The vicarage garden

A Renaissance garden with historical roots

The Vicarage Garden at Maihaugen is an authentic Renaissance garden, inspired by 18th-century terraced gardens found on vicarages and other estates in Gudbrandsdalen. The garden offers visitors a unique insight into Norwegian garden history and the cultural significance of vicarages in rural Norway.

The model for the Vicarage Garden is the terraced garden from the bailiff's farm Nordre Lunde in Lillehammer, with modest influences from Renaissance gardens in Central Europe. Along the sides of the terraces, you’ll also find elements from the simpler English landscape garden style, where gravel paths meander without the strict symmetry characteristic of terraced gardens.

The Vicarage Garden at Maihaugen combines different types of gardens, including a herb garden, a rose garden, and a utility garden with fruit trees and berry bushes. It is laid out across three terraced levels, connected by a central gravel path with stairs. In the garden, there is also a beautiful sundial and four sculptures representing the seasons. These are replicas of garden sculptures from the judge’s estate Billerud on Toten, originally carved from wood and placed in the garden during special occasions.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, vicars were important innovators, not only in agriculture and traditional animal husbandry but also in food production. Vicarages often kept ducks, doves, and bees. The dovecote and duck house in the Vicarage Garden reflect the different food traditions of officials compared to those of farmers.

At the bottom of the garden, you'll find a charming pavilion, inspired by the historical pavilion from 1810 that still stands in the vicarage garden in Vågå. Additionally, there is a dollhouse relocated from Sygard Storvik in Vågå, and the dovecote was built in 1927, modeled after dovecotes from various official estates in the 19th century. The duck house by Nordre pond also belongs to this historical vicarage setting.

Visit the Vicarage Garden at Maihaugen to experience a piece of Norwegian cultural heritage and learn more about the history behind vicarage gardens and food traditions. It is the perfect destination for anyone interested in garden history, Norwegian culture, and traditional gardening.