• In Honor of the 200th Anniversary

    The year 2028 marks the 200th anniversary of Henrik Ibsen, and we will celebrate it in a big way at his childhood home.

    Now we are applying for 20 million NOK from the Ministry of Culture, where the Henrik Ibsen Museum at Venstøp is one of two major Ibsen projects in Skien. The other is called Sølvåren, the Ibsen Interpretation Center, organized by Skien Municipality. Together, we believe that these two projects can truly put Ibsen’s birthplace on the map, and the museum and the municipality are planning a grand anniversary celebration.

    The Second Most Famous in the World

    In 2028, Skien will mark the 200th anniversary of the world’s second most famous playwrighter, Henrik Ibsen. (The most famous is William Shakespeare.) We at Telemark Museum have big plans for Ibsen’s childhood home at Venstøp, and this Tuesday, Mayor Hedda Foss Five visited to see how far we’ve come and to hear what remains to be done. Both the barn and the main house at Venstøp will be renovated. The main house is undergoing a large-scale restoration project, where it will be reconstructed to look as it did in Henrik Ibsen’s time.

    Restoring the Main House

    If you peek through the living room windows at Venstøp this winter, you’ll see that the house has been completely stripped down. In the 1950s, parts of the house were converted into a caretaker’s apartment, and our own researcher, Jørgen Haave, has discovered that what we’ve been presenting as the Ibsen family’s kitchen is incorrect. The kitchen looked entirely different, and after archaeological investigations and several studies on construction and material use, we are now ready to start the restoration.

    Insulating the Barn

    The barn, however, is not the same as it was in Henrik Ibsen’s childhood. Over the years, it has housed various exhibitions, and in recent years, we’ve hosted a unique project in collaboration with Teater Ibsen, the Peer Gynt Escape Room. But the barn is cold! It’s impossible to hold events or welcome visitors there during the winter. Now we want to insulate and renovate the interior so we can welcome children, youth, adults, and seniors all year round.

    The Price Tag

    Altogether, this will cost 60 million NOK. That’s why we are applying for 20 million NOK from the Ministry of Culture. The application is submitted together with the municipality’s application, with Mayor Hedda Foss Five advocating for both projects. Exciting times lie ahead, and we can’t wait.

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