Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Molde Travel Association,
Storgata 1
(
&
71-25-71-33;
www.visitmolde.com), will provide tourist information and
assist in arranging excursions. From June 15 to August 15, it's open Monday to
Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 4pm, and Sunday 10am to 3pm. In the
off season, it's open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 3:30pm.
SPECIAL EVENTS
The preeminent event on the Molde calendar is its inter-
national
Jazz Festival
sponsored around the middle of July and attended by
some 60,000 fans. The major open-air concerts are held near the Roms-
dalsmuseet, although many indoor venues are used as well, including the Idret-
tenshus or Sports Hall. For more information, contact the
Molde International
Jazz Festival,
Box 271, N-6401 (
&
71-21-60-00;
www.moldejazz.no). Tickets,
costing from 100NOK to 580NOK ($14-$82) for seats, are available through
BilletService
at
&
81-53-31-33.
SEEING THE SIGHTS
The view of the 87 peaks of the
Romsdal Alps
is worth the trip to Molde.
The most scenic and most dramatic peaks are the
Romsdalshorn
at 1,559m
(5,115 ft.) and the
Troll Tinder
at 1,905m (6,250 ft.). The best vantage point
for all of this wonder is the
Belvedere Varden,
rising 396m (1,300 ft.) over
Molde. Visitors can take a taxi up and ask the driver to wait for 20 minutes or
so while you absorb the view. An alternative way for the more athletic is to walk
up a marked trail from the center. We prefer this climb to a taxi. Allow about an
hour of huffing and puffing to reach the top. Once there, you should be able to
take in the island-studded Romsdalfjord as well as the peaks.
Molde Domkirke
In the heart of town near Torget, Molde Cathedral, cre-
ated by architect Finn Bryn in 1957, is the largest postwar cathedral in Norway
and the third church to rise on this site. The old altarpiece,
Resurrection
by Axel
Ender, is from the church that the Nazis bombed in April 1940 when they
learned that the king was escaping from Molde. As the bombs were falling, a
local patriot ripped out the painting with a knife and managed to save it from
the Nazi fire.
Kirkebaken 2.
&
71-11-14-60.
Free admission. Daily 10am-3:30pm.
Rådhuset (Town Hall)
This 1966 Town Hall, near Torget, is a well-con-
ceived municipal building of concrete and glass.
The Rose Maiden
fountain cel-
ebrates Molde as the “town of roses.” Marble floors and stone walls blend
harmoniously, and domes and skylights capture the northern lights. The roof
terrace has a garden with 2,000 roses.
Rådhusplassen.
&
71-11-10-00.
Free admission. Mon-Fri 8am-4:30pm.
Memories of the Literati
Today the famous
Moldegård
house, Fannestrandveien 40, lying 1km (
1
⁄
2
mile) east of Molde, is privately owned and can only be viewed from the
outside. It was the main house of the original Molde farm, built in 1710
by Hans Nobel. Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who wrote Norway's national
anthem, among other poems, often visited here, taking his last trip to
Moldegård in 1907. The cottage's more famous association is with Henrik
Ibsen, who lived here in 1885 and used this beautiful rococo building for
the setting of one of his best-known plays,
Rosmersholm.
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