Museet Lysøen (Lysøen Island and Ole Bull's house)

Museet Lysøen (Lysøen Island and Ole Bull's house) Review

From 1873 onward, Lysøen ("island of light") was the home of the Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Bull (1810-80). His over-the-top mansion has an onion dome, gingerbread gables, curved staircases, and cutwork trim, and it's surrounded by 13 km (8 miles) of pathways created by Bull; it's great for picnics, rowing, and swimming in secluded spots. During Bull's long career, he performed frequently throughout Europe and the United States, and even started a short-lived utopian colony—Oleana—in Pennsylvania. After founding the first national theater in Norway, he chose the young playwright Henrik Ibsen to write full-time for the theater, and later encouraged and promoted another neophyte—Edvard Grieg, then 15 years old.