Troll Museum — Attraction in Tromsø

1. Adult 180kr, Kids 100kr, family (2 adults, 2 children 450kr) Self guided tour can be completed in 45-60 min, though you can spend as long as you want there until closing hours. Main language on the exhibits are in Norsk & English, but hard copy translations are available from the counter, however the app for translations which you can download by scanning the QR code isn’t working during my visit.

Dropped by this place on the second week of Dec 2024 as I still had some time to spare on my visit to Tromsø. Interesting “museum” that gives you a background on how the folklore on trolls are intertwined with modern Norway.

Some of the exhibits are interactive (including the souvenirs, such as fridge magnets, post cards where you can download an app to make them “come alive” with Augmented Reality). You can also snap some photos at other exhibits and send them to your email free of charge.

Is it worth the visit? Maybe if you have kids - although they might get bored reading the history details, there are some games to keep them occupied (interactive sand exhibit was one of them) while the adults continue to walk...

I walked in carrying a reindeer skin, and the cashier jokingly asked who we sacrificed. When we said it was a reindeer, she changed her tone and told us it's illegal to kill reindeer and that only Samí people are allowed to. She negatively assumed either we killed and somehow tanned a skin ourselves, or that we bought it from poachers. We tried explaining we ethically purchased it directly from a local Samí herder, where the reindeers roam free, but she sharply corrected us saying that "just because we didn't see a fence, it doesn't mean they aren't there". She was quite condescending in her demeanor. It was a strange interaction, she was judgmental and oddly confrontational. It left us feeling unpleasant, and wanting to leave earlier than we had planned to.

The museum itself is pretty small. We were dissapointed that the texts were hard to read, and there weren't a lot of troll statues. Some translations didn't make sense. The highlight is reading the folklore. They offer various discounts, but currently the value is lacking. All in all, we still...

I cannot recommend the troll museum highly enough. I enjoyed the visit to this little gem so much and it is obvious that enormous effort and passion has gone into the displays here. The content feels carefully curated and I especially enjoyed the old tales about trolls which were wonderfully translated, and so lyrical and poetic in the tale they convey. The augmented reality and many opportunities for interaction made this small museum a real joy to be in. My only regret is that I was travelling with a friend and did not have my kids (9 & 5) with me to experience it. Regardless, all the wonderful activities potentially aimed at children, we enjoyed too, trying out the various games etc. The museum is very much worth a visit, especially if you are travelling with children, but even if you're not! They had just celebrated their first anniversary of being open when I visited but I am sure there will be many more...