Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum — Attraction in Trondheim

Sverresborg is a fortress and former castle situated in the Norwegian city of Bergen. It was built by King Sverre Sigurdsson (ca. 1150–1202) in the mid 1180s, 250 meters northeast of Bergenhus fortress. King Sverre Sigurdsson also had a Sverresborg built in Trondheim. It is thought that the fortress had an outer wall of stone and inner buildings of wood. Sverris saga mentions that 600 men and 40 noble women lived in the fortress ca. 1207.

Sverresborg was the site of several battles during the Civil war era in Norway. The castle fell to the baglers and was destroyed, but was rebuilt by Håkon Jarl. The baglers destroyed it a second time and it has been rebuilt several times. Much of the remaining structures are from the 17th century. The site was reinforced by King Håkon Håkonsson after the great fire of 1248. The medieval fort remained until the mid-16th century. Directly underneath Sverresborg lies the residence of the master of the ramparts (Vollmesterboligen), the oldest of which go back to the 18th century. The master of the ramparts was in charge of the maintenance and upkeep of the fortifications and buildings. In August 1665, the fortress participated in the Battle of Vågen. The last known expansions took place during the Napoleonic wars.

In the 1830s a park was laid out in the area and in 1911 a petty officers school was established for Bergen Brigade (Bergenske Brigades Underoffiserskole). During World War II the German occupants established two anti aircraft batteries in the fortress. After the war, Sverresborg used as the execution site in connection with treason settlement. Seven German and one Norwegian war criminals were executed in Sverresborg in 1946.

The fortress has not fulfilled an operative capacity since World War II, but is still used by the military of Norway for office and training facilities. The area is today under the command of the commandant of Bergenhus Fortress and is a military area, but open...

Favourite museum in Trondheim as it offers a live history experience through the old well preserved houses, each with its story. One of my favourites was the Lion Pharmacy located in the Adolf Øyens apartment which is only open for the public on Sundays between 11:30-12:30. There are several other programs in the weekend, so you might want to check that out on their website or at the entrance before visiting. I attach a photo of the program during my visit, which is subject to change overtime of course. I also recommend taking the guided tour, which is included in the purchased ticket, but you need to know when it starts. With the guide, you can visit the two churches and other rooms that are otherwise not open for the public. My favourite was the special wedding reception house. ❤️ And of course the experience wouldn't have been the same without our charming and nice guide. The photographer's house is also a hidden gem, as you can take a digital picture of yourselves which then goes up on the displayed vintage painting frame, and it stays there for a few seconds, enough for you to capture it with your phone. Super nice memory souvenir. Also, spectacular views from the old castle ruins. It takes about 3 hours to visit everything. There's also a nice restaurant/ café and museum shop. You also get a free entrance to the Maritime Museum with this ticket. But you’ll find out all about it at the reception from the lovely...

We visited it on Sunday the 17th of August 2025, the last day of the Summer programme. We were looking forward to the visit also because my elder son is passionate about history. We planned to arrive at 2 pm for the King Snerrer training activity and I had checked the website to get fresh info. When we arrived we were very disappointed discovering - after having bought the tickets - that the activity had been cancelled and we were told 'by the way you must understand Norwegian'. The vast majority of the buildings was closed and we could not enter. The only ongoing thing was a folk tale in norvewian. The place looked abandoned and sad. Indeed a pity, considering you need to get there on purpose, not being close to the city center. When I shared the bad experience at the ticket counter asking to inform future visitors that the museum was largely inactive before selling the tickets, I only received a cold 'OK' as answer. I recommend calling before going to check thoroughly what the experience would look like to prevent wasting...