Travel back in time

The smell of money In the 13th century ,merchants from Northeren Germany sailed into the harbour of Bergen and settled down.They were known as Hanseatics and came to Bergen to trade grain for stochfish from norhtern Norway.Bergen rapidly became an important part of the  comprehensive Hanseatic network streching from London in England to Nowogorad in RussiaThe city of Bergen is now almost one thousands years with half that period dominated by the the Hansaatics.Without them the city would not be the same today.The first photoes are The house of Fløubanen(The lower terminus, which is situated two minutes walk from Bryggen and the Vågen harbour in the city centre, at an elevation of 18 m (59 ft) above mean sea level. The terminal platforms are in tunnel and connected to the street level station building by an underground corridor. From here, the line runs in roughly hewn tunnel as  far as Promsgate.In 1895 The line was modelled after other funicular railways in Germany, There are always long queues to travel with Fløybanen. This year, Bergen has shut down all traffic in the city center. Motorists must drive outside the city. It is really nice to be able to see all attractions without disruptive traffic. There is also little pollution.

The Hanseatics merchants left centuries ago an are no longer part of the hive of activities at Bryggen
But a stroll around the harbour and the beautiful Schøtstuene will still however provide you with a feeling of the atmosphere back then.Walkingtrough the narrow pasagesways is like travelling back in time.If you listen carefully you can imagine the sound of young men speaking low German,the rumble of the barrels being rolled down  the allyes and the squeak of trolley wheels loaded with stockfish
From rats nest to world heritage
The fact that we have been able to preserve so many buildings at Bryggen was not a given after the fire in 1702,the worst history of Bergen.The Hanseatic merchants reerected the bulidings to their original state.Bryggen became Grade one listened in 1927,but rat set in and Bryggen was popular described as rats nest.After the most buildings were damaged by a new fire in 1955,only fourth of Bryggen remained standing.Many belive however,that this saved the place.After the fire extensive archeologist started to which awakened the interest of the history of Bryggen and Bergen.In 1979 it was included on Unescoes World Heritage.It remains under treat The foundations are rotting and the buildings are sinking.The restoration will last to 2025

You are now standing on Historic Ground
The hanseatic merchants imposed a strick regulations on the use of open flame in the wharf buildings.Guards were posted day and night to make sure Bryggen was safe.They had one of the most important jobs during the Hanseatic period.With the Hanseatics dominating trade from Bryggen for more then 500 years there was a bound to be a lot of mutual influence between the mercahnts and the people of Bergen.Not only did tthe merchants bring goods to trade ,they also brought art ,new fashion  and a different language. It is often said that the Scandinavians are not able to utter a sentence without using a German word.The dialect in Bergen featress humerous expressions influenced by  the german language. Merchants influence is also evident in many Norwegian medival churches.One of these is St.Marys church(Mariakirken It is thought that the 15th century winged altarpiece in the church was made in Northern Germany.Many say it is the most beautiful in Norway.I will come back to the church later .

Power and culture ..The end of an era..And a new beginning...

The new council chamber was built around the years 1300-1315. It was located in the middle of Bryggen, by Nikolaikirkeallmenningen, where the square was also located. The town hall was in use until the 1560s. Christoffer Valkendorf was sheriff of Bergenhus from 1556 to 1560. After Valkendorf arrived in Bergen, several unsolved murders were committed in some of the city's many brothels. Valkendorf had a number of the brothels demolished. He then largely abolished the privileges and monopoly of the Hanseatic League in Bergen. The German craftsmen were forced to comply with Norwegian law and they were given the choice between swearing allegiance to the king or traveling. In 1559, 59 German craftsmen had to travel. In the 1560s, Bergen's center of power was gradually moved from Tyskebryggen to its current location, by Christoffer Valkendorf's former private residence at Rådstuplass, what is today called the old town hall.

There are so many stories to tell from Bergen. One can not include everything in one post. But it is very fun to read history .Where do we come from? Where do we go?
Today, Bergen is still a cultural arena. There are many attractions for the inquisitive. Many museums and historical sites, date back to the Viking Age. The mountains are also a popular place for everyone. The study places are attractive.Bergen is a lively International city. The Bergeners, as they are seen today, is quite similar to all other young people in the world. We are quite similar all together.The difference is when it comes to those who have lived a long life.

It was Sunday I had this trip. I thought it had to go well with a trip since we have little corona infection in the city. There were some tourists, but not many, from Germany, Spain, Poland and the rest of the Norwegian inhabitants such as from Oslo. They were really good especially the travelers from Germany.I was impressed with how good they were at keeping the infection regime.When I got home I saw on the news that there had been more infection in Bergen as the three young ones  had infected hundreds of people.But Bergen are good at finding out where the infection comes from. Today they are all in quarantine and no more infection has been registered. We ,who lives here,all talk about how stupid we Norwegians are. We complain about everyone else abroad but are the worst ourselves. Sometimes we do not know  our own best We.Have to be guided!

ok this was a long post but I was so inspired when I got so many positive comments on my post from the Viking Age. So it was like that! Hope it's okay!

Thank you for watching!

Wish you a happy weekend!