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Strandgaten is a street in the city centre of
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, west of the bay of Vågen. It starts at Torgallmenningen and follows the eastern shore of the
Nordnes Nordnes is a peninsula and neighbourhood in the city centre of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. Vågen, Byfjorden, and Puddefjorden surround the peninsula. The Bergen Aquarium is located at the tip of the peninsula. The Norwegian Institut ...
peninsula to Tidemands gate, where it becomes Nordnesgaten. The easternmost quarter of Strandgaten is a regular two-way street, while it is an eastbound
one-way street One-way traffic (or uni-directional traffic) is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction. One-way streets typical ...
between Tollbodallmenningen and Holbergsallmenningen, and between Østre Murallmenningen and
Torgallmenningen Torgallmenningen, Torgalmenningen, or Torvallmenningen, is the main square of Bergen, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and ...
. Between Holbergsallmenningen and Østre Murallmenningen the street is pedestrianised. In total, Strandgaten is approximately 1.2 km long.


History

The street was officially named "Strandgaten" in 1857, although it had gone by that name for a very long time prior to this. During the 12th century, the area around the eastern part of Strandgaten changed from a rural area dominated by
Munkeliv Abbey Munkeliv Abbey ( no, Munkeliv kloster) was a Benedictine abbey located at Nordnes in Bergen, Norway. It was one of the oldest monasteries in Norway, and also one of the wealthiest and best-documented. There are no visible remains today. Histo ...
and St. John's Priory, to a centre for trade of goods. After one of the many great fires that throughout the centuries have ravaged Bergen destroyed the easternmost part of Strandgaten in 1561, Erik Rosenkrantz, governor of
Bergenhus len Bergenhus len was an administrative division of the Kingdom of Norway that existed from 1503 to 1662, with the Bergenhus Fortress in Bergen as its administrative center Norwegian administrative division. The ''len'' was changed to an ''amt'' (distr ...
, ordered the creation of a broad street (an "allmenning") which would prevent future fires from spreading. Torgallmenningen (formerly Vågsallmenningen), Vetrlidsallmenningen, Korskirkeallmenningen, and many other streets in the old part of Bergen were created for the same reason. The street, formerly known as "Rosenkrantz' allmenning", is now known as "Murallmenningen". The origin of the name is the personal residence of Rosenkrantz, which he built there shortly after the fire. This building, known as "Muren" or "Murhvelvingen", has been used for a number of different purposes throughout history, and is currently home to the
Buekorps Museum The Buekorps Museum (''Buekorpsmuseet'') is a museum in Bergen, Norway. It is dedicated to the traditional neighborhood youth marching organization, Buekorps Buekorps (; literally "Bow Corps" or "Archery Brigade") are traditional marching nei ...
. The area between Torgallmenningen and Østre Murallmenningen was destroyed in the
Bergen fire of 1916 The Bergen fire of 1916 was an urban fire that took place on January 15 and 16, 1916 and burned many of the buildings in Bergen, Norway. Except for the buildings on ''Rådstuplassen'' (City Hall Square), all of the buildings in Bergen's center di ...
. The reconstruction plans included a new street layout, which better conformed to the ideals of the era, rather than those of 1756, when the area had last burned. The streets were straightened and widened. Strandgaten was no exception; its eastern end was moved southwards, while its western end was moved northwards. Smørsallmenningen, a street which had intersected Strandgaten, was removed. The Jewish community in Bergen consisted of around 60 persons in the years before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, who in total owned six retail stores in Strandgaten. Because of the deportation of the Jews only one store remained after the war, and with new owners. During the war, British bombers destroyed many of the wooden houses on Nordnes. On 20 April 1944, the German steam trawler ''
Voorbode The Dutch steam trawler ''Voorbode'' was a fishing vessel, until it was confiscated by the Germans during World War II and used for military transport. In April 1944, it was on its way from Oslo to Kirkenes when it had mechanical problems, f ...
'', loaded with dynamite, exploded in Vågen, and destroyed the area around Tollboden and
Nykirken Nykirken (literally: "The new church") is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Nordnes area of the city of Bergen. It is one of the churches for the Bergen Cathedral paris ...
, as well as a large number of houses in the surrounding neighbourhoods and on the other side of the bay. The war was followed by a period of reconstruction and re-purposing. There were plans to tear down several of the old neighbourhoods in central Bergen, including Marken and most of the neighbourhoods on the Nordnes peninsula, including Strandgaten west of Østre Murallmenningen. The plans were abandoned by the city government in 1974. However, the north-eastern part of the Nordnes peninsula, including about half of Strandgaten, which had been the most damaged during World War II, was cleared out and the ruins and remaining buildings were replaced with large apartment buildings. The stretch of Strandgaten between Murallmenningen and Hobergsallmenningen, was spared. It was pedestrianised in 1971, and is now known as "Gågaten", literally "the walking street".


Buildings

The easternmost part of Strandgaten was completely destroyed in the fire of 1916. Before the fire most of the area's buildings were small, with two or three floors. The post-fire buildings, constructed between 1919 and 1939, were large commercial buildings with upwards of 6 floors. Many different
architectural styles An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closel ...
are represented among the buildings in this part of Strandgaten, ranging from the Neo-baroque Svaneapoteket (Strandgaten 6 and 8), which, having been finished in 1920, was the first building constructed after the fire, to functionalist buildings, e.g. Strandgaten 20. Many important Bergen architects designed buildings in this part of Strandgaten, including
Einar Oscar Schou Einar Oscar Schou ( 4 June 1877 - 28 December 1966) was a Norwegian architect. He is most noted for his design of Den Nationale Scene in Bergen, Norway. Background Einar Oscar Schou was born in Kristiania, Norway. He studied at the Royal Drawin ...
, who had also designed
Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene ( en, National Theater) is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has root ...
,
Finn Berner The word Finn (''pl.'' Finns) usually refers to a member of the majority Balto-Finnic ethnic group of Finland, or to a person from Finland. Finn may also refer to: Places * Finn Lake, Minnesota, United States * Finn Township, Logan County, Nort ...
(the building on the corner with
Torgallmenningen Torgallmenningen, Torgalmenningen, or Torvallmenningen, is the main square of Bergen, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and ...
, which was his design),
Fredrik Arnesen Fredrik is a masculine Germanic given name derived from the German name ''Friedrich'' or Friederich, from the Old High German ''fridu'' meaning "peace" and ''rîhhi'' meaning "ruler" or "power". It is the common form of Frederick in Norway, Finlan ...
and
Arthur Darre Kaarbø Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
, Sigurd Lunde,
Ingolf Danielsen Ingolf is a masculine given name, that has its roots in Germanic mythology. The first part "Ing" refers to the germanic god Yngvi, the second part means "wolf". It may refer to: *Count Ingolf of Rosenborg (born 1940), member of the Danish royal f ...
,
Leif Grung Leif Kuhnle Grung (27 December 1894 – 2 October 1945) was a Norwegian architect. He was among the leading architects in Bergen during the 1920s and 1930s. Background Leif Grung was born in Bergen. He was from a family of Norwegian archi ...
, and
Per Grieg Per is a Latin preposition which means "through" or "for each", as in per capita. Per or PER may also refer to: Places * IOC country code for Peru * Pér, a village in Hungary * Chapman code for Perthshire, historic county in Scotland Math ...
. The pedestrianised section has mainly smaller buildings with 2-4 floors, built before the 20th century. Significant buildings include Strandgaten 59, the former building of Sundt & Co, today located at Torgallmenningenn, and Tetingsalen (Strandgaten 53), a former
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...
,
public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
,
concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that m ...
,
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
, and today retail store. The western half of Strandgaten, west of Holbergsallmenningen, was rebuilt after World War II. The church of Nykirken is located here, one of the few buildings on the north-eastern shore of the Nordnes peninsula to have been preserved. The home of
Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
's family, where he grew up, was located in this part of Strandgaten, but it was destroyed when the steam trawler ''Voorbode'' exploded in 1944. The ruins of
Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...
's childhood home were, too, located by Strandgaten, until they were removed in 1985. Near the northern end of the street are the main offices of the
Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries ( no, Fiskeridirektoratet) is a Norwegian government agency. On 1 January 2014 it was incorporated into the new Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries formerly under the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal ...
.


Commerce

Strandgaten is one of the busiest shopping streets in Bergen.Alt URL
/ref> The pedestrianised section has a number of smaller shops, but has also seen the establishing of several chain stores, while the easternmost section is home to the shopping centre Kløverhuset, founded in 1988, and various Norwegian and international chain stores.


References

{{coord, 60.3958, 5.3173, display=title Geography of Bergen Streets in Norway