Built in 1665. Norway's only barony. A rose garden in front, a glacier behind — and a season of concerts, theatre and exhibitions that brings audiences back year after year.
Sheer cliffs. A waterfall behind. A glacier above. Rosendal sits between them — and the barony has stood at the centre since 1665.
Spend an evening in the concert hall and you'll understand why audiences and artists keep coming back, year after year.
When the concert ends, you don't have to leave. Stay the night at Baroniet Rosendal.
A castle, a garden, a concert hall, a meal, a bed, a mountain walk. All in one place. Come and see for yourself.
There is one barony in Norway. It sits in Rosendal, low and white-walled, between fjord and mountain — Scandinavia's smallest castle, with a 300-year-old rose garden in front, a glacier behind, and a waterfall in earshot from every window.
A visit to Baroniet Rosendal rarely stays just a visit. The manor draws you in; the garden tends to keep you. Concert-goers often stay the night at the home farm. Many day-trippers from Bergen leave wishing they'd booked an extra night. It's the combination — history, culture, nature, quiet — that keeps audiences and artists coming back, year after year.
There aren't many places in Norway in continuous use since 1665. That's the year Ludvig Rosenkrantz built the manor here in Rosendal, between fjord, mountain, glacier and waterfall.
Walking through the corridors — the Red Hall with its grand piano, the library with books going back centuries — you aren't moving through a museum. You're walking through a home, kept the way the last family who lived here left it when the estate was handed to the University of Oslo in 1927. The furniture, the paintings, the chandeliers have been part of daily life across 360 years.
Baroniet Rosendal is much more than a small castle. It runs a cultural programme that surprises visitors again and again.
Since 2016, the internationally renowned pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has been artistic advisor here, and the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival has grown into one of the most important classical festivals in Norway. Through the summer season, musicians, bands, writers and actors come to play, read, exhibit and perform — alongside the National Stage of Norway, Den Nationale Scene, which stages Strindberg's Miss Julie in the manor itself. Contemporary art fills the wine cellar and the courtyard.
You don't need to follow Norwegian music to feel it. The setting does most of the work — and the rest carries across any language. See the bottom of this article for selected events this season.
The Rosendal Gardens are among the most important historic gardens in Norway — a ferme ornée, where farming and garden art are woven together. There's a Renaissance garden with geometric beds bursting with roses. A kitchen and herb garden whose produce is harvested for the restaurants on the estate. And a 19th-century glasshouse where the Rosendal Garden Café serves lunch among geraniums, citrus trees and roses in full bloom.
You can spend a whole day here, going in and out of the manor, sitting under apple trees, watching the Hattebergsfossen waterfall come down the mountain in the distance.
Many travellers come to Rosendal as a day trip. The Hardangerfjord Express boat leaves Bergen's Strandkaiterminalen and reaches Rosendal in about two hours. But when the concert ends and the audience drifts out into the long summer evening, you don't have to head back to the city. The home farm Avlsgarden and the Fruehuset (Lady's House) offer rooms with deep beds, the sound of the waterfall in the distance, and a view across to the mountain. Breakfast is served by the open hearth in the old kitchen, the Gamlakjøkenet — with the garden waiting outside the door.
It's the combination that makes the barony what it is. A castle you can walk into. A garden you can lose yourself in. A concert hall close enough to hear the pianist breathe. A bed to wake up in. Breakfast in a kitchen garden. All in one place, between fjord, mountain, glacier and waterfall.
Plan a day — or a few. Baroniet Rosendal is waiting.
— Welcome to Baroniet Rosendal. Take time for hospitality, calm and rare experiences of nature and culture in protected surroundings. Wake to a sunrise over the glacier, between high peaks in the lush landscape of western Norway. At Avlsgarden and Fruehuset we offer romantic accommodation with breakfast in historic buildings. You fall asleep to the sound of the mighty Hattebergsfossen and wake refreshed, with impressions and memories that will draw you back.
— Anna Lena Flatland, Director, Baroniet Rosendal
Baroniet Rosendal is the only barony in Norway and Scandinavia's smallest castle. Built in 1665, it stands in the village of Rosendal in western Norway, between fjord and mountain. The estate is open to the public for guided tours, a summer cultural programme, restaurants, gardens and overnight stays. It has been owned by the University of Oslo since 1927.
The Hardangerfjord Express boat (Hardangerfjordekspressen) leaves Bergen's Strandkaiterminalen for Rosendal and takes about two hours. The boat runs daily, year-round. From the Rosendal quay it's around a 15-minute walk to the manor. By car you can drive via the Jondal tunnel from Jondal, or via the Gjermundshamn–Årsnes ferry.
The manor and gardens are open to visitors from 1 May to 1 September. The rose garden is at its best in June and July. The cultural programme of concerts, lectures and exhibitions runs through the whole summer season, with the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival (Klassisk Helg) taking place every August.
A guided tour of the manor takes about one hour. Allow two to three hours if you also want to walk through the gardens and stop at the Rosendal Garden Café. For concerts, exhibitions and an overnight stay, count on a full day or more.
Guided tours of the manor are offered in English during the season. Most of the cultural programme is music-led and easy to follow without Norwegian. Theatre and spoken-word events are usually in Norwegian — check baroniet.no for specifics before you book.
Booking in advance is recommended for guided tours, concerts and overnight stays, especially during July and August and around the Chamber Music Festival. Same-day tickets are sometimes available but not guaranteed.
Yes. The home farm Avlsgarden and the Fruehuset offer rooms on the estate with breakfast included. The rooms have a historic feel, and several have views over the gardens and the mountains.
Yes. The gardens are open to walk in, and the kitchen garden and glasshouse are particularly popular with younger visitors. The guided tour of the manor is best suited to school-age children and older.
The gardens are mostly accessible. The manor itself has stairs and is less suited to wheelchair access. Contact Baroniet in advance for the most up-to-date information.
Rosendal is the gateway to the Folgefonna glacier and the popular hike to Bondhusvatnet, a glacier lake. The fjord is open for kayaking and boat trips, and there are walks and mountain hikes in every direction. The village has restaurants, cafés and smaller cultural sites alongside the barony.
