Bryggen (''the dock''), also known as Tyskebryggen (, ''the German dock''), is a series of

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

heritage commercial buildings lining up the eastern side of the Vågen harbour in the city of

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Bryggen has been on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

list for World Cultural Heritage sites since 1979. The city of Bergen was founded around 1070 within the boundaries of Tyskebryggen. Around 1350 a ''

Kontor A ''kontor'' (also Kontor; ) was a major foreign trading post of the Hanseatic League. Kontors were legal entities established in a foreign city (i.e. a city that did not belong to the Hanseatic League), with a degree of legal autonomy. Most kon ...

'' of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

was established there, and Tyskebryggen became the centre of the Hanseatic commercial activities in Norway. Today, Bryggen houses museums, shops, restaurants and pubs.

History

Bergen was established before 1070 AD.Bergen – historie
/ref> In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the Bryggen area encompassed all buildings between the sea and the ''Stretet'' ('' Øvregaten'') road, from Holmen in the north to Vågsbunnen in the south.Bryggen i Bergen
/ref> According to the

Saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

s, the city was founded within this area. One of the earliest pier constructions has been dated to around 1100, and the existing buildings are of a much later date, with only Schøtstuene and some buildings towards Julehuset being originals from 1702. Around 1350, a Kontor of the

was established in Bryggen. As the town developed into an important trading centre, the wharfs were improved and the buildings of Bryggen were gradually taken over by the Hanseatic merchants. The warehouses were used to store goods, particularly stockfish from northern Norway, and

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In 1702, the buildings belonging to the Hanseatic League were damaged by fire.Det tyske kontor
he German ''kontor''/ref> They were rebuilt, and some of these were later demolished, and some were destroyed by fire. In 1754, the operations of the office at Bryggen ended, when all the properties were transferred to Norwegian citizens. Throughout history, Bergen has experienced many fires, since most of its houses were traditionally made from wood. This was also the case for Bryggen, and as of today around a quarter were built after 1702, when the older wharfside warehouses and administrative buildings burned down. The rest predominantly consists of younger structures, although there are some stone cellars that date back to the 15th century. Parts of Bryggen were again destroyed in a fire in 1955. A thirteen-year archaeological excavation followed, revealing the day-to-day runic inscriptions known as the

Bryggen inscriptions The Bryggen inscriptions are a find of some 670 medieval runic inscriptions on wood (mostly pine) and bone found since 1955 at '' Bryggen'' and its surroundings in Bergen, Norway. It has been called the most important runic find in the twentieth c ...

. The Bryggen museum was built in 1976 on part of the site cleared by the fire.

Architectural heritage

Bryggen was listed as a UNESCO

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Site in 1979, by Criterion (iii): Notable houses at Bryggen include Bellgården (a 300-year-old building), Svensgården, Enhjørningsgården, Bredsgården, Bugården, Engelgården. The oldest and tallest building in the area is St Mary's Church. Streets include Jacobsfjorden.Velkommen som kremmer - Det kommer ingen ridder i skinnende rustning for å redde Bryggen. Du må redde den selv.
elcome as a shopkeeper - No knight in shining armour will come to save Bryggen. You must save it yourself./ref> Museums include Bryggens Museum and Hanseatic Museum and Schøtstuene.

Gallery

Norwegian national day at Bryggen with Ulriken in the horizon.jpg, Norwegian national day on Bryggen, 2018 NO-bergen-bryggen-02.jpg, Bryggen, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 114.jpg, Norway Bergen Bryggen Night Panorama.jpg, Bryggen by night Bryggen, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 118-121 PAN.jpg, Panorama

References

{{Neighbourhoods of Bergen Buildings and structures in Bergen World Heritage Sites in Norway Trading posts of the Hanseatic League Tourist attractions in Bergen 18th-century architecture Articles containing video clips