How to visit and what to see in Bryggen, Hanseatic neighborhood in Bergen

Surely when you imagine your trip to the Norwegian Fjords The image comes to mind of a row of houses with colorful facades that make up a very beautiful scene in a sea port.

This is the front of the Bryggen neighborhood, one of the icons of the aforementioned norwegian fjords, which before my recent trip was one of the places I most wanted to see.

And the truth is that many years ago I had already visited Bergen during the return route trip to North Cape…but I didn't remember that image.

The reason was that this visit coincided with a day of very intense rain, something that, I will not hide from you, is quite common in Bergen because it is the city where it rains the most of all Norway.

On this recent occasion, although the forecast was not entirely favorable, the truth is that it did not rain at all, so the weather reconciled me with Bergen and I was able to enjoy said icon image and take dozens of photographs.

From Bryggen tourist attraction You have a preview by looking at the photos that accompany this report.

Why Bryggen is a World Heritage Site

Of its historical interest, you have as a reference the fact that since 1979 this iconic city of the Norwegian fjords has been part of the World Heritage for the Unesco.

El Bryggen's old dock quarter is the exponent of the importance that Bergen city had from the 14th century to the 16th century as an integral part of the so-called Hanseatic League,

Its historical antecedents date back to the end of the 11th century, when Bryggen It became an important trade center on the routes through the North Sea.

What is the Hanseatic League

Three centuries later the aforementioned Hanseatic League, a first germ of what is now the European Union.

It was a commercial and defense alliance that since the 14th century united several cities in northern Germany, the Netherlands and other countries on the banks of the Baltic Sea.

While the Norwegian city of Bergen Initially it was not part of the Hanseatic League, in 1360 German merchants established an office in the port, as happened in other cities such as Witches y London.

Later, over the centuries Bryggen It suffered numerous fires caused by its configuration with houses built with wood.

The commercial presence of the Germans continued until the end of the 2.000th century, so that until then there was a community of up to XNUMX German merchants.

Although until the year 1900 Bryggen It maintained great commercial vigor, in the following years it went into decline and its point of greatest depression was reached coinciding with the last fire it suffered in 1955.

What to see in Bryggen

From then on, this beautiful neighborhood of colorful wooden houses, former headquarters of shops and warehouses, little by little was revitalized again.

Key to this was the arrival of a community of artists and designers that were giving it a new life.

The protection provided by the declaration of Heritage has been the necessary step so that in recent decades Bryggen has become a great tourist attraction,

A good reflection of this boom is that the image of its maritime front, as I have mentioned, has become one of the icons of the Norway fjords.

To the point that they take maximum care of this image, even covering the facades with decorated canvases when they are being restored, as coincided with my last trip and you can see in the photo below.

Nowadays Bryggen It is configured with 62 wooden buildings, all of which were built after the great fire suffered in 1702.

In your walk through the Bryggen neighborhood You will go through narrow alleys and find restaurants and various shops, especially artisans and designers.

En Bryggen You can also visit a museum that shows excavations carried out between 1955 and 1972.

And, likewise, next to the neighborhood you can visit another museum dedicated to the presence of the Hanseatic League in Bergen.

In sum, Bryggen It is that corner that well justifies a trip to the Norwegian Fjords, where you will find those images that you will be looking forward to seeing and which you will not tire of photographing.

Here you have more information about the summer activities in the Norwegian Fjords.

Photos of Bryggen in Bergen

Here you have more photos of the Bryggen neighborhood in Bergen, made during my recent trip to the norwegian fjords.