Villa Fridheim

Noresund, Norway, Norway

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Villa Fridheim is one of Norway's largest and best-preserved Swiss-style villas, built as a lavish country house between 1890 and 1892 on Bjørøya island in Krøderfjorden near Noresund by wealthy timber merchant Svend Haug and his wife Thea, designed by architect Herman Major Backer with prefabricated elements from Haug's Drammen sawmill, a 30-meter tower, central heating, and over 1,000 square meters across multiple floors. Completed after Svend's death, it served as the family's summer retreat until around 1912, narrowly escaped demolition in a 1980 fire drill, and was restored as a protected heritage site now functioning as a fairy tale museum dedicated to Norwegian folklore collectors Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, featuring period furnishings, intricate woodwork, eventyr murals, puppet tableaux, and seasonal exhibitions.