Petter Olsen took over Ramme Gård in 1966 at the age of 18. Over several decades, he transformed the estate into a spectacular garden and organic farm. The cultural destination of Ramme will continue in Olsen’s spirit, though his life’s work was sold to Kristian Siem in the fall of 2024. Learn more about Ramme Gård : A magical estate near Hvitsten.
In addition to the park and farming operations, the idyllic property features art exhibitions, a hotel, greenhouses, and cafés. Nedre Ramme Gård was once owned by the renowned artist Edvard Munch. The house and garden have been recently restored to their former glory. The final major project before the sale of Olsen’s life’s work was Villa Munch.
Munch’s old house has undergone extensive renovations both inside and out. The artist owned the Swiss-style villa from 1910 to 1944. In the lemon-yellow room, Munch reportedly slept best, famously saying, “My yellow room is the best bedroom in the world; it’s the only place where I have peace.”
2 & 3. The facade of the newly restored Villa Munch. The house is painted light yellow with green window frames.
When Munch purchased the property, complete with a year-round house built in 1890, he sought tranquility and fresh air to aid his recovery from a nervous breakdown a few years prior. He envisioned a peaceful haven where he could paint year-round, grow fruits and vegetables in the summer, and cool off in the sea on warm days. It was also at Nedre Ramme that he found the inspiration for his Aula decorations at the University of Oslo.
The lemon-yellow room on the first floor retains its vibrant color, as it was in Munch’s time. Thorough analyses of the original walls revealed the exact hues. Munch had a eye for unconventional colors, which stood out even during his era.
Petter Olsen acquired Nedre Ramme in 2010.
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You might also like to read A Travel Guide to All the Places Edvard Munch Lived and Loved
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Munch’s Legacy Lives on at Nedre Ramme Gård
Villa Munch’s guide, Camilla Augusta Søhoel, originally trained as an actress, has been leading tours at Ramme Gård for years. She also teaches yoga, often outdoors when the weather permits.
Camilla highlights that, apart from Munch, another significant figure at Nedre Ramme was his housekeeper, Ingeborg Kaurin. Initially hired to maintain the house and garden, she also became Munch’s model. He portrayed her in various everyday scenes, such as picking apples in the orchard. Ingeborg Kaurin was Munch’s most-painted model between 1911 and 1915.
In the painting Under the Red Apples, created between 1913 and 1915, Ingeborg is depicted in the orchard below the main house. Dressed in a white dress with “rosy apple cheeks,” she contrasts with the male figure—likely Munch himself—who appears thin and passive. Copies of Munch’s paintings created at Ramme Gård are displayed around Villa Munch to show visitors the artist’s sources of inspiration.
“We, the staff at Ramme Gård, feel deeply connected to nature,” says Camilla. She believes Munch shared this connection.
It was at Nedre Ramme that Munch painted sketches for The Sun and Alma Mater, which adorn the walls of the University of Oslo’s Aula. The ridges in these paintings are thought to be the same ones visible from Nedre Ramme, near Moss. According to Camilla, the maternal figure in Alma Mater may have been modeled after Ingeborg’s mother, Karin Borgen. Both Ingeborg and her mother worked at Ramme Gård, preparing preserves and juice during the fall harvest.
“I think Munch found peace at Ramme,” Camilla muses. “Here, he likely felt deeply connected to the earth and sea on this blue planet.”
Munch was also drawn to Eastern wisdom and philosophy. Camilla believes living at Nedre Ramme revitalized him. Even then, a rural lifestyle was a counter-reaction to urban industrialism.
“Munch enjoyed life by the fjord, where he tanned, walked barefoot, and listened to the waves. It was therapeutic for him,” she adds.
Between 4 and 5 a.m., the summer light at Nedre Ramme is spectacular, painting the rocky shoreline with pink hues. This same pink tone can be seen in the skin tones of the women sunbathing in Munch’s paintings created here. The artist was also a close friend of Petter Olsen’s parents, completing a portrait of them in 1932. Olsen’s great-grandfather, a shipowner, purchased Ramme Gård in 1857.
Today, Munch’s house at Nedre Ramme can be rented by guests. Accommodating up to four couples with private rooms and en-suite bathrooms, the estate offers catered meals and suits celebrations or tranquil retreats just over an hour’s drive from Oslo.
“At Ramme Gård, we embrace open-mindedness and non-judgment. We want visitors to experience magical nature and enjoy organic, clean food,” Camilla explains.
Petter Olsen’s Life Work
Ramme Farm is a unique cultural destination. Havlyst Park, spanning 33 acres, was initiated in 1981 and stands as its centerpiece. The park resembles a fairytale landscape with different garden rooms, pathways, and bridges. The sound of water from streams, ponds, canals, and fountains adds to its charm.
Petter Olsen, who inherited Ramme Farm in 1966, showed an early interest in garden art. Since the 1970s, he has been an avid conservationist and environmental activist. Since 1989, the farm has operated organically.
Olsen, who grew up in a family passionate about gardening, has worked to preserve an old orchard from the early 1800s and restore a garden established at Ramme Farm in the 1920s. Numerous experts have contributed to developing the garden, including Roger Green from England, who designed an open-air theater, water channels, fountains, and garden zones. Plant expert Tommy Aanby and renowned English garden designer Rosemary Verey, who left her mark on Ramme in the 1990s, have also played key roles.
At Ramme Farm, Petter Olsen realized his vision of promoting green values and inspiring through art to reach a broader audience. Olsen himself was the creative force behind the cultural site, with Havlyst Park named to evoke the meanings of “having desire” and “light” while also referencing the sea (hav) and gardens (hage). Over the years, Ramme Farm has been developed into a fairytale-like reality.
Petter Olsen has invested a significant portion of his fortune, which he primarily inherited, into developing Ramme Gård. When he sold the painting The Scream in 2012, it was to secure more financial resources to further his visions and make Ramme accessible to a larger audience. The Scream was sold for 850 million NOK. Olsen described The Scream as a warning about humanity’s impact on nature and the irreversible changes we are inflicting on the planet. In this context, he made the following statement in May 2012, after Munch’s artwork was sold at Sotheby’s in New York:
“I hope that the attention brought by this sale will increase public interest in Munch’s work and awareness of the important message I believe it conveys. For me, The Scream depicts the terrifying moment when humanity realizes its impact on nature and the irreversible changes it has initiated, making the planet increasingly uninhabitable. The image of The Scream may help more of us understand the extent of the consequences of our continued greenhouse gas emissions. These will inevitably trigger uncontrollable feedback mechanisms latent in nature’s physics. They will begin slowly, then accelerate, leading to the overheating of the Earth. The biosphere will shrink, and there will be less oxygen, water, and food. More death, less life. And very few lifeboats left when we go down.
Munch’s most significant work, The Frieze of Life, never completed but existing in many versions, revolves around themes of love, anxiety, and death. The Scream is about the approaching anxiety and foreshadows death. Munch’s hand-painted poem on the frame concludes with the words: ‘The great scream in nature.’ It is as if Munch had a premonition of what humanity would inflict upon nature. Meanwhile, Munch will continue to be a powerful force in my life. With my own Munch project, I aim to focus on life and love.”
Challenges and Legacy
In the autumn of 2024, news of Petter Olsen’s bankruptcy emerged, partly due to the tax authorities’ refusal to grant a VAT deduction of NOK 236 million for developing Ramme Farm as a cultural site. Total creditor claims amount to NOK 778 million (according to Dagens Næringsliv, November 15, 2024).
Developing Ramme Farm as a private owner without state support has been costly, but it has also inspired a broad audience to understand organic farming, garden art, and world-class art. Olsen spent NOK 1.75 billion on developing Ramme Farm. He could have kept it as private property but chose to share it with the public, offering deeper insights into one of Norway’s greatest painters, Edvard Munch, and his work at Ramme.
Recently, in November 2024, financier Kristian Siem purchased Olsen’s estate, including Ramme in Hvitsten, Ramme Hotel, the art collection, and Olsen’s childhood home, Langveis in Bærum. Siem plans to establish a sustainable operation for Ramme Farm to ensure continued public access for inspiration and recreation.
Petter Olsen has made an unforgettable contribution to giving nature a voice through organic farming at Ramme Farm. He also preserved Munch’s legacy by restoring Villa Munch. Though the challenges of being a visionary in Norway are evident, Olsen has left a lasting impact with his bold and forward-thinking visions for protecting the earth and providing cultural inspiration.
Facts about Ramme Gård
- Location:
Ramme Gård is situated by the Oslofjord, approximately 40 kilometers from Oslo, near Hvitsten. - History:
◦ The estate was originally purchased as a summer retreat by Fredrik C. Olsen, one of the three brothers who founded the Olsen shipping company in 1849.
◦ Edvard Munch owned the lower Ramme Gård from 1910 to 1944, drawing inspiration for several of his renowned artworks.
◦ Between 1875 and 1891, the estate was owned by Hans Pettersen, a relative of the Olsen family, who built the Swiss-style house Petersminde, now known as Villa Munch.
◦ Petter Olsen took over Ramme Gård in 1966.
- Today’s Ramme Gård:
◦ A unique cultural destination featuring a hotel, art gallery, organic farming operations, outdoor theater, sculpture park, greenhouses, cafés, and restaurants.
◦ Havlystparken, initiated in the 1980s, is a 33-acre baroque garden with rare plants, water channels, and an amphitheater.
- Organic Farming:
Agricultural operations have been organic since 1989, emphasizing sustainable farming and natural care. - Cultural Significance:
Ramme Gård is a site for recreation, inspiration, and art, offering visitors an immersive experience into Edvard Munch’s creative universe and Petter Olsen’s vision of blending environmental preservation with culture.
Anne Marit Muri Ramme Gård: A Magical Estate Near Hvitsten, Text and photos © Anne Marit Muri. Muri is a former editor of, among others, Magasinet Kunst, and has written reports on art and culture for a number of years.
She is the author and initiator of the book, Kunstnerliv, portraits of 19 contemporary artists, which was published in 2018, voted the year’s most beautiful art book in 2019 by Grafill. She is also the author of the book, Det gåtefulle lyset, Svalbard, which was published in autumn 2022, by the publisher Utenfor Allfarvei in Harstad.
Muri is educated at the University of Oslo and Bergen. She is currently working on a master’s degree in media development, under the auspices of Oslo Met, in addition to developing new book projects and is a writer for several magazines. She is a regular writer on fine arts, culture and lifestyle for Daily Scandinavian.