The Ole Bull Academy is the national centre for Norwegian folk music and folk dance, founded in 1977 and named for the nineteenth-century virtuoso violinist who did more than anyone to introduce Norwegian folk music to international audiences. It functions as a small college rather than a museum, but during term the academy runs public concerts most weeks — Hardanger fiddle, langeleik, traditional voice — and the evening programmes during the summer Vossajazz and Osafestivalen seasons are well worth catching.
If you can time a visit to coincide with a concert, do. Hearing a Hardanger fiddle played live in the room it was meant to be played in is a different experience from any recording. The academy also runs occasional open-house days where visitors can try the instruments.