View source for Bryggen

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{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| image         = Bryggen, Bergen, Noruega, 2019-09-08, DD 115-117 PAN.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| caption       = Bryggen in Bergen, built after 1702
| location      = Bergen Municipality, [[Bergen]], [[Norway]]
| criteria      = {{UNESCO WHS type|(iii)}}(iii)
| ID            = 59
| coordinates   = {{coord|60|23|50|N|5|19|23|E|type:landmark_region:NO-07|display=inline, title}}
| year          = 1979
| area          = {{convert|1.196|ha|sqft|abbr=on}}
| website       = {{url|www.stiftelsenbryggen.no}}
| locmapin      = Norway
| map_caption   = 
}}

'''Bryggen''' (''the dock''), also known as '''Tyskebryggen''' ({{IPA|no|ˈtʏ̀skəˌbrʏɡːn̩|lang}}, ''the German dock''), is a series of [[Hanseatic League|Hanseatic]] heritage commercial buildings lining up the eastern side of the [[Vågen, Bergen|Vågen harbour]] in the city of [[Bergen, Norway|Bergen]], [[Norway]]. Bryggen has been on the [[UNESCO]] 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]]'' of the [[Hanseatic League]] 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.<ref name=snlHistorie>[http://snl.no/Bergen%2Fhistorie Bergen – historie]</ref> In the [[Middle Ages]], the Bryggen area encompassed all buildings between the sea and the ''Stretet'' (''[[Øvregaten]]'') road, from Holmen in the north to Vågsbunnen in the south.<ref name="Bryggen i Bergen">[http://snl.no/Bryggen_i_Bergen Bryggen i Bergen]</ref> According to the [[Saga]]s, the city was founded within this area.<ref name="Bryggen i Bergen"/>

One of the earliest pier constructions has been dated to around 1100,<ref name="Bryggen i Bergen"/> and the existing buildings are of a much later date, with only [[Schøtstuene]] and some buildings towards Julehuset being originals from 1702.<ref name=1702Buildings>{{cite news | url=http://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/-Bryggen-er-mer-enn-bergensere-flest-ser-3178325.html | title=Bryggen er mer enn bergensere flest ser | trans-title=Bryggen is more than most Bergensers can see | lang=no | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205020/http://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/-Bryggen-er-mer-enn-bergensere-flest-ser-3178325.html | archive-date=4 March 2016 | author=Camilla Ahamath | date=16 August 2014 | accessdate=16 July 2023 | newspaper=[[Bergens Tidende]]}}</ref>

Around 1350, a Kontor of the [[Hanseatic League]] was established in Bryggen.<ref name=snlHistorie /><ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/59 Bryggen at whc.unesco.org]. Retrieved 14 June 2016.</ref> 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]] from [[Europe]].

In 1702, the buildings belonging to the Hanseatic League were damaged by fire.<ref name=KontorGerman>[http://snl.no/Det_tyske_kontor Det tyske kontor] [The German ''kontor'']</ref>  They were rebuilt, and some of these were later demolished, and some were destroyed by fire.<ref name="KontorGerman"/> In 1754, the operations of the office at Bryggen ended, when all the properties were transferred to Norwegian citizens.<ref name="Bryggen i Bergen"/>

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]].<ref>Aslak Liestol, 'The Runes of Bergen: Voices from the Middle Ages', ''Minnesota History'', 40. 2 (1966), 49-58.</ref> The [[Bryggen museum]] was built in 1976 on part of the site cleared by the fire. 
{{wide image|Brygge Norway 2005-08-18.jpg|1000px|align-cap=center|Panoramic view of Bryggen|100%}}

==Architectural heritage==
Bryggen was listed as a UNESCO [[World Heritage]] Site in 1979, by Criterion (iii):
{{blockquote|Bryggen bears the traces of social organization and illustrates the use of space in a quarter of Hanseatic merchants that dates back to the 14th century. It is a type of northern "fondaco", unequalled in the world, where the structures have remained within the cityscape and perpetuate the memory of one of the oldest large trading ports of Northern Europe.}}

Notable houses at Bryggen include Bellgården (a 300-year-old building),<ref>[http://www.nrk.no/hordaland/et-300-ar-gammelt-puslespill-1.11447999 Setter sammen 300 år gammelt puslespill]</ref> Svensgården, Enhjørningsgården, Bredsgården, Bugården,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bt.no/bergenpuls/Bryggen-skal-reise-tilbake-i-tid-3157650.html#.U8TogZSSyVM |title=Bryggen skal reise tilbake i tid |access-date=2014-07-15 |archive-date=2014-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027164936/http://www.bt.no/bergenpuls/Bryggen-skal-reise-tilbake-i-tid-3157650.html#.U8TogZSSyVM |url-status=dead }}</ref> Engelgården. The oldest and tallest building in the area is [[St Mary's Church, Bergen|St Mary's Church]]. Streets include Jacobsfjorden.<ref>[http://www.bt.no/meninger/debatt/Velkommen-som-kremmer-3195580.html Velkommen som kremmer - Det kommer ingen ridder i skinnende rustning for å redde Bryggen. Du må redde den selv.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923225424/http://www.bt.no/meninger/debatt/Velkommen-som-kremmer-3195580.html |date=2015-09-23 }} [Welcome 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 ==
<gallery mode="packed">
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
</gallery>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Hanseatic League}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Norway}}
{{Neighbourhoods of Bergen}}

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