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Bergen is a city with one of Norway’s most beautiful locations in the rich and vast nature of the Norwegian West Coast. The city is the center of the most famous part og the great Norwegian fjord area, and it is well-visited as both a city break destination as a stop at the many cruises visiting the region.
Bergen is an old and historically interesting city that was once the capital of Norway. Until the railroad was opened in 1909, and before the major roadworks came into being, citizens used the water as a transport route. It is clearly visible in the city, which faces the water, and as such Bergen has fine museums in i.e. fishing and shipping.
The city center of Bergen offers many cozy and beautifully laid out squares, old streets and alleys with wooden houses, which are like taken from an idyllic history book. It is just about exploring the cozy city center, which in several places is located down to the waterfront with Bryggen as the best known place.
The charming wooden buildings, old churches and of course the famous houses at Bryggen are some of the things to see, and you should also walk through the Nordnes neighborhood, just minutes from the city center it is almost like a beautiful village with many wooden houses. With the funicular Fløibanen, it is even possible in a few minutes to get up to an impression of Bergen’s wonderful location from above. From there you can see the entire city center and the waterway towards the Atlantic.
The coastal region is, like Bergen itself, characterized by very beautiful scenery, and among the many places to see on trips out of town, you can combine a train and sailing trip to the city of Flåm for enjoying the scenic fjords.
Bergen Cathedral is one of the few that has survived all the city’s fires since the Middle Ages. The lower parts of the church are the oldest and originate from the long church, which was built from around 1150. The church measures 60.5 meters in length and 20.5 meters in width. It is dedicated to Olav the Holy and is therefore also called Olav’s Church.
In the 1640s, the cathedral with the western tower got its current exterior form. Before then, most of the building had burned in the 1460s, and it was only after a status as a cathedral from 1537 that the partial ruin was finally rebuilt.
In the tower’s wall sits a cannon ball. It originates from the Battle of Bergen Bay, which took place in Bergen’s harbor in 1665 between English and Dutch ships.
The Stenersen Collection is part of the Bergen Art Museum, which contains modern art from the 20th century. Among other things, the museum has Northern Europe’s largest collection of Paul Klee works as well as several well-known works by Pablo Picasso. The collection also provides a good insight into Norwegian modernist art.
The museum was founded after Rolf Stenersen’s donation of his art collection to Bergen Municipality in 1971. The museum opened in 1978, and the most distinctive feature of the building is the alternation between closed and open spaces that overlook the beautiful natural surroundings.
The Fløibanen is Scandinavia’s only funicular (cable car), and it departs from the center of Bergen to the top of Fløibjerget, which is 320 meters high.
The track was opened in 1918 after over three years of construction work. It is 844 meters long and the gradients are between 15 and 26 degrees. The current wagons are from 2002.
The trip takes 8 minutes and there are three stops on the way between the end stations Vetrlidsalmenning and Fløyen. From the top there is an exceptionally beautiful view of the center of Bergen and large parts of the surrounding sea and mountain area.
Bryggen is Bergen’s famous harbor quay, which consists of a series of old wooden merchant’s houses built from 1702 in North German style, with the gables facing Vågen. The merchant farms were active trading houses run by the many German merchants who were responsible for the fish trade.
In 1360, the German Hanseatic League opened an office in Bergen, and it developed from then on. Fish was shipped out, and goods from Europe also came to Norway.
The current houses are replacements for the original ones that had burned. In 1955, a section of Bryggen burned down, but this section was quickly rebuilt with mainly wooden houses; which, among other things, contains the Bryggens Museum. In total, the most interesting part of Bryggen consists of 61 listed buildings, and the site is on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.
Bryggen’s promenade is one of the city’s most visited places with a particularly cozy atmosphere. Many activities take place here in addition to the regular shops and eateries.
The Bergenhus fortress was built in the 13th century and is today one of the oldest and best-preserved historical defense installations in Norway. In the Middle Ages, the place was called Holmen, and it was King Øystein Magnusson who moved the royal seat here in the 12th century. In the 13th century, a ring wall was built around Holmen’s wooden buildings, and that was the beginning of the fortress.
Holmen fell into disrepair in the late Middle Ages, but was made a military area in 1514, and in the following years the site was expanded. After the union with Denmark, Copenhagen became the capital instead of Bergen, but the royal court and thereby Bergen continued as the administrative center of western Norway. In 1660, Bergenhus was turned into a pure fortress. Around the year 1700, the plant had its greatest spread. Parts of the former defense area have been separated, but there is still military use of Bergenhus.
The most interesting buildings are Håkonshallen and Magnus Lagabøte’s Kastel, which is now part of the Rosenkrantz tower. Both buildings have been preserved from the Middle Ages.
Håkonshallen is a royal banquet hall that was first used in 1261 to host the wedding of King Håkon Håkonsson’s son Magnus (Lagabøte). Today, the hall is used, among other things, as representation rooms. Rosenkrantztårnet was built by Erik Rosenkrantz in the 1560s as a residence and defence. Built into the tower is Magnus Lagabøte’s Kastel, which is a smaller part of the fortress from the year 1270.
Since 1276, market trading in Bergen has been regulated and relegated to central squares. In 1558, the square was located at this place by Vågen, as many fish were landed here from the city’s cutters.
On the square, for centuries it was primarily fish that was traded. Today, Fisketorvet is one of Norway’s most exciting outdoor markets, where you can buy fruit, flowers, souvenirs and, of course, a rich selection of fish, for which the city is famous.
In the middle of the square you will find the Minebøssen, which is a sea mine on a plinth with a bronze relief, made by the artist Sofus Madsen from Bergen. It is a memorial to sailors who lost their lives in the First World War.
With the great trade that has always characterized Bergen, it was natural that there was a stock exchange in the city. For a number of years the stock exchange had been located in a smaller building on Bryggen, but in the mid-19th century the need for larger facilities increased, and an actual stock exchange building was planned.
Bergen Børs built the stock exchange building in the years 1861-1862 according to Franz Wilhelm Schiertz’s drawings. Originally the house had a flat roof, but a roof was added in the 1890s.
Bergen’s stock exchange building is particularly known for the beautiful hall Frescohallen, which is decorated with murals of scenes from Bergen’s rich commercial life. The paintings were done by the artist Axel Revold in 1921-1923. The paintings can be seen on three walls, each with its own theme.
The walls are called the Nordlandsveggen, the Bergensveggen and the Worldsveggen, and they represent respectively fishing in Lofoten, production and sales in and from Bergen and various work situations on ships and in agriculture.
The Børsbygingen is no longer used as a stock exchange, and after having been set up as a bank for a number of years, Bergen’s tourist information is now located in the interesting building.
On the square Rådstuplassen is one of Bergen’s significant historic residential buildings. In 1558, sheriff Christoffer Valkendorf had the house built as his residence, and many of the building materials came from All Saints’ Church, which had been located here in the area. The house was one of the noblest to be built in Renaissance Bergen.
After a few years, Valkendorf’s residence became the meeting place for the town magistrate, and as early as 1568 the building was donated to the town, which furnished a council chamber, meeting hall, court and detention center on the site.
The building’s temporary end as a town hall came after several fires which affected the city and the building. After the extensive fire in 1702, almost only the walls remained, but it was restored. It took until 1885 before the building got its current appearance after a major restoration.
The building still houses Bergen’s city council. Since 1837, it has been at this address that the city council of the western Norwegian city has held its meetings.
The Cross Church from 1181 has survived as Bergen Cathedral since the Middle Ages, but the appearance of the current church building is primarily the result of construction in the Renaissance style in the 17th century, where a portal with King Christian IV’s monogram was also added.
Today, the Cross Church is used by the deaconess foundation Kirkens Bymisjon, which carries out various social work.
Stadsporten is a city gate that was built 1628-1645 as a fortified building at the only access road from the south to Bergen. Back then, there were earthen ramparts on both sides of the gate that were part of the city’s defenses.
In 1740, the city gate was defensively upgraded with a moat, palisades, drawbridge and additional fortifications. The gate’s current appearance came about in 1792, when the building was completed.
Today, traffic is directed around the gate building, but the atmospheric passage is preserved in the city gate. The gate is no longer the only access road from the south; Stadsporten lost this status in 1851 with the opening of Nygårdsbroen.
Bergen Art Museum is one of the largest museums in the Nordics, and exhibits art from the 15th century to the present day. The museum is arranged in three different buildings, which are located next to each other on the street Rasmus Meyers Allé.
The art museum consists of the Lysverket, where you can go through the history of art from 15th-century Russian icons to old masters in the Renaissance, Baroque and neoclassicism to contemporary art, the Rasmus Meyers Collection with, among other things, paintings by Edvard Munch and the Stenersen Collection, which exhibits modern art.
The Festplassen is Bergen’s very beautifully landscaped central square, and it is a good starting point for a walk around the octagonal lake Lille Lungegårdsvann, to which, among other things, the buildings of the Bergen Art Museum lie.
The square is also a good place to enjoy Bergen’s encircling mountains, on which characteristic brightly colored wooden houses have been built.
In 1825, the Bergen Museum was founded with the aim of establishing collections within cultural and natural history. In connection with the collection, considerable academic work was carried out, and the museum became a precursor to the establishment of the city’s university in 1946.
The museum area consists of the main building, which was completed in 1865, the cultural history museum building from 1927 and Bergen’s former botanical garden from 1897-1899, which is located between the two museum buildings.
In front of the area, on the square Muséplass, you can see a statue of one of the museum’s founders, Parliament President Wilhelm Koren Christie.
Bergen’s National Theater was first established in 1850 with the composer and violinist Ole Bull as the initiator. For financial reasons, operations were closed in 1863, but following great local demand, the institution was restarted in 1876.
In the following decades, they wanted to have a new theater built, and in 1906 King Haakon laid the foundation stone for the current theater building, which opened in 1909 with the production of Ludvig Holberg’s play Erasmus Montanus. Since 1993, the theater has had the status of a national stage.
Nordnes is a cozy neighborhood located on the peninsula between Vågen and Puddefjorden. In the district’s cobbled streets, there are many old wooden houses that exude a genuine Norwegian atmosphere. The area with the steep streets on both sides of Haugeveien/Klostergaten is particularly worth seeing.
In the Nordnes quarter, you can see the beautiful Nykirken, which was originally built in 1622 on the remains of Bergen’s old archbishop’s court. The farm had lain dormant since the Reformation in the 16th century without being able to be sold, and therefore the king decided to set aside the site for a new church.
In the period 1850-1880, Norway developed one of the world’s largest merchant fleets – a position that has been maintained ever since. Due to its location, Bergen has always developed with the sea as its focal point, so opening a maritime museum here was only natural. It happened in 1927, but the current museum building dates from 1962.
The museum works scientifically to document Norwegian maritime history. The excellent exhibition depicts the development of shipping from the very beginning to today’s modern transport. Here are, among other things, models of Viking ships found during the excavations in the 1960s and 1970s and other ship history objects from many centuries.
The Hanseatic Museum is housed in one of Bergen’s best-preserved older buildings. The house was built in 1704 as an office and residence for a German merchant. In 1350-1750, it was German merchants who ran the dry fish trade from Bergen’s trading houses, and the museum building, where the original interior of the house has been preserved, gives a very good impression of the Hanseatic life.
The museum for the German merchants of this time was opened in 1872, and there are two trading rooms; a lake room and a country room.
St. Mary’s Church from the 12th century is Bergen’s oldest preserved building, which is, of course, well preserved in its original style. The church is one of Norway’s finest buildings in the Romanesque style, but there are also later Gothic additions, a beautiful baroque pulpit and a very finely preserved altarpiece from the Middle Ages.
The church has survived the many fires in the city since 1248. The towers are also original, but repaired in 1248. Maria’s church was owned by the Hanseatic merchants from 1408 to 1766, and until 1906 services were held here in German.
At Bergen’s National Fisheries Museum, the exhibition is about the exploitation of the sea’s resources and the history of Norwegian fishing through the ages.
There is a special focus on the past 150 years, and the museum shows the natural basis of fishing, fisheries management, historical fishing gear and various ship models. Here is also an overview of the production of dried fish and many fish species.
Ulriksbanen is a cable car that leads to the top of Bergen’s highest mountain, Ulriken, which reaches a height of 642 meters. From here there is a very beautiful panoramic view of both the city of Bergen and the surrounding area with the seven fjords and seven mountains, in the middle of which Bergen is founded.
The trip to the cable car itself is usually started in the charming double-decker buses that run from Torget in the center of Bergen.
Gamle Bergen is a beautifully constructed open-air museum that contains more than 40 wooden houses that represent Bergen throughout the 1700s and 1900s. Inside, the houses are decorated in the style of the 1700s and 1900s, so when you visit, you take a trip back to historic Bergen in every way.
The place gives a fantastic impression of life in a small town, its homes, shops, workshops, etc., and it is not only representative of Bergen, but also of other Norwegian towns from that time.
Fantoft Stave Church is a beautiful and typical Norwegian stave church. It dates from around 1150, when it was erected in its original position in the town of Fortun by the Sognefjord.
The church was demolished in 1879 and sold to consul F. Gade, who rebuilt it in the Bergen suburb of Fantoft in 1883. In 1992, the church burned to the ground, but it was rebuilt in the original style and using the historical construction methods, which however had not been in use for several centuries. The church could be rededicated in 1997.
Outside the church there is a cross from around the year 1000. Before the church was built, the cross was the religious gathering place, and it comes from the town of Tjora in Rogaland County.
Villa Troldhaugen was the composer Edvard and Nina Grieg’s home for 22 years. The house was built in 1885 in Victorian style with a richly decorated porch, cornices and the tower on which Nina Grieg had a kitchen garden.
Edvard Grieg was very conscious of the choice of the interior of the house, and this can give an impression of the inspiration with which he composed his works. In Minderummet, the former kitchen, there is an exhibition with the main emphasis on Grieg’s connection to Norwegian cultural life.
The so-called Komponisthytten was built by Edvard Grieg in order to have more peace for his work. The cabin is from 1891 and from here there is a beautiful view over Nordåsvandet. It was here that Grieg composed some of his most lyrical works.
In the area you can also see the place where Edvard and Nina Grieg are buried. The modern exhibition building depicting the composer’s life and music is also located in the Troldhaugen area.
One of the things many people visit Western Norway for is the beautiful fjord landscape, which is crowned north of Bergen by the 204 km long Sognefjord, which reaches a depth of 1,308 m between the steep mountains that rise on both sides of the water.
A good and popular way to see the Sognefjord is to go to the town of Myrdal, which is on the railway line between Bergen and Oslo. From here you can take the well-known railway, Flåmsbana, to the town of Flåm, which lies on the southern shore of the fjord. The Flåmsbanen provides a half-hour ride through beautiful landscapes, and you drive from 1,000 to 0 meters altitude.
You can also take a boat trip from Bergen, and this of course gives an excellent impression of the entire fjord landscape seen from the water side. A combination of sailing and train travel is also an option.
Åsane Storsenter
arkensenter.no
Strømgaten 8
bergenstorsenter.no
Torgallmenningen 8
galleriet.com
Vetrelidallmenningen 2
kjottbasaren.no
Strandgaten 15
kloverhuset.com
Krohnåsveien 12
lagunen.no
Folke Bernadottesvei 52
oasen-bergen.no
Torgallmenningen 14
Loddefjordveien 2
vestkanten.no
Småstrandgaten 3
xhibition.no
Bryggen, Øvregaten, Vetrlidsallmenningen, Torget, Vågsallmenningen, Strandkaien, Strandgaten, Torgallmenningen
The aquarium in Bergen
Nordnesbakken 4
akvariet.com
Bergens Sjøfartsmuseum
Haakon Sheteligsplats 15
bsj.uib.no
Fløibanen
Vetrlidsalmenning 21
floibanen.no
Gamle Vossebanen
Garnes, 20 km NE
njk.no/gvb
Universitetsmuseet
Muséplassen 3
bm.uib.no
Ulriken
Ulriken 1, Landaas
ulriken.no
Vestnorske Bergen is one of the oldest cities in the Nordic region, and its history is naturally closely linked to its location by the sea. This is where the Alrekstad royal estate was already dating from the 400s; it was at Årstad, which later developed into Bergen.
From Alrekstad, kings such as Harald Hårfagre, Håkan the Good and Olav Kyrre ruled the Norwegian land, and as such the place was for long periods the country’s center of power. Olav Kyrre was our king in the years 1067-1093, and it was he who officially founded Bergen as a city. This happened when he granted Bergen city rights in 1070.
At this time, Bergen was a small settlement at the harbor, but it developed rapidly and also became a residence city for the Norwegian regents who took shorter stays here.
With its strategically good location, Bergen grew rapidly, and already in the 1100s it was one of the largest cities in the Nordic countries; it remained the largest Norwegian city until about 1830, when Oslo grew past it as a new Norwegian capital.
The 12th century was a century of rapid growth and great development of the city. King Øystein Magnusson ruled 1103-1123, and he moved the residence from Alrekstad to Holmen, where Bergenhus Fortress was later built. The Kongsgården on Holmen became a new political center, and it strengthened Bergen, which also became bishop’s seat when the relics of Saint Sunnivas were moved from Selje Monastery to the Church of Christ in 1170.
The Church of Christ was at this time one of Bergen’s most important buildings and institutions. The church was used by royal diplomacy, and Norwegian coronations also took place here with Magnus Erlingsons in 1164 being the first.
Håkon Håkonson was Norwegian king in the years 1217-1263, and he established Bergenhus Fortress through his construction of walls around the plant. He also let Håkonshallen build as a banquet hall and residence.
In 1233, Håkon Håkonsson’s right to the Norwegian throne was upheld in Bergen by a larger assembly of the country’s leaders, and in 1240 the city was officially proclaimed Norway’s capital instead of Trondhjem. King Håkon Håkonsson lived in Bergen and had his entire court here. He was a popular king, and his long reign was marked by peace and development of the city as one of Northern Europe’s largest trading places.
Håkon’s son Magnus married the Danish princess Ingeborg in 1263, and the same day Magnus was proclaimed new king. It happened in the Håkonshallen, which can still be seen at Bergenhus Fortress.
Permanent German trade relations were already established in Bergen from 1236, and this was something that would influence the development of the following centuries.
The Hanseatic League established itself in Bergen and was first mentioned in 1343. After the granting of trade privileges by the Danish kings, the German merchants quickly gained control of most of the trade in the city. Trade increased, among other things, because the royal power decided that all Norwegian imports and exports should go through Bergen, where there have been trade houses since the 1000s. The main export goods from Bergen and Norway were fish and fur, wood, while imports consisted mainly of food, iron and lucus products.
However, the Middle Ages brought nothing but trade, and Norway was severely affected by the plague. About half of the population perished from the disease, and the country was ruled for many centuries from Denmark and later in union with Sweden.
In 1380, the kingdoms of Norway and Denmark were merged under the Danish crown. The rulers were the Danish kings, and with the capital of Copenhagen in Bergen, Bergen lost some of the political pondus of the past.
Bergen’s regional role remained significant in the new kingdom, and it continued to evolve. People from Northern Territories were required to bring their fishing catches by royal decree to the city’s commercial sites. The working German merchants established themselves on and behind the German quay, which is today simply referred to as the quay.
The power of the Hanseatic League was first broken in 1599 by the feudal Kristoffer Walckendorf. In the years after the association maintained, connections gained and still constituted a significant part of the trade, but it became ever smaller. Around 1630 the former power had lapsed and the Hanseatic League’s end in Bergen became when the last German trading house was sold to Norwegians in 1764.
However, Berg’s role as a trading center was not played out with the German decline. It was Norwegian merchants who took over, and especially the old social elite, over the centuries, built large trading companies.
Fortress Bergenhus had not been used in war throughout its history, but it was changed in the 1600s, when the Second English-Dutch War was fought 1664-1667.
On August 12, 1665, a Dutch fleet fought against an English in the Battle of Bergen Bay, and the Danish-Norwegian troops joined the battle on the Dutch side. This happened when a Dutch fleet with high values on board sought shelter in neutral Bergen. Englishmen attacked, and Bergenhus’ garrison set off against the British, who ended up fleeing the English.
Over time, many extensive fires have devastated Bergen. In 1170, the first known fire destroyed part of Bryggen, and new fires occurred in 1248, 1393, 1428, 1429, 1476 and 1623. The largest fire hit the town in 1702, with about 90% of the city lost to the flames.
It was some time before the city was rebuilt, but already in 1756 a new fire ravaged. It was a fire on the beach, and it destroyed about 1,500 buildings in the otherwise quite active Bergen, where trade continued to be the focal point of the central port.
Throughout the 19th century, Bergen experienced a great cultural recovery. Some of today’s great artists such as Ole Bull and Edvard Grieg lived and worked in the area. The Norwegian theater was built and the first public library opened. The city’s population increased explosively during this boom; from 17,000 in 1855 to 103,000 in 1920.
In 1905, Norway became independent, which naturally created new development and new opportunities and needs in the country and its major cities. A railway was constructed for Bergen, which in a completely new way integrated the coastal city with not least the capital Oslo.
In 1916 there was again a big fire in Bergen. This time, more than 400 houses were destroyed and over 4,000 of the city’s inhabitants became homeless. The city was rebuilt, but it took just over two decades before new hardship emerged.
On April 9, Denmark and Norway were occupied by Germany in connection with Operation Weserübung, and with it the German cruisers Königsberg and Cologne arrived in Bergen with about 1,900 soldiers. The Fort Kvarven in Laksevåg at the entrance to Bergen shot at the Germans, but they were quickly overcome, and the Kvarven, like Bergen, occupied the rest of the war. On April 20, 1944, a major explosion with loss of life and values occurred in Bergen, and in October of that year a British bombardment hit Salmon Watch with many killed civilians as a result. Germany was conquered in 1945, and Bergen and Norway became free again.
In the latter half of the 20th century, oil was increasingly drilled for and found in the Norwegian subsurface in the seas, and this gave Bergen a significant positive economic development, which affected welfare, industry and trade.
Today, Bergen remains one of Norway’s centers for the oil industry, shipping and fisheries, but the city has also evolved into a power center for oceanographic research and environmental studies.
Bergen, Norway[/caption]
Overview of Bergen
Bergen is a city with one of Norway’s most beautiful locations in the rich and vast nature of the Norwegian West Coast. The city is the center of the most famous part og the great Norwegian fjord area, and it is well-visited as both a city break destination as a stop at the many cruises visiting the region.
Bergen is an old and historically interesting city that was once the capital of Norway. Until the railroad was opened in 1909, and before the major roadworks came into being, citizens used the water as a transport route. It is clearly visible in the city, which faces the water, and as such Bergen has fine museums in i.e. fishing and shipping.
The city center of Bergen offers many cozy and beautifully laid out squares, old streets and alleys with wooden houses, which are like taken from an idyllic history book. It is just about exploring the cozy city center, which in several places is located down to the waterfront with Bryggen as the best known place.
About the Whitehorse travel guide
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Language: English
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Since 1276, market trading in Bergen has been regulated and relegated to central squares. In 1558, the square was located at this place by Vågen, as many fish were landed here from the city’s cutters.
On the square, for centuries it was primarily fish that was traded. Today, Fisketorvet is one of Norway’s most exciting outdoor markets, where you can buy fruit, flowers, souvenirs and, of course, a rich selection of fish, for which the city is famous.
In the middle of the square you will find the Minebøssen, which is a sea mine on a plinth with a bronze relief, made by the artist Sofus Madsen from Bergen. It is a memorial to sailors who lost their lives in the First World War.
With the great trade that has always characterized Bergen, it was natural that there was a stock exchange in the city. For a number of years the stock exchange had been located in a smaller building on Bryggen, but in the mid-19th century the need for larger facilities increased, and an actual stock exchange building was planned.
Bergen Børs built the stock exchange building in the years 1861-1862 according to Franz Wilhelm Schiertz’s drawings. Originally the house had a flat roof, but a roof was added in the 1890s.
Bergen’s stock exchange building is particularly known for the beautiful hall Frescohallen, which is decorated with murals of scenes from Bergen’s rich commercial life. The paintings were done by the artist Axel Revold in 1921-1923. The paintings can be seen on three walls, each with its own theme.
The walls are called the Nordlandsveggen, the Bergensveggen and the Worldsveggen, and they represent respectively fishing in Lofoten, production and sales in and from Bergen and various work situations on ships and in agriculture.
The Børsbygingen is no longer used as a stock exchange, and after having been set up as a bank for a number of years, Bergen’s tourist information is now located in the interesting building.
On the square Rådstuplassen is one of Bergen’s significant historic residential buildings. In 1558, sheriff Christoffer Valkendorf had the house built as his residence, and many of the building materials came from All Saints’ Church, which had been located here in the area. The house was one of the noblest to be built in Renaissance Bergen.
After a few years, Valkendorf’s residence became the meeting place for the town magistrate, and as early as 1568 the building was donated to the town, which furnished a council chamber, meeting hall, court and detention center on the site.
The building’s temporary end as a town hall came after several fires which affected the city and the building. After the extensive fire in 1702, almost only the walls remained, but it was restored. It took until 1885 before the building got its current appearance after a major restoration.
The building still houses Bergen’s city council. Since 1837, it has been at this address that the city council of the western Norwegian city has held its meetings.
The Cross Church from 1181 has survived as Bergen Cathedral since the Middle Ages, but the appearance of the current church building is primarily the result of construction in the Renaissance style in the 17th century, where a portal with King Christian IV’s monogram was also added.
Today, the Cross Church is used by the deaconess foundation Kirkens Bymisjon, which carries out various social work.
Stadsporten is a city gate that was built 1628-1645 as a fortified building at the only access road from the south to Bergen. Back then, there were earthen ramparts on both sides of the gate that were part of the city’s defenses.
In 1740, the city gate was defensively upgraded with a moat, palisades, drawbridge and additional fortifications. The gate’s current appearance came about in 1792, when the building was completed.
Today, traffic is directed around the gate building, but the atmospheric passage is preserved in the city gate. The gate is no longer the only access road from the south; Stadsporten lost this status in 1851 with the opening of Nygårdsbroen.
Bergen Art Museum is one of the largest museums in the Nordics, and exhibits art from the 15th century to the present day. The museum is arranged in three different buildings, which are located next to each other on the street Rasmus Meyers Allé.
The art museum consists of the Lysverket, where you can go through the history of art from 15th-century Russian icons to old masters in the Renaissance, Baroque and neoclassicism to contemporary art, the Rasmus Meyers Collection with, among other things, paintings by Edvard Munch and the Stenersen Collection, which exhibits modern art.
The Festplassen is Bergen’s very beautifully landscaped central square, and it is a good starting point for a walk around the octagonal lake Lille Lungegårdsvann, to which, among other things, the buildings of the Bergen Art Museum lie.
The square is also a good place to enjoy Bergen’s encircling mountains, on which characteristic brightly colored wooden houses have been built.
In 1825, the Bergen Museum was founded with the aim of establishing collections within cultural and natural history. In connection with the collection, considerable academic work was carried out, and the museum became a precursor to the establishment of the city’s university in 1946.
The museum area consists of the main building, which was completed in 1865, the cultural history museum building from 1927 and Bergen’s former botanical garden from 1897-1899, which is located between the two museum buildings.
In front of the area, on the square Muséplass, you can see a statue of one of the museum’s founders, Parliament President Wilhelm Koren Christie.
Bergen’s National Theater was first established in 1850 with the composer and violinist Ole Bull as the initiator. For financial reasons, operations were closed in 1863, but following great local demand, the institution was restarted in 1876.
In the following decades, they wanted to have a new theater built, and in 1906 King Haakon laid the foundation stone for the current theater building, which opened in 1909 with the production of Ludvig Holberg’s play Erasmus Montanus. Since 1993, the theater has had the status of a national stage.
Nordnes is a cozy neighborhood located on the peninsula between Vågen and Puddefjorden. In the district’s cobbled streets, there are many old wooden houses that exude a genuine Norwegian atmosphere. The area with the steep streets on both sides of Haugeveien/Klostergaten is particularly worth seeing.
In the Nordnes quarter, you can see the beautiful Nykirken, which was originally built in 1622 on the remains of Bergen’s old archbishop’s court. The farm had lain dormant since the Reformation in the 16th century without being able to be sold, and therefore the king decided to set aside the site for a new church.
In the period 1850-1880, Norway developed one of the world’s largest merchant fleets – a position that has been maintained ever since. Due to its location, Bergen has always developed with the sea as its focal point, so opening a maritime museum here was only natural. It happened in 1927, but the current museum building dates from 1962.
The museum works scientifically to document Norwegian maritime history. The excellent exhibition depicts the development of shipping from the very beginning to today’s modern transport. Here are, among other things, models of Viking ships found during the excavations in the 1960s and 1970s and other ship history objects from many centuries.
The Hanseatic Museum is housed in one of Bergen’s best-preserved older buildings. The house was built in 1704 as an office and residence for a German merchant. In 1350-1750, it was German merchants who ran the dry fish trade from Bergen’s trading houses, and the museum building, where the original interior of the house has been preserved, gives a very good impression of the Hanseatic life.
The museum for the German merchants of this time was opened in 1872, and there are two trading rooms; a lake room and a country room.
St. Mary’s Church from the 12th century is Bergen’s oldest preserved building, which is, of course, well preserved in its original style. The church is one of Norway’s finest buildings in the Romanesque style, but there are also later Gothic additions, a beautiful baroque pulpit and a very finely preserved altarpiece from the Middle Ages.
The church has survived the many fires in the city since 1248. The towers are also original, but repaired in 1248. Maria’s church was owned by the Hanseatic merchants from 1408 to 1766, and until 1906 services were held here in German.
At Bergen’s National Fisheries Museum, the exhibition is about the exploitation of the sea’s resources and the history of Norwegian fishing through the ages.
There is a special focus on the past 150 years, and the museum shows the natural basis of fishing, fisheries management, historical fishing gear and various ship models. Here is also an overview of the production of dried fish and many fish species.
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