Private guided tour of the Ibsen museum

Henrik Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of modern drama" and is one of the world's greatest playwrights. With over 25,000 registered productions of Ibsen's plays on theatre stages around the world throughout history, Ibsen is the second most performed playwright after William Shakespeare. His ability to see the "human cause" behind specific social issues makes his 19th-century plays a mirror of the challenges of our time. Ibsen raises questions about freedom, morality, responsibility, identity and truth that are highly relevant today.

It was in Grimstad that Ibsen became Ibsen! Henrik arrived in Grimstad in 1843 at the age of 15 to apprentice at the town's pharmacy. During the six intense years he lived here, he developed into a pharmacist's assistant, social critic and author. With a freshly published Catilina in hand, he left the town in 1850 with the clear ambition of working in theatre.

At the museum, visitors can see the original pharmacy where the young Henrik Ibsen worked, and the guardroom where he both lived and wrote his very first play. The museum's exhibition tells the stories of the rebel, of love interests, friendships, the "illegitimate" child, and of how the young Henrik became one of the world's greatest playwrights.