Ludvig Wang’s room
At the end of the cell corridor on the first floor, you can visit Ludvig Wang’s room, the man who managed to escape from the criminal asylum. His room has been recreated according to photographs of Ludvig in his room.
Here you can explore the room. Unfortunately, it is not translated. Almost no objects are originals. This means you can touch and explore his life in this room.
Ludvig’s life was not easy. At 23 years old he was arrested for the murder of an older woman at Gardemoen (the area where Oslo’s main airport is located today). After a short period at Akershus prison, he was examined by the prison doctor and declared “unfit for punishment”. We have no modern diagnosis for Ludvig’s condition, but we know he was too ill to remain in prison, and too dangerous for an ordinary insane asylum. He therefore ended up at Trondheim’s criminal asylum.
After some time, he became a well liked and trusted patient. Images of his room show us how he was allowed to furnish and decorate according to his interests. He was also allowed to attend church meetings with an accompanying orderly. It was during one of these outings in 1927 that he managed to slip away.
After reading newspaper articles about how the police were hunting for a dangerous insane criminal, he decided to write several letters for publication to the local newspapers. In these he taunts the police, declares that he is not dangerous and writes poetry. He was eventually caught.
He lived inside institutions for 66 years. He became a well known town original, playing Santa on the city square and voicing Captain Blue-beard on the radio.
In 2020 the museum made a podcast about his escape. A Norwegian transcription can be found here. More photos of Ludvig can be seen here.