This fairytale house was the home of Norway’s most famous classical composer, Edvard Grieg. He and his wife, Nina Hagerup Grieg, are both buried on the property inside a small cave down by the waterside. As a composer in the genre of romantic nationalism, Grieg was an important part of Norwegian pride before the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden. 

Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen on the 15th of June 1843, and grew to become the most recognized Norwegian composer of all time. At the age of 15 he was accepted into a German school of music and theatre, HMT Leipzig, where he graduated three years later and travelled — not home, but to Copenhagen. In 1867 he married his cousin, Nina Hagerup, despite his parents’ protests. They only had one child, Alexandra, but she passed away at 12 months old. His music, however, continued to inspire. 

One of his most famous works is the “Piano Concerto in A-Minor, op 16,” composed by Grieg in 1868. In his repertoire you can also find his more mysterious musical side, in pieces like “I Dovregubbens Hall” (In the Hall of the Mountain King), “Morgenstemning,” (Morning Mood) from Peer Gynt, and “Norsk Dans” (Norwegian Dance). 

In 1884 he bought the property on Hop and built his Troldhaugen. But it was actually Nina who came up with the name, since it’s placed on the hill right next to Troldalen. Every summer was spent here together with his wife. Edvard Grieg died in 1907, and his wife two decades later, in 1935. Both their ashes were placed inside the mountain wall, down by the water, making him the 7th person in Norway to become cremated. 

Every 17th of May (the Norwegian Constitution Day) flowers are placed on their graves to honor their memory. Today the romantic nationalism of a house if filled with people as it is made a tourist attraction and a museum, open for the public. On the property you will also find a concert hall, a statue of him in person (and height), and his composer’s hut: a small red house, also down by the water.