Ringve Musikkmuseum

About the museum

Ringve farm at Lade is first mentioned in the sources in 1521, and from the 18th century it was one of the largest estates on the peninsula. The farm was among the fashionable pleasure estates outside Trondheim, where wealthy townspeople spent the summer months. The buildings of today's farm complex show four centuries of the farm's history. The Bachke family took over the farm in 1878, and in 1946 Consul Christian Anker Bachke bequeathed the entire property to the Norwegian people on condition that it become a public museum.

His widow, Victoria Bachke, carried out the plans. The Tordenskiold Museum was established in 1950, and the Ringve Musikkhistoriske museum (Ringve Museum of Music History) opened in the main building in 1952. Since then, music education and guided tours with live music have been the museum's hallmarks. The collections today comprise around 2,000 musical instruments from all over the world, more than 25,000 scores and sound carriers such as phonograph rolls, pianola rolls and gramophone records, a farm archive and a separate Tordenskiold collection.

The garden around the museum is Ringve Botanical Garden, which NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet has run as a university garden since 1973. From 1 January 2021, Ringve Musikkmuseum and Rockheim have shared an organisation under the name Norges musikkmuseum (Norway's Music Museum), with two visitor sites.

Highlights

• Guided tour with live music in the main building
• The instrument gallery Lydspor (Soundtrack) with around 2,000 instruments
• Interiors from the 1880s in the old pleasure estate
• Ringve Botanical Garden around the museum
• The Tordenskiold collection

Permanent exhibitions

• Lydspor – instrumentgalleriet på Ringve – The exhibition shows the diversity of the collection of around 2,000 musical instruments from all over the world and tells about the music, the people and the instruments. Visitors can try playing in the display orchestra (monterorkesteret).
• Hovedbygningen – Guided tour with live music through the historic rooms from the 1880s, where the guide plays the museum's instruments and tells about the farm and the people who lived there.

Founded

1952

Operated by

Norges musikkmuseum – Ringve og Rockheim (Museene i Sør-Trøndelag AS)

Admission & discounts

The ordinary price is NOK 180 for adults and NOK 160 for students/seniors (April–October); in the period November–March the prices are NOK 160 and NOK 140. Separate prices apply at events.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• 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 instrument gallery Lydspor, the Kjeldsbergsalen, Café Victoria and the shop are easily accessible, and the gallery and café can be reached by lift. The main building has limited accessibility because of stairs, and Barnas Ringve in the Wesselbygningen has stairs and door thresholds. The park has well-kept gravel paths. Light folding chairs stand by the entrance to the exhibitions. The guided tours are not specially adapted for visually or hearing-impaired visitors, but an adapted tour can be booked for groups.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Children aged 0–15 have free admission when accompanied by an adult. The museum has its own programmes for nurseries and schools, and in the instrument gallery visitors can try playing in a display orchestra. Barnas Ringve is in the Wesselbygningen.

Getting there & parking

By car, follow the signs from the E6 or the city centre.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Café Victoria in the former service building follows the museum's opening hours and serves lunch, cakes and yeast pastries. The museum shop is at reception and can be visited without an admission ticket.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Venues for company events, weddings, courses, conferences and concerts in the botanical garden; enquiries to Café Victoria on +47 969 14 182.

Plan your visit