Borgarsyssel Museum, located next to the Borregaard factory and Sarpsfossen, Sarpsborg’s famous waterfall, is the largest open-air museum in Østfold. Centered around the ruins of St Nicholas Church, a medieval church dating back to 1115, the museum has a collection of over 30 buildings from all over the county, as well as artefacts and exhibits from the Stone Age to the present day. These include, among others, silver and faience from Herrebø stoneware factory in Halden, and Østfold’s largest collection of high seat panels, displayed in the Østfold Gallery. The Sørnes Clock, one of the world’s most technically advanced astronomical clocks, in also on display here. The buildings themselves range from a 18th century courtyard (complete with dwellings, stable, cowshed, barn, storehouse, oats house and smithy) and crofter’s house to the bourgeois home of a chief local judge. You can also see how industrial workers employed at the nearby factory and their families lived until as recently as the 1950s, and visit the St Olof Chapel, the reconstruction of a medieval church based on three existing churches in the district. There are children’s activities in summer, and a glass blowing studio on site.
The museum is open Tues-Fri 10-16, Sat-Sun 12-17 from 1 June to 31 Aug. Free entrance to the museum, access to collections and guided tour (on the hour every hour) is 40Kr. Times vary outside peak season. Gamlebygaten 8, Sarpsborg. Telefon: 69 11 56 50, www.ostfoldmuseet.no
More info on the Sørnes Clock at www.elusivemoose.eu/2009/12/17/