"The architectural form brings together the region's folk culture and the area's characteristic landscape qualities in a larger composition."
The main exhibition “Romsdalshistorier”
The main exhibition, “The story of Romsdal” consist of many objects from past times, a digital storytelling in large scale and are divided into many different teams, all spun around the diverse cultural history of the area. The stories of Romsdal takes you on a historical journey from Romsdalshorn, in the east of Romsdal, to the lighthouse island Ona, on the west coast.
The aim of the exhibition is to inform you about the long lines of the diverse local living conditions and history through the centuries. You may recognise some of it. Other aspects may surprise you. We hope The Stories of Romsdal will be a source of knowledge and an adventure.
The Kurt Schwitters’ room
Kurt Schwitters came to Hjertøya island in the Molde fjord for the first time in 1930, and from 1932 till 1939 he spent much of the year in a small stone shack there.
He gradually turned the interior of the shack into a Merzbau construction, his Merzhütte. The walls and ceilings of the entrance were filled with collages, and large parts of the main room were designed to become a constructivist sculpture of wood and plaster.
Because of the Nazi invasion Kurt Schwitters had to flee Norway in 1940 and his Merzhütte was left unattended for 50 years. Unprotected, the interior became a victim of the ravages of the harsh climate and suffered rapid decline. Still, valuable elements remained when the project Kurt Schwitters and Norway was introduced in 2010. , 70 years after the Merzhütte was abandoned. A large-scale rescue operation was put into action, and in order to preserve what was left, the interior has been moved into the Schwitters room of the Romsdalsmuseet in Molde.
The temporary exhibition
The temporary exhibition will vary from time to time – with different theme from art to cultural artefacts from past to present. Large sliding doors separate the permanent and temporary exhibits, giving the option to combine or separate the collections
In the auditorium you can see the short film about the main exhibition “Romsdalshistorier”, wich tells you about the cultural heritage for Romsdal and the area around. “Kafé Malis” offers coffee, cakes and small courses.
The outdoor museum
The old house collection is an open-air museum situated in beautiful parkland near the new museum building. The many old log houses and interiors from the whole region illustrate cultural developments among the local farming community during the last 400 years. The collection includes open-hearth houses, smokehouses, traditional storehouses, outhouses and a small chapel. You can also visit “Bygata” (town street) with its old houses from Molde. Children's folk dancing displays are staged every time a cruise ship calls.
In addition to the main collection in Molde, the museum has the following branches:
- The fisheries museum on Hjertøya
- Veøy parsonage farm
- Nesset parsonage farm
- Løvikremma smallhouse farming
- Clothing factory museum
- Bud museum - Ergan coastal fort and the coastal cultural exhibition
- Steffågarden smallhouse farming at Ona island