Ibsen in Skien

IBSEN IN SKIEN HENRIK IBSEN SKIEN NORWAY

4 The Stockmann Building 6 The Altenburg Building 9 The Ibsen Park 10 Festiviteten, Skien’s cultural centre 11 Teater Ibsen 13 The Ibsen House 14 The Rat-Wife 16 The Artists’ Gift 17 Burial places of the Ibsen family 18 The Ibsen Steps 20 Snipetorp 22 Henrik Ibsen’s legacy today 24 Venstøp – the Henrik Ibsen Museum 27 Map

Henrik Ibsen is one of the world’s most-performed playwrights. He was born in Skien on 20 March 1828 to Knud and Marichen Ibsen, and spent his entire childhood here. At the time, Skien was a lively trading town with a population of 3000. Both of Henrik Ibsen’s parents came from patrician families belonging to the town’s mercantile elite. A big fire in 1886 left the town centre in ruins, and the Skien that had made such an impression on Henrik Ibsen as a child was lost.

Today, Skien has over 53,000 inhabitants and is a vibrant cultural and commercial city. The only surviving built environment from Henrik Ibsen’s time is found in the Snipetorp district. His childhood home at Venstøp, a few kilometres north of the city, is now a museum. Traces of his young days in Skien can be found in many of Ibsen’s works. And traces of Ibsen can be found all over the city.

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The Stockmann Building Henrik Ibsen was born in the Stockmann Building in 1828 and lived here until 1831.

Henrik Ibsen’s father, Knud Ibsen, opened a shop in the Stockmann Building in 1825, selling all manner of wares. He imported goods from far-off lands: grape brandy, white and red wine from Bordeaux; cotton fabrics, woollen goods and yarn from London; and linen from Altona in northern Germany. He also sold glassware, combs made from ivory and horn, brass objects, mirrors, lace, pencils, optical instruments and silk.

The original Stockmann Building, which stood by the present-day market place, ab

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was lost in the big fire of 1886.

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b From Henrik Ibsen’s 1881: b b “From Skien to Rome”.bJanuary 17thb b unfinished autobiography b b of Skien, the town of mybbirth, were given bthey were simply renamedb b their names – or perhaps ome years ago, when the streets – the S honor was bestowed upon me of a street bearing my name.

This is at least what the newspapers tell me, and I have been made party to b b b b b b b b b 4b b b

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The Stockmann Building, Telemark Museum picture collection

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the same information by reliable travellers. According to their description, this street supposedly runs from the town square down towards the harbor, or “Muddringen”. But if their particulars are true, it is beyond me why the street in question has come to be named after me, as I was not born on that street, nor have I ever lived there. I was, on the other hand, born in a building on the square, the Stockmann building […].

The building sat directly opposite the front of the church, with its tall steps and considerable steeple. To the right of the church the town

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The Altenburg Building In 1831, the Ibsen family moved to the elegant Altenburg Building, the childhood home of Marichen Ibsen. Here, the Ibsens hosted grand parties attended by other affluent families. The guests arrived by horse and carriage, dressed in their finest clothes, and were served the most exquisite food and drink, waited on by the family’s servants. The guests and their hosts sat at beautifully decorated tables, where they made speeches, smoked cigars and toasted one another with champagne.

Almost the entire family fortune was lost in 1835. The Altenburg Building and all its contents were auctioned off, and the family had to move to their country home, ab

Venstøp, five kilometres outside the town.

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The original Altenburg Building was also lost in the big fire of 1886.

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b pillory was located, and to the left was the police station, with jail cells and the “fool’s chest” (“Dårekisten”) – the madhouse. The fourth b b b b b b side of the square was occupied by The Latin School and The Citizens School. The church stood freely in the middle. And so this scene was bno rural countryside. bspace of stone and woodb b But above this square myb first view of the world […];b all architecture; no greenery; the air hummed, all theb day long, with a dim, churning Langefos andb Klosterfossen and the manyb other plummeting b brush from the waterfallsb b b b 6b b b

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The Altenburg Building (left).

Telemark Museum picture collection

waters, and from morning and well into the evening something pierced the roar of the rushing water, something resembling sharp, sometimes shrieking, some足times moaning, women screaming. It was the one hundred saw blades, full at work by the falls. When later in life I read about the guillotine, those saw blades returned to my thoughts. Needless to say, the church was the most splendid edifice in town. Back when Skien was set on fire one Christmas Eve towards the end of the previous century, due to the carelessness of a housemaid, the church of that

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b day also burnedb down. The housemaid was,b as was to be expected, executed.

But the town, which was rebuilt with straight and wide streets b b b b on the hills and hollows in which it resides, was gifted with a new church, one that the citizens with a measure of pride claimed was built out b b b bAt the band was the mirror imageb of yellow Dutch clinker, constructed by a master builder from Copenhagen, of the church in Kongsberg. b time I did not sufficiently attention was a white, large,b hugely proportioned b however, what forcefullybcaught my b b appreciate these merits; b b b 8b b b

The Ibsen Park, 20 March 1928.

Telemark Museum picture collection

The Ibsen Park This town-centre park was laid out after the fire of 1886. On the occasion of Henrik Ibsen’s 70th birthday in 1898, it was named ‘Henrik Ibsens Plass’ – Henrik Ibsen Square – and today goes by the name ‘Ibsenparken’, the Ibsen Park.

There are several sculptures in the park Henrik Ibsen 1828–1906 by Dyre Vaa Bukkerittet [The Buck Ride] by Svein Tore Kleppan Hedvig og Vildanden, Eyolf og Mopsemann [Hedvig and the Wild Duck, Eyolf and Mopsemann] by Svein Tore Kleppan ab

we possibly do better than b“Good Lord, what canplay b in this blessed world?” b b b b b b b b b b b angel that with a bowl in its hands, though every Sunday when a child was to be bon most days hovered highbunderneath the vaulting b b b baptized, it came floating down amongst us. But more than the white angel inside the church, I was preoccupied with the black poodle that b had its abode in the very btop of the tower, where thebwatchman called at night.b bembers, but did not show b It had eyes like glowing red itself frequently.

To my knowledge it appeared only once.

It was on New Years Eve, just as the watchman called One out of the window at the front b b b b b b b 9 b b b b

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Little Eyolf

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Photo: Tom Riis

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Festiviteten Festiviteten opened on 20 March 1891 as a cultural venue for the town. Henrik Ibsen was invited to the grand opening but was unfortunately unable to attend. He mentions the event in a letter to his sister: “Oh, how I wish I could have been present for this occasion. Out of those I knew as a child, I suspect few would be there. I would have been surrounded by what to me would be an unfamiliar kin. But perhaps not as unfamiliar as all that; through all my years of absence I have felt as if I still belonged in the town of my birth.�

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The building contained a large auditorium, a restaurant and smaller meeting rooms, as well as baths and steam baths. During the Second World War, Festiviteten was appropriated by the Nazis and renamed Hird-Huset after the paramilitary wing of Nasjonal Samling, a fascist party active at that time. From 1986 to 2010, Festiviteten was home to the regional theatre, Teater Ibsen. The building is now a privately owned events venue, and the main hall is once again a banqueting hall.

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b of the tower. That was when the black poodle came up the tower steps behind him and just stared at him with those glowing eyes, nothing b b b b b b else, but the watchman plummeted from the tower window to the square below, where they found him lying dead, all those devout parishiobwalking to morning servicebon New Years Day. Ever since b that nightb bwindow in ners the watchman never calledb One through that particular Skien church. However, watchman and the poodleb took place long before my time, and I haveb later been told that in b b b this incident with theb b b b 10 b b b

Photo: Telemark Museum picture collection

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Teater Ibsen Teater Ibsen, the regional theatre for the counties of Telemark and Vestfold, is based at Klosterøya in Skien.

Teater Ibsen stages productions for children and adults, and aims to develop new works in all formats. It serves as the city theatre for Skien, and also takes productions on tour around Telemark and Vestfold.

Each year, Teater Ibsen awards international Ibsen Scholarships and organises the annual Ibsen Conference. ab

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From John Gabriel Borkman, Teater Ibsen. Photo: Per Maning

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the olden days similar episodes took place in a number of Norwegian churches. But back when I was a child that same tower window was particularly notable in that it was from that very window I received my very first conscious and lasting impression. It so happened that one day my nanny […] let me sit in the open window, secured from behind, of course, by her loyal arms. I can clearly recall how vividly I could look down at the crowns of people’s hats; I could see into our own sitting rooms, could see the window sills, see the curtains, could see my

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b mother standing by one of the windows down there; yes, I could even see our brown horse tied by the stable door, lashing its tail. I remember b b b b b b a shiny sheet metal bucket hanging on the stable wall. But then there was running and throng足ing and waving down there in the door to our band the maid rapidly pulled b me inside and hurriedb house, down the stepsb with me. I do not recall theb rest, but on many occasionsb hence the story was told that my mother had caught a glimpse of me up there in the tower window, that she had screamed, that she had fainted, which b b b b b b b b b 12 b b b

Photo: Dag Jenssen

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The Ibsen House The Ibsen House was formally opened in 1973 and is the city’s cultural centre, offering a varied programme of events through much of the year. Sculptures of both Ibsen himself and characters from his plays can be found in and around the house. Skien Library is located in the same building, and is home to one of Norway’s largest Ibsen collections, comprising more than 700 titles – Ibsen’s own works as well as a wide variety of literature on his life and work.

The sculptures Nina Sundby: Nora, bronze sculpture on pedestal Nina Sundby: Henrik Ibsen, bronze sculpture on pedestal

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Jo Visdal: Henrik Ibsen, bronze bust on pedestal ab

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Nina Sundby: Mor Aase og Peer Gynt [Mother Aase and Peer Gynt], bronze sculpture on pedestal

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was the custom in those days, and that she afterwards, when I was returned to her, had cried and kissed and stroked me. After that day, as a boy I never crossed the square without glancing at the tower window. It seemed to me that window espec­ia­ lly concerned the church poodle and myself. I have only retained a single additional memory of my earliest years. As a baptism gift I had […] received a large silver coin with an engraving of a man’s head. The man had a high forehead, a prominent hooknose and a p­ ro­truding lower lip; and moreover, his

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The Rat-Wife Rottejomfruen by Marit Benthe Norheim and 2318 pupils from Skien schools was unveiled on 20 March 2006. The concrete sculpture is decorated with porcelain eyes made by the pupils.

Eyolf: Auntie, isn’t it strange that she should be called the Rat-Wife?

Asta: Oh, people just call her that because she wanders around the country driving away all the rats.

Allmers: I have heard that her real name is Varg.

Eyolf: Varg! That means ‘wolf’, doesn’t it? ab

Allmers: So you know that, do you?

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b throat was naked, which I thought curious. My nanny taught me that the man on the coin was “king Fredrik rex”, and I once entertained b b b b b b myself by rolling the coin across the floor, with the unfortunate consequence of the coin disappearing into a crack. I think my parents b it to be a bad omen,b bopen, and they searchedb considered as it was a gift given whileb I was still in b my cradle. The floor was broken and dug for a very long time, but king Fredrik rex never again saw the light of day.

It couldn’t be helped that I for a long time thereafter considered b b b b b b b b b 14 b b b

Photo: Dag Jenssen

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Eyolf: Then perhaps it may be true, after all, that she is a werewolf at night.

Do you believe that, Papa?

Little Eyolf, 1894

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Photo: Dag Jenssen

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myself to be a bad criminal, and when I saw the town constable, Peter Tysker, come out of the police station heading for our front door, I ran as fast as I could into the nursery and hid under the bed. However, we did not remain for long in that building on the square. My father bought a bigger house, and we moved in when I was four years or so. This, my new home, sat on a corner, situated somewhat higher in the town, at the foot of “Hundevadbakken”, named after an old, German speaking doctor, whose stately wife rode in a “glass coach”, which in

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The Artists’ Gift To mark his 70th birthday in 1898 and 75th birthday in 1903, Henrik Ibsen was presented with gifts of art by contemporary artists. Leading Norwegian artists of the time, including Frits Thaulow, Christian Krogh, Harriet Backer, Kitty Kielland and many others, are represented in the collection. All these artists wishing to honour Ibsen says something about his status in his lifetime and among his fellow artists.

The collection comprises 54 works of art and is owned by Skien municipality.

The paintings and artists are detailed in the book Kunstgaven (2006). ab

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b the winter was turned into a sled. In our new house there were many, large living rooms both upstairs and downstairs, and much entertaib b b b b b ning took place. But we boys did not stay indoors for long at a time. The square […] was the natural rallying point and battleground for the byouth. The Latin Schoolb bold, distinguished b Ørn; the foremost atb b and most courteous principal town’s was at the time ruled by the the Citizens School was mostb likely the caretaker, Iver Flasrud, another excellent bloke, who also doubled as the town hairdresser and barber.

Many a b b b b b b b b 16 b b b

Burial places of the Ibsen family Henrik Ibsen’s parents, Marichen and Knut Ibsen, are buried in Lie churchyard, Skien.

Their graves are on opposite sides of the churchyard as they were separated for the last years of their lives. Ibsen’s sister, Hedvig Stousland, and her family are also buried here. Henrik Ibsen is buried in Our Saviour`s cemetery in Oslo.

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Photo: Dag Jenssen

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fierce battle was fought around the church between the boys from the two schools; but as I did not belong to either school, I was mostly present as an observer. It should be stated that I was not at any time in my childhood a comba­tive sort. The above-mentioned pillory and the police station with all its spooky secrets presented a much more significant attraction to me. The pillory was a reddish brown pillar, about as high as a man; on top there was a large, round knob, which originally had been painted black, but now the knob more resembled a friendly,

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Which way should I choose? Many a road is open to me; and by my choice a wise man or fool I will be.

Peer Gynt (1867)

The Ibsen Steps The Ibsen Steps were completed in April 1995. 32 of the 127 steps are decorated with well-known quotes from Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. You can follow the entire play, from the opening line of the first act – “Peer, you are lying” – to Solveig’s reply – “… in my hope, and in my love” – in the fifth act. The steps ab

are made of concrete and clad in granite, and lead up to Telemark Museum,

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Brekkeparken. Next to the steps is a bust of Henrik Ibsen by Håkon Anton

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Fagerås. A corresponding bust stands in Sorrento, Italy, where Ibsen wrote the

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b inviting human face, slightly aslant. An iron chain was attached at the front of the pillar, and at the end was an open collar, which […] b b b b b b looked like two small open arms that with the utmost pleasure prepared to cling to my throat. It should be noted that it had not been in use b that it remained for allbmy time in Skien. b there to this day. And b b I do not know if it remains forb years, but even so I recall vividly then there was the police station.

As it was with the church, it had a long flight of stairs up front.

The jail cells with their barred windows were in the b b b b b b b b b 18 b b b plays Peer Gynt and Ghosts.

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Photo: Tom Riis

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basement, facing the square. Behind those bars I have seen many a pale and scary face. A room in the very depths of the police station was referred to as the “fool’s chest” (“Dårekisten”) […], once upon a time it truly was used to incarcerate the insane. The room had bars like the other cells, but inside the bars a massive sheet of iron, into which a number of small holes had been drilled, so that it resembled a strainer, covered the whole opening. Moreover it was claimed that this cave served as dwel­ling for an at the time notorious criminal by the name of

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Snipetorp In autumn 1843, the Ibsen family moved to a house in Skien’s Snipetorp district. The first floor was rented out to provide an income for the family, and Knud Ibsen raised chickens in the backyard to supplement the family income. He had no regular work at the time, but did odd jobs here and there, including helping people who wanted to travel to America. The street outside the house is the only surviving built environment from Henrik Ibsen’s time. It is hard to be certain whether he ever lived in Snipetorp himself; he had turned 15, was confirmed and would have been expected to make his own way in the world. On 16 November 1843, he left Skien aboard Lykkens prøve – the trial of fortune – for Grimstad. He returned ab

from Grimstad on holiday for a few weeks in the summer of 1845, and called in on his way

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to take up studies in Christiania, modern-day Oslo, in 1850.

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b b b Skien b b b b municipality. b b b b b b b b Brandeis, who had been branded; and I also believe it contained an escaped and recaptured man who had been sentenced to slavery for life, b b b b b b and who was whipped at the stake up at Li-torvet. Eyewitnesses claimed that when the latter character was led to his place of punishment, he bbeen dancing, but that when bhe was taken back to theb b my childhood years Skien b was an had jail cell, they b had to pull him on a cart. During exceedingly joyful contrary of what it would b later become. At bthe time a number of supremely b cultured, affluent b band festive town, quite theb b b b 20b b b

Photo: Dag Jenssen

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Today the house is available as a residence for artists in receipt of an artist’s stipend from

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and highly regarded families lived partially in the town itself, partially on large farms in the area. Close or more remote kinship connected most of these families amongst themselves, and balls, dinner parties and musical soirÊes came one after another in rapid succession both during winters and summers. There was also a regular influx of travellers [‌], and as there were no real hotels [‌], one stayed with friends and relatives. Visits from strangers were almost a constant occurrence at our spacious farmhouse and especially around Christmastime and

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Henrik Ibsen’s legacy today As the place where Ibsen spent his childhood, Skien takes pride in curating the legacy of one of the greatest figures in world literature. Special events are organised in the city centre every March to mark Henrik Ibsen’s birthday.

Every year, Skien municipality presents Norway’s only prize for playwrights: the Norwegian Ibsen Award. This is given to a Norwegian playwright who has had a new work for children or adults performed at a professional theatre in the last year, or for a body of works for the stage. The Norwegian Ibsen Award was first presented in 1986.

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Skien municipality focuses in particular on communicating Ibsen’s legacy to children and young people, in an ongoing project known as StøpeSkien.

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b b b b b b b centre stage. b b takes b b b b b b the market days, our townhouse was full and the table was set from morning to nightfall. The Skien market days took place in the month b b b b b b of February and it was a particularly happy time for us boys; as early as six months previous we started collecting money in preparation bat the market stalls. I confess b to be forb viewing the conjurers and b tightrope walkers and horse b riders, and in b order to buy honey cakes down ignorant of the importance business in town as a whole;b but for me it b remained a hugely festive occasion, b lasting a full b b of the market onb b b b 22b b b

Children in Skien crown Ibsen every March.

Photo: Skien municipality

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Skien takes pride in curating Ibsens literary legacy. This work involves showcasing and communicating high-quality literature, and creating meeting places where literature

The Appelsinia Literature Festival takes place each year, with children and young people as the main target group. The name of the festival – Appelsinia – is taken from Henrik Ibsen’s The Master Builder and is rendered in the English version of the play as ‘the kingdom of Orangia’ (appelsin is the Norwegian word for ‘orange’).

Skien’s Litteraturhuset – the house of literature – plays an important role in putting contemporary literature on the agenda. It hosts a vibrant programme of events, and provides an arena for debate and knowledge dissemination. Skien Library has a dedicated

The Woman from the Sea for children.

Photo: Hans Petter Eliassen

Ibsen collection.

During the summer, Skien invites visitors and local residents alike to enjoy guided Ibsen walks, combining culinary and cultural experiences in Henrik Ibsen’s childhood town.

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Delightful Ibsen souvenirs are sold at several places in the city. ab

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Ibsen walk in Skien. Photo: Telemark Museum

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week. Back then the seventeenth of May was never much of an occasion in Skien. A few youngsters fired “key guns” out at Blegebakken or lit “witches” – firecrackers; and that was about the extent of it. I suspect this reticence in our otherwise joyful town was observed in deference to a certain highly trusted man, whose estate was located in the vicinity of the town, and who for various reasons one did not wish to provoke.

But Midsummer Eve was all the more festive. […] The boys and the grown youth of the town gathered in five or six or more societies,

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Venstøp – the Henrik Ibsen Museum Five kilometres north of the centre of Skien is Venstøp, the Ibsen family’s country home.

When Knud Ibsen had to sell all his properties in Skien, the family moved here permanently in 1835.

Henrik was seven years old and a loner. He often hid from his younger siblings in a boxroom under ab

the stairs, where he had peace and quiet to read

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b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b ­whereupon each worked to gather materials for their group’s bonfire. As early as during Whitsun we gathered together to make the rounds at b b b b b b the shipyards or the peddler’s stalls to “beg” empty tar barrels. A peculiar custom had been in effect since time immortal. Whatever we were b to procure as willinglyb bthe owner b b any punitive reaction b to such unable given gifts, was stolen, without or the police even remotely considering a violation. In this of empty tar barrels. b The same time-honored bright was valid with b bmanner a society could byband by amass a whole pileb b b b 24 b b b

Photo: Telemark Museum

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and draw.

As a boy, Henrik was already interested in theatre and experimented with both tableaux and comedies. Neighbours later told of his cardboard puppet theatre and how he would invite the other children to puppet plays. He also performed impressive conjuring tricks at the many parties his father hosted.

The family lived at Venstøp for eight years, but their economic situation went from bad to worse and in 1843 Knud Ibsen was forced to sell the house.

Venstøp is now the Henrik Ibsen Museum. Every summer, the museum opens its doors for visitors to hear about Henrik Ibsen’s childhood, visit the ‘dark ab

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attic’ that features in many of his plays, and see the drawing room where the ab

Ibsens entertained guests.

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regard to old rowboats. If we came upon such a vessel on dry land, we would succeed in dragging the occasional specimen quietly away and keep it hidden; we had thereby gained the right of ownership, or would at least be exempt from any consequences. And then, on the day before Midsummer’s Eve, the boat was carried triumphantly through the streets to the place of the bonfire. In the boat sat a fiddler. I have several times been a witness to and myself once partaken in such a parade.

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1. The Stockmann Building 2. The Altenburg Building 3. Ibsen Park

4. Festiviteten 5. The Ibsen House

6. Teater Ibsen 7. The Rat-Wife 8. The Ibsen Steps

9. Snipetorp 10. Lie churchyard 11. Venstøp 12. Langbrygga in Skien ab

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Henrik Ibsen’s home from 1828 to 1831 Henrik Ibsen’s home from 1831 to 1835 Henrik Ibsen 1828–1906 by Dyre Vaa Bukkerittet [the buck ride] by Svein Tore Kleppan Hedvig og Vildanden, Eyolf og Mopsemann [Hedvig and the Wild Duck, Eyolf and Mopsemann]

by Svein Tore Kleppan Opened as a cultural venue in 1891 Skien’s cultural centre Nora by Nina Sundby Henrik Ibsen by Nina Sundby Henrik Ibsen by Jo Visdal Mor Aase og Peer Gynt [Mother Aase and Peer Gynt] by Nina Sundby Regional theatre for the counties of Telemark and Vestfold Rottejomfruen by Marit Benthe Norheim Cultural steps with quotes from Peer Gynt Henrik Ibsen by Håkon Anton Fagerås Henrik Ibsen’s home in 1843 Burial places of the Ibsen family Henrik Ibsen’s home from 1835 to 1843 Henrik Ibsen left Skien aboard Lykkens prøve in 1843

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1850: the first Ibsen play to be staged: The Burial Mound at Christiania Theater

1864: is awarded a stipend and leaves Norway, staying abroad for 27 years

1835: the Ibsen family move to Venstøp

1851: moves to Bergen to become a stage director

1843: the family move to Snipetorp

1858: marries Suzannah Thoresen

1866: makes his breakthrough with the play Brand, and receives a writer’s salary for life from the Norwegian parliament

1843: Henrik leaves Skien for Grimstad 1849: publishes his first play, Catilina 1850: moves to Oslo to matriculate

1859: their son Sigurd is born 1861: publishes the poem Terje Vigen 1862: is awarded a stipend and sets out on a journey in the Norwegian mountains

1867: publishes Peer Gynt, completed in Sorrento 1879: publishes A Doll’s House, completed in Sorrento/Amalfi

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1891: moves to Christiania, modern-day Oslo 1894: publishes Little Eyolf 1899: When We Dead Awaken is to be Henrik Ibsen’s last play 1900: suffers his first stroke 1906: dies on 23 May 1906: is buried on 1 June in the Memorial Ground at Our Saviour`s cemetery in Oslo

1884: publishes The Wild Duck

SKIEN KOMMUNE Kulturkontoret

www.telemarkmuseum.no

ww w.skien.kommune.no

Layout: Reklamehuset Wera 2015 - 86020

1828: born 20 March in the Stockmann Building in the centre of Skien

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Henrik Ibsen