KODE 3 is all about Edvard Munch: overall, the collection here is arguably even better than Oslo's Munch Museum. The rooms are fabulously intimate: highlights include several pieces from his Frieze of Life – a series of paintings depicting various aspects of the psyche – namely Jealousy, Melancholy, Women in Three Stages, Evening on Karl Johan and By the Death Bed.
The core of the collection was amassed by Rasmus Meyer, a local businessman and philanthropist, was among the first significant collectors of Munch’s art, securing major works from all of his artistic periods. The 1924 building was designed by Ole Landmark and purpose-built to house Meyer’s extraordinary gift.
Elsewhere around the museum, works from 18th- and 19th-century Norwegian painters such as JC Dahl, Harriet Backer, Erik Werenskiold and Gerhard Munthe are interesting as well as atmospheric, as are the complete rooms of strange and wonderful historical interiors from the Bergen area.
Guided tours in English of the Munch rooms happen on Saturdays and Sundays at noon in July and August, and are free with your entrance ticket.