You’re probably wondering now how this Cultural Treasure has been cared for and recreated with such enthusiasm and integrity.

The Olsen family has lived in Hvitsten for several generations. Petter Olsen ran around here as a child, and in 1966 he received Ramme as a gift from his parents. Even as a young boy, Petter showed an interest in garden art, and as a young man in the 1960s and 1970s he was an early environmental activist and committed nature conservationist. His first project was to save the old orchard, and then he restored the original buildings. Unfortunately, the main house was in extremely poor condition, and he followed the recommendation to demolish it in 1975. The lands at Ramme were farmed organically from 1989 to 2025, with a focus on animal welfare and rare species.

Petter’s great interest in history, older architecture, and cultural heritage is clearly reflected in his quality-conscious development of the cultural destination Ramme. The 1980s marked the beginning of the magnificent Havlyst Park— a Baroque complex that today comprises 16 decares of developed parkland with statues, rare plants, and an outdoor amphitheatre for concerts and performances. The Olsen family had been close friends with Munch, had faith in his art, and supported it by buying several paintings during their time together in Hvitsten. In 2010, he was able to purchase Villa Munch and renovate it back to the time of Munch, following a thorough color and building archaeology survey in 2013. Here you can stay in 4 suites and live life as in the days of the Bohemians.

On 2 May 2012, Petter Olsen sold his privately owned version of “The Scream”—a pastel from 1895 that was at the time a world record for art sold at auction. This enabled Petter to further develop the Cultural Destination with Ramme Fjord Hotel—a luxurious coach house with 42 rooms furnished with antiques, art, and a contemporary aesthetic. On the grounds you’ll also find a fantastic gallery, a historic carriage house, a restaurant and bar in the spectacular tower, and the welcoming oasis with a farm shop and café. Petter Olsen’s MOTHER, Henriette, was even painted by Munch in 1932, and you can see two of the three paintings in our gallery here at Ramme. We also exhibit the original dress she wore when she was painted. In this audio guide, you’ll see a photo of Petter Olsen with his mother’s paintings in the background. For the exhibition “Munch by the Fjord” in the autumn of 2021, we were fortunate enough to have the third painting of his mother, as well as other important works from Munch’s time at Ramme, loaned in.

We would like to thank the Ramme Foundation for Art, Culture and Nature, with art historian Margrethe Lømo at the helm, for all the work involved in collecting information and images so that it is possible to convey this important cultural heritage at Ramme. The Sparebank Foundation has provided funding for the establishment of the cultural trail, which is also sponsored by Vestby Municipality. We hope you’ve had a pleasant visit to Villa Munch, and please feel free to ask our staff if you’d like to know anything more. Have a great day ahead =)