Nygårdsparken is a public

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

located in the city centre 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 ...

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

county,

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 ...

. It is located between the neighbourhoods of Nygård and

Møhlenpris Møhlenpris (formerly Vestre Sydnes) is a neighbourhood in the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is next to the Puddefjorden in the borough of Bergenhus Bergenhus is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway ...

. Covering , Nygårdsparken is the largest

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

in Bergen.

History

Nygårdsparken was conceived by the physicians Joachim Georg Wiesener and Klaus Hanssen, who founded the Park Association of Nygaard (''Nygaards Parkselskab'') in 1880. Modeled on the typical

English park English Park is a football (soccer), football stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the home stadium of Canterbury United, which competes in the ASB Premiership, as well as Western AFC which currently compete in the Mainland Premier League. ...

, it was laid out by the Danish gardener S. Lund Leiberg. In 1898, the "Bergen exhibition" changed the park into an exhibition area. With a ticket costing 50

øre Øre (plural ''øre'', , ) is the centesimal subdivision of the Danish and Norwegian krone. The Faroese division is called the ''oyra'', but is equal in value to the Danish coin. Before their discontinuation, the corresponding divisions of the ...

you could visit a small

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

and a botanical garden, study objects from

Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

's polar expeditions, and take the elevator to the top of Wisbech & Meinich's "Panorama tower with electric elevator". A lift attendant in uniform was in charge of what was most likely the first elevator in Bergen. Norway's first elevator was namely produced in the same year, in Wisbech's factory in Christiania. Following the uncontrolled expansion of the city in the last half of the 20th century, the population in the city centre fell dramatically. While Nygårdsparken had earlier been within short walking distance of 30,000 to 40,000 people, this was no longer the case. As a result, the interest in the park fell, leading to a lack of maintenance. Eventually,

drug addicts Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, lacking better places to stay, began using the park for their purposes. Nygårdsparken evolved into the main drug area in Bergen, with sale of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

and other drugs taking place all day and night. The police have been criticised both for not paying attention to the amount of

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

taking place in the park, and for not taking action against

drug dealers The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types ...

or the drug addicts themselves. As part of a plan to increase the

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

capacity in Bergen, the municipality decided in 2007 to build seven temporary kindergartens in Bergen, including one in Nygårdsparken, with a total capacity of 550 children. In August 2014, the northern part of Nygårdsparken was closed. After extensive rehabilitation of roads and vegetation as well as the construction of a pavilion with a cafe, the first construction stage at the new Nygårdsparken was reopened on 9 September 2017. The drug scene moved to other parts of the city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nygardsparken Parks in Bergen Urban decay in Norway