Maihaugen
Encyclopedia
Maihaugen is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Lillehammer
, Norway
. Maihaugen, with close to 200 buildings, is one of Northern Europe's largest open air museums and is one of the largest cultural facilities in Norway.
, collected from old houses and farmyards within the Gudbrandsdalen valley to provide a sample of Norwegian culture and history in a museum. He first started in his backyard, but when his collection grew, in 1901, the town council offered him a permanent site for the museum. In 1904, the city of Lillehammer set aside an area already known as Maihaugen and bought Sandvig's collection and established Sandvigske Samlinger (Sandvig Collections), the formal name for Maihaugen. Sandvig was at first hired as unpaid curator, but was later appointed the museum's first director. The new site of the museum had been used as a picnic and meeting place for the townspeople. People had met here to celebrate the Norwegian Constitution Day
and to light bonfires for Midsummer eve.
Maihaugen tells the history of how people have been living in the valley of Gudbrandsdalen from the Middle Ages until today. Social Institutions such as a church, school, post office, railway station, shops, prisons and military facilities are all represented at the museum. The museum has a rich collection of artifacts, furniture, tools and ornaments, ranging in age from the Middle Ages.
The Garmo stave church
is one of the main attractions. In 1882, the church was disassembled and sold to Anders Sandvig, who brought it to Lillehammer, where it was re-erected at Maihaugen in 1920-1921.
Maihaugen also includes a large photography archive and an indoor museum. Constructed in 1959, they were extended in preparation for the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics
. Maihaugsalen concert hall, with over 700 seats and a large exhibition space, was opened in September 1967.
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Maihaugen, with close to 200 buildings, is one of Northern Europe's largest open air museums and is one of the largest cultural facilities in Norway.
History
The founder, Anders SandvigAnders Sandvig
Anders Sandvig was a Norwegian dentist most noted for having founded Maihaugen, an innovative regional ethnological and architectural museum in Lillehammer, documenting the vernacular architecture of Gudbrandsdalen.-Biography:...
, collected from old houses and farmyards within the Gudbrandsdalen valley to provide a sample of Norwegian culture and history in a museum. He first started in his backyard, but when his collection grew, in 1901, the town council offered him a permanent site for the museum. In 1904, the city of Lillehammer set aside an area already known as Maihaugen and bought Sandvig's collection and established Sandvigske Samlinger (Sandvig Collections), the formal name for Maihaugen. Sandvig was at first hired as unpaid curator, but was later appointed the museum's first director. The new site of the museum had been used as a picnic and meeting place for the townspeople. People had met here to celebrate the Norwegian Constitution Day
Norwegian Constitution Day
Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday observed on May 17 each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai or syttande mai , Nasjonaldagen or Grunnlovsdagen , although the latter is less frequent.- Historical...
and to light bonfires for Midsummer eve.
Maihaugen tells the history of how people have been living in the valley of Gudbrandsdalen from the Middle Ages until today. Social Institutions such as a church, school, post office, railway station, shops, prisons and military facilities are all represented at the museum. The museum has a rich collection of artifacts, furniture, tools and ornaments, ranging in age from the Middle Ages.
The Garmo stave church
Garmo stave church
Garmo stave church is a stave church situated at the Maihaugen museum in Lillehammer, Norway. -Description:Garmo stave church originally came from Garmo in Lom in Oppland county. It was built circa 1150 on the site of a previous church believed to have been built in 1021 by a Viking chieftain...
is one of the main attractions. In 1882, the church was disassembled and sold to Anders Sandvig, who brought it to Lillehammer, where it was re-erected at Maihaugen in 1920-1921.
Maihaugen also includes a large photography archive and an indoor museum. Constructed in 1959, they were extended in preparation for the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
. Maihaugsalen concert hall, with over 700 seats and a large exhibition space, was opened in September 1967.
Sections
The open air museum is divided into three primary sections, the Rural Collection, Historic Town, and the Residential Area .- Rural Collection - from the villages in Lillehammer, focusing on the period 1700-1850 but also houses dating back to 1400's.
- Historic Town - collection of buildings from Lillehammer between early 19th century until around 1920.
- Residential Area - consists of the time typical single-family homes from nearly all decades of the 20th century.
Related sites
The following additional institutions are also under the administration of Maihaugen:- Aulestad farm in GausdalGausdalGausdal is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segalstad bru...
- Home of Nobel Laureate, Bjørnstjerne BjørnsonBjørnstjerne BjørnsonBjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland... - Bjerkebæk in Lillehammer - Home of Nobel Laureate, Sigrid UndsetSigrid UndsetSigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928.-Biography:Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism and became a lay Dominican...
- Norwegian Olympic MuseumNorwegian Olympic MuseumNorwegian Olympic Museum is located in Håkons Hall, Lillehammer, Norway.Norwegian Olympic Museum in Hakon's Hall in Lillehammer, was officially opened by King Harald V and Queen Sonja on November 27, 1997. It is the only museum in northern Europe that presents the entire history of the Olympic...
- Represents all Olympic Games since 1896. - Norwegian Post Museum - Norway's special museum for mail and philately.
Related reading
- Buggeland, Tord Maihaugen: De Sandvigske samlinger 100 ar (Cappelen. 1987) ISBN -10: 8202108284
- Hauglid, Anders Ole Maihaugen: The Sandvig Collections guide (Lillehammer: 1994) ISBN -10: 8290241232
- Valen-Sendstad, Fartein The Sandvig collections: Guide to the open air museum (Mariendal. 1968)