Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum
Specialty Museum · Decorah, Iowa
The national Norwegian-American museum, founded in 1877 in the small north-eastern Iowa town of Decorah and holding over thirty-three thousand artifacts — one of the most extensive collections of Norwegian-American material in the world. Alongside the main building is Heritage Park, twelve historic buildings assembled from 1921 onward, which was the first open-air museum of its kind in the United States. It also runs one of the few serious folk-art schools in America, teaching rosemaling, woodcarving, knifemaking and weaving.
502 West Water Street, Decorah, Iowa, 52101, United States
Admission is typically about $12-$15 for an adult with reductions for students and children, and members go free. ⚠ CHECK OPENING DAYS AND SEASON BEFORE TRAVELLING — this is a small-town museum whose opening varies through the year. ⚠ HERITAGE PARK, THE TWELVE HISTORIC BUILDINGS THAT WERE THE FIRST OPEN-AIR MUSEUM OF ITS KIND IN THE UNITED STATES, IS GENERALLY STAFFED AND OPEN ONLY IN THE WARMER MONTHS and is locked outside that — a winter visit is the indoor galleries only, which is half the museum. Guided tours of Heritage Park run seasonally and are the only way into those buildings. Folk-art classes in rosemaling, woodcarving, knifemaking and weaving are booked separately and well in advance. Free parking. Nordic Fest in July fills the town.
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