Bryggen In Bergen, Norway
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
The World Heritage Site of Bryggen is all that remains of an ancient wharf on the east side of Bergen's central harbor - Vågen. The area was built up again following a fire in 1702 that reduced the city to ashes. Due to fires and urban renewal in our own century, only a quarter of the original structure is left. The buildings are arranged in tenements - long rows of wooden houses and store rooms on one or both sides of a common passage. At the back there are a number of stone buildings said to date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Today Bryggen is a living illustration of the city's history, with 61 protected buildings covering about 13,000 square meters. Bryggen has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1979.
1070 - 1360 Bryggen
Bergen was founded by King Olav Kyrre around 1070. The city's oldest urban development and financial center throughout medieval times was located on Bryggen. The earliest recorded buildings were single-storied post structures, set in parallel rows up from the shore witch in the 11th century lay about 140 meters further inland from today's quay front. As the need for storage space increased, the buildings were extended into the harbor. By the 13th century, Bergen was an important center for European trade, for the kingdom and the church. By this time, Bryggen was a densely built-up area with around 30 "tenements". Commercial sailing vessels from the Faeroes, the British Isles, the Baltic and Continental North Sea ports would lie moored on Vågen in front of the wharfs.
1360-1754The Hanseatic Merchants
Around 1360, a Hanseatic Kontor or trading office was set up on Bryggen in Bergen, as in Novgorod, Brugge and London. For the next four centuries, the Germans dominated life on Bryggen. They based their trade on dried fish exports and grain imports. When the dried fish was brought from North Norway, the wharves and sheds seethed with activity. Counterpoise hoists were used to load and unload cargoes, witch were then provisionally stored in quay side sheds before being taken to the warehouses. The Hanseatic Kontor on Bryggen was a male-dominated community characterized by hard work and strict discipline. The Kontor had its own laws and educational system. Members were not allowed to fraternize with the locals, and especially not with the local women.
Fish dried in North Norway was the country's most important export commodity. The many religious fasts in Europe's Roman Catholic countries ensured a steady demand for stockfish. In turn, Norway depended on grain imported from England and the Baltic countries. Bryggen acted as an entrepot for this trade. Luxuries such as textiles, wines and ceramics were also imported in large quantities. Though most of the buildings on Bryggen were built as ware-houses, they also housed simple offices and living quarters for merchants, journeymen and apprentices. Assembly rooms or schøtstuer were located in the rear of each "tenement", and the men would gather here for meals and recreation. Today Bryggen is the only Hanseatic Kontor still in existence.
1754 - 1899 The Norwegian Kontor
The position of the Hanseatic League in Europe grew weaker during the 16th and 17th centuries as various national governments gained stronger control over their own trade. Norwegian merchants took over the first Hanseatic firms on Bryggen in 1630, and by 1740, only nine firms were left in German hands. Many of the German merchants became citizens of Bergen. On 17 October 1754, the Norwegian Kontor was set up to replace the German Kontor. The old system remained virtually unchanged, with the Norwegian Kontor adopting the HAnseatic regulations and methods of trade and German remained the everyday language. The disbanding of the Norwegian Kontor on 31 December 1899 signalled the end of an old and unique way of trading.
1850 - 1955 Change and decay
After the 1850s, the arrival of the industrial era was also felt on Bryggen. The traditional stockfish trade was gradually replaced by new businesses. The old harbor area soon became unsuited to the requirements of modern and rational transportation and storage of goods. New zoning plans demanded redevelopment. Maintenance was neglected and decay set in. By 1910, the southern part of Bryggen had been torn down and replaced by five-storied brick structures. In 1927, a preservation order was issued for the northern section but the decay continued. In 1944, an explosion in the harbor destroyed large areas of the roofs, and then in 1955, a fire destroyed half the remaining buildings. Bryggen's future was uncertain.
Living history
As you walk through the narrow passages and along the dark covered balconies you are transported back through the centuries, into the dim past of history. But Bryggen is not a museum. It is our living cultural heritage. The area today houses a wide range of shops, artists' studios, craft workshops, restaurants and offices. To the north we find Bryggen Museum (http://www.uib.no/bmu/) with its exhibitions of the rich findings from Bryggen's medieval history. To the south, the Hanseatic Museum (http://www.hanseatisk.museum.no/) enables us to study the living conditions of the Hanseatic merchants. Together with the buildings on Bryggen , they provide a unique insight into life on Bryggen from the Middle Ages to the present.
1070 - 1360 Bryggen
Bergen was founded by King Olav Kyrre around 1070. The city's oldest urban development and financial center throughout medieval times was located on Bryggen. The earliest recorded buildings were single-storied post structures, set in parallel rows up from the shore witch in the 11th century lay about 140 meters further inland from today's quay front. As the need for storage space increased, the buildings were extended into the harbor. By the 13th century, Bergen was an important center for European trade, for the kingdom and the church. By this time, Bryggen was a densely built-up area with around 30 "tenements". Commercial sailing vessels from the Faeroes, the British Isles, the Baltic and Continental North Sea ports would lie moored on Vågen in front of the wharfs.
1360-1754The Hanseatic Merchants
Around 1360, a Hanseatic Kontor or trading office was set up on Bryggen in Bergen, as in Novgorod, Brugge and London. For the next four centuries, the Germans dominated life on Bryggen. They based their trade on dried fish exports and grain imports. When the dried fish was brought from North Norway, the wharves and sheds seethed with activity. Counterpoise hoists were used to load and unload cargoes, witch were then provisionally stored in quay side sheds before being taken to the warehouses. The Hanseatic Kontor on Bryggen was a male-dominated community characterized by hard work and strict discipline. The Kontor had its own laws and educational system. Members were not allowed to fraternize with the locals, and especially not with the local women.
Fish dried in North Norway was the country's most important export commodity. The many religious fasts in Europe's Roman Catholic countries ensured a steady demand for stockfish. In turn, Norway depended on grain imported from England and the Baltic countries. Bryggen acted as an entrepot for this trade. Luxuries such as textiles, wines and ceramics were also imported in large quantities. Though most of the buildings on Bryggen were built as ware-houses, they also housed simple offices and living quarters for merchants, journeymen and apprentices. Assembly rooms or schøtstuer were located in the rear of each "tenement", and the men would gather here for meals and recreation. Today Bryggen is the only Hanseatic Kontor still in existence.
1754 - 1899 The Norwegian Kontor
The position of the Hanseatic League in Europe grew weaker during the 16th and 17th centuries as various national governments gained stronger control over their own trade. Norwegian merchants took over the first Hanseatic firms on Bryggen in 1630, and by 1740, only nine firms were left in German hands. Many of the German merchants became citizens of Bergen. On 17 October 1754, the Norwegian Kontor was set up to replace the German Kontor. The old system remained virtually unchanged, with the Norwegian Kontor adopting the HAnseatic regulations and methods of trade and German remained the everyday language. The disbanding of the Norwegian Kontor on 31 December 1899 signalled the end of an old and unique way of trading.
1850 - 1955 Change and decay
After the 1850s, the arrival of the industrial era was also felt on Bryggen. The traditional stockfish trade was gradually replaced by new businesses. The old harbor area soon became unsuited to the requirements of modern and rational transportation and storage of goods. New zoning plans demanded redevelopment. Maintenance was neglected and decay set in. By 1910, the southern part of Bryggen had been torn down and replaced by five-storied brick structures. In 1927, a preservation order was issued for the northern section but the decay continued. In 1944, an explosion in the harbor destroyed large areas of the roofs, and then in 1955, a fire destroyed half the remaining buildings. Bryggen's future was uncertain.
Living history
As you walk through the narrow passages and along the dark covered balconies you are transported back through the centuries, into the dim past of history. But Bryggen is not a museum. It is our living cultural heritage. The area today houses a wide range of shops, artists' studios, craft workshops, restaurants and offices. To the north we find Bryggen Museum (http://www.uib.no/bmu/) with its exhibitions of the rich findings from Bryggen's medieval history. To the south, the Hanseatic Museum (http://www.hanseatisk.museum.no/) enables us to study the living conditions of the Hanseatic merchants. Together with the buildings on Bryggen , they provide a unique insight into life on Bryggen from the Middle Ages to the present.
