Lepramuseet

Lepramuseet is a museum housed in a former hospital in Bergen, occupying nine protected buildings with original furnishings and medical equipment from the treatment facility. The rooms show how the hospital was organized and operated as a care center until 1946.

This facility was founded in the 1400s and was one of three leprosy hospitals in Bergen. It housed the largest concentration of leprosy cases in Europe during the 1850s to 1900, before closing its medical operations in 1946.

The museum displays how patients lived and were cared for over centuries, with personal objects and records that show daily life in the hospital. The preserved rooms give visitors a sense of the social conditions and medical practices of that era.

The museum is open from May to September with guided tours available through the nine buildings. The site is accessible to visitors with average mobility, though some paths between the historic structures may be uneven.

A scientist named Gerhard Armauer Hansen identified the leprosy bacterium here in 1873, transforming understanding of the disease worldwide. The condition is now named after him in many countries as Hansen's disease.

Location: Bergen Municipality

Inception: 1856

Operator: Bymuseet i Bergen

Part of: Bergen City Museum

Phone: +48162678

Email: lepramuseet@bymuseet.no

Website: https://bymuseet.no/?vis=80

GPS coordinates: 60.39144,5.33262

Latest update: December 8, 2025 19:50