Aust-Agder » Grimstad City Museums

GRIMSTAD - CITY OF POETS

We in Grimstad put literature at the centre of our cultural commitment, and for that reason we bear the name "Grimstad - city of poets".
 
Of course, the city of poets has literary events on the menu all year round; but in summer the choice is extra large. Literature festivals, revues, theatre, literary cafes and seminars are some of what you can expect to find. Amateurs and professionals, volunteers and paid organizers contribute, and you can look forward to a varied programme and something for every taste.
 
The historical backdrop to this literary focus is that the city has been home to two of Norway's greatest poets. Henrik Ibsen lived here as a young apprentice chemist before his breakthrough as a playwright, and Knut Hamsun lived the last 34 years of his life on the farm Nørholm outside Grimstad.

Ibsen Museum
Visiting address: Henrik Ibsens gate 14, Grimstad
Tel. 47 37 04 04 90
post@gbm.no
www.gbm.no

Henrik Ibsen came to Grimstad during the winter of 1843/44 to take up an apprenticeship at the Reimann pharmacy. He remained here for six years, and when he left in the spring of 1850, it was as the author of the play Catiline. The rest we know; but at the Ibsen Museum in Grimstad the tale is told of the time before he achieved fame and fortune. The story is of how he supported himself after the apprenticeship was over, the tight financial conditions, he endured, those who inspired and helped him along the way, the love affairs, and his son who was born out of wedlock. In the Ibsen Museum we still find the pharmacy where Ibsen worked, and we can see how he lived in the last years before he moved from Grimstad. The museum has its own museum shop.

Norwegian Museum of Horticulture
Address: Dømmesmoen, Grimstad
Tel. 47 37 04 04 90
post@gbm.no
www.gbm.no

Summer is the time for strawberries, and nothing tastes better than sun-ripened berries in July. But did you know that without the bees, we would not have been able to enjoy these delicious berries? We have called our new exhibition at the Norwegian Museum of Horticulture "Bees and Flowers". It gives an insight into the interaction between the bees and the flowers, and the importance of this interaction for our harvest of strawberries and many other berries and fruit varieties.

Surrounding the Norwegian Museum of Horticulture is the beautiful Dømmesmoen park with its multi-coloured flowers, cool shade under towering trees, and cultural relics dating back to prehistoric times. The museum also offers opportunities to study, for example, different species and varieties of roses and herbs, collected in their own beds. Equally noteworthy is the abundant apple orchard containing many different Norwegian varieties, not to mention the museum shop and café.

Maritime Museum in Grimstad
Address: Hasseldalen, Grimstad
Tel. 47 37 04 04 90
post@gbm.no
www.gbm.no

Grimstad has, like many southern cities, a long and rich maritime history, stretching far back in time and including boat building, shipping activities and trade. In the golden age from 1850 until the end of the 19th century, 40 shipyards were recorded in the Grimstad area. In those days, when sailing ships ruled the seven seas, Grimstad played an important role. The Maritime Museum in Hasseldalen chronicles this period, providing insights into the day-to-day life of the ship owners, the way pilots were trained at this time, the construction and maintenance of wooden boats and how the captain navigated the vessel.