm also has a brewhouse, a servant's dwelling, a barn and a storehouse (stabbur). The garden has a skittle alley (kjeglebane) similar to the one from Ibsen's time.

The museum is now in an extensive construction period. The childhood home is being restored according to conservation principles, and the site is being developed further with, among other things, a climate-controlled barn, a garden and outdoor areas. The project runs from 2014 to 2028 and has received NOK 11.5 million from the state budget and NOK 4 million from the county council. The new museum is to open on 20 March 2028, on the 200th anniversary of Ibsen's birth, and will focus on Ibsen's life and authorship.

Until the reopening, Ibsen outreach has moved to Brekkeparken in Skien. There Telemark Museum offers, among other things, “Henrik Ibsen på 30 minutter”, the city walk “I spora til Ibsen” and the exhibition “Ibsens barndomsby”.