Telemark Museum Brekkeparken was founded in Skien, Telemark in 1909. Prior to 1 January 1998 it was called the County Museum for Telemark and Grenland.

The park and museum are based on the Søndre Brekke Mansion. This was the winter home of Cabinet Minister Niels Aall, one of Norway’s richest men in the 19th century, who lived here from 1810 to 1830. The museum has restored the ground floor back to its golden years when Aall lived here. The fashion at that time was called Empire style and was a very symmetrical style inspired by Greek and Roman culture.

Here visitors can be guided in Norwegian, English or German and learn about the life of the rich and the poor, about royal visits through uneasy times, and get to know the stories about the resident ghost and a lot of other exciting and interesting facts. The first floors currently being restored too.

The museum has a unique collection of traditional handicrafts from all over Telemark, and a large selection of furniture and artefacts from the 18th and 19th century city culture. It also has several special displays showing Skien’s history, the cultural history of Telemark, an upper-class home from the early 19th century, a working-class home from the early 20th century, a collection of old wagons, a church exhibition, a toy exhibition and many temporary displays. How about a little stroll in the museum’s indoor street and have a look at the old-fashioned bookshop, barber’s shop, dentist’s, pharmacy and photo shop? You will find most of the exhibitions in the north, south, west and east wings connected to the mansion.

Today the park is also an outdoor museum of 40,000m² where visitors may have a look at very old houses from all over Telemark. Here there is a large collection of old farmhouses, barns, storehouses on pillars and lofts. Take a look at the houses the Vikings used to live in and see how the living habits have changed through time. Learn the 'peculiar' truth about the people of Telemark, their superstitions and way of life, and look at the beautiful handicrafts they made. A guided tour of these houses will take approximately 45 minutes, and it is a tour recommended to everybody. It is really good combined with the big Telemark exhibition of national costumes and handicrafts, highlighting the difference in the lifestyle of the people who lived in Western Telemark compared to those who lived in the East.

The outdoor museum is a beautiful park that is always in bloom. Here visitors will find a playground for children, fun winding paths, a pavilion, arbour and a duck pond with a romantic bridge. The idyllic park was originally built in 1815 in English landscape style. Brekkeparken won a prize in 2002 for 'the greenest park in Norway', and in 2004 and 2005 it won a prize in open class for 'the blossoming Grenland'.

There is also a nice and cosy restaurant here, with a great view over Skien.