Welcome to Bergen Norway!

Bergen is considered the Gateway to the Fjords of Norway. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage City and a European City of Culture. The Bergen region has the ideal combination of nature, culture and exciting urban life all year around.

According to tradition, the city was founded in 1070 by King Olav Kyrre and was named Bjørgvin, 'the green meadow among the mountains'. It served as Norway's capital in the 13th century, and from the end of the 13th century became a bureau city of the Hanseatic League.

Until 1789, Bergen enjoyed exclusive rights to mediate trade between Northern Norway and abroad and it was the largest city in Norway until the 1830s when it was overtaken by the capital, Christiania (now known as Oslo).

Trading in Bergen may have started as early as the 1020s. The Hanseatic merchants came to Bergen for stockfish (dried cod), a product high in demand in many European countries. From the early 14th century, the Hanseatic merchants dominated the stockfish trade, exchanging grain from Europe for the fish. Bergen rapidly became an important part of the comprehensive Hanseatic network, stretching from London in England to Novgorod in Russia.

From around 1600, the Hanseatic dominance of the city's trade gradually declined in favor of Norwegian merchants (often of Hanseatic ancestry).

The very first buildings in Bergen were situated at Bryggen, which has been a vibrant and important area of the city for many centuries. Bryggen has been ravaged by many fires and the great fire of 1702 was the worst. It reduced the whole of the city to ashes. The area was rebuilt on the foundations that had been there since the 12th century, which means that Bryggen is basically unchanged despite the passing centuries. Bryggen today is a World Heritage Site and is one of Bergen's and Norway's main attractions.

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