Best for
History-curious travellers, families, anyone tracing how Gjøvik's glass industry shaped the town
Time needed
1–1.5 hours
Worth it?
Yes in summer — the best single window into Gjøvik's founding story
Skip if
You're visiting outside the June–August guided-tour season
About Gjøvik Gård (Mjøsmuseet)
Gjøvik Gård is where the town of Gjøvik effectively begins. It was built in 1804 by the architect and glassworks founder Caspar Kauffeldt, and when Kauffeldt's family established Gjøvigs Glasværk here in 1807, the estate became the industrial and social anchor around which the rest of the town grew — Gjøvik wasn't formally chartered as a town until 1861, more than half a century after this house was already standing.
The manor house itself was given protected heritage status in 2008 and is now run as a museum by Mjøsmuseet, with guided tours through interiors that recreate the domestic life of the Mjøen family, who lived here between 1861 and 1956. Rather than a static period-room display, the tours lean on the personalities who actually lived in the house, which keeps a modest manor visit from feeling generic.
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The grounds are the other half of the appeal: a genuinely pretty park with mature trees, a children's playground (Frukthagen), and a small permanent glass exhibition tracing the history of Gjøvigs Glasværk (1807–1843), the short-lived but locally significant glassworks that put Gjøvik on the map before it was even a town. In the manor's garage sits one of the world's oldest still-functioning electric cars — an unexpected detail worth asking the guide about.
The catch, and it's an important one for planning: Gjøvik Gård runs on a strictly seasonal, weekend-weighted schedule. Full guided-tour access is essentially a summer-only proposition, so this isn't a place to show up to on a whim in October and expect the doors open.
What to See: Highlights
- 1Manor house built 1804 by Caspar Kauffeldt, founder of Gjøvik's glassworks and, effectively, the town itself
- 2Guided tours through the Mjøen family's 1861–1956 domestic interiors
- 3Small permanent exhibition on the historic Gjøvigs Glasværk (1807–1843)
- 4One of the world's oldest working electric cars, kept in the manor's garage
- 5Parkland grounds with mature trees and a children's playground
- 6Free Saturday 'Toner på tunet' outdoor concerts in summer
Insider Tips
Tours run Wed–Sun at noon in summer only — there's no year-round daily access
Under-18s go free, which makes this an easy add-on for families already in town
Ask the guide about the electric car in the garage — it's easy to miss without prompting
Pair with a walk through the park even outside tour hours; the grounds have a relaxed, local feel
Drengestua café on site is a good lunch stop between this and Kauffeldtgården
Getting There
Niels Ødegaardsgate 3-7, 2815 Gjøvik
Open in Google Maps →- 110-minute walk from Gjøvik stasjon (train station) through the town centre. Street parking available nearby.
Where to stay
Hotels in Gjøvik
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know before you visit.
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Should You Visit?
Visit if...
- You're visiting Gjøvik between late June and mid-August
- You want the clearest local explanation of why Gjøvik exists as a town at all
- You enjoy manor houses and period interiors without big crowds
- You're combining it with the other Mjøsmuseet sites (Eiktunet, Kauffeldtgården) in one day
Skip if...
- You're visiting outside the summer season — the house is effectively closed
- You've already seen several similar Norwegian manor-house museums and want something different
- You have only a couple of hours and Skibladner or the Fjellhall matter more to you
More to See in Gjøvik
Eiktunet Open-Air Museum
A hillside village of 33 relocated 18th- and 19th-century farm buildings above Gjøvik, with sweeping views over Lake Mjøsa — grounds are open around the clock, interiors only during scheduled events.
Kauffeldtgården
A protected early-1800s townhouse in central Gjøvik, built by the town's founding glassworks family and now a compact gallery space run by the local history and art societies.
DS Skibladner
The world's oldest paddle steamer still in scheduled service — a genuine 1856-built lake ferry sailing Mjøsa between Gjøvik, Hamar, Lillehammer and Eidsvoll, but strictly a summer-only affair.