For the next 3 full days we are in Bergen - the wettest city in Europe. Today it was nice and sunny in the morning when we got on the #5 bus near us and then in the space of about 15 minutes the cold downpour started and didn't let up. People here actually wear rain jackets and pants and carry those big black umbrellas like walking sticks. I picked up a light wool sweater at H&M of all places. Those famous Norwegian sweaters are out of my price range! Needless to say we tried to stay indoors. The old harbor area has lots of interesting places to see and shops to check out. After sampling smoked whale meat and then lunch at the fish market we set off.
Our sightseeing stops included:
St Mary's Church built in the 1100's. Loved the pulpit.
Hanseatic Museum and Schotstuene
The historic Bryggens area on the harbor that included a very interesting tour of the Hanseatic Museum and Schotstuene.
We learned that men and boys (apprentices) in the League lived on the harbor in 3-story long narrow wooden tenement buildings with narrow passageways between. Bottom floors were storage for goods traded, offices etc on the second floor, and living quarters on the top. Due to the danger of fire these buildings were not heated! So at the end of each passage there was a heated communal room or "Schotstuene."
Bergen became the largest city in Scandanavia. Quote from our guide book: Peak traffic was in 1644 when more than 400 ships docked from Scotland alone.
The Hanseatic League is a unique phenomenon of German and European history. The co-operation between merchants across borders resulted in a town covenant, which comprised of nearly 200 sea and inner cities. The Hansa, the German Guild of Merchants, created an overseas office at Bryggen in 1360 and for almost 400 years they dominated this side of town.
From the 13th to the middle of the 15th century, the Hanseatic League dominated the trade between the north-east and the north-west of Europe, and covered the raw material and food supplies of the West from the East, and the east with the Western products. These included, for example, furs, wax, grain, fish, flax, hemp, wood and timber products such as pitch, tar and potato. In return, the Hanseatic merchants brought into these countries the industrial finished products of the West and South like cloths, metal goods, especially weapons, and spices.
It is somewhat unclear as to when the Hanseatic times originated in Bergen, but one knows for sure that there were trades going on between Bergen and Germany in 1100's. In Germany the Hanseatic time is considered to have lasted from around the 1200's to the 1500's.
Bergen was not a Hanseatic town as such, but actually one of the four Hanseatic quarters, which also included Brügge, London and Novgorod. The Hanseatic period lasted longer in Bergen than the rest of Europe and without a doubt, Bergen had great importance. It should be noted that Bergen was marked on the world map from the Middle Ages, where London was not.
Our sightseeing stops included:
St Mary's Church built in the 1100's. Loved the pulpit.
Hanseatic Museum and Schotstuene
The historic Bryggens area on the harbor that included a very interesting tour of the Hanseatic Museum and Schotstuene.
We learned that men and boys (apprentices) in the League lived on the harbor in 3-story long narrow wooden tenement buildings with narrow passageways between. Bottom floors were storage for goods traded, offices etc on the second floor, and living quarters on the top. Due to the danger of fire these buildings were not heated! So at the end of each passage there was a heated communal room or "Schotstuene."
Bergen became the largest city in Scandanavia. Quote from our guide book: Peak traffic was in 1644 when more than 400 ships docked from Scotland alone.
The Hanseatic League is a unique phenomenon of German and European history. The co-operation between merchants across borders resulted in a town covenant, which comprised of nearly 200 sea and inner cities. The Hansa, the German Guild of Merchants, created an overseas office at Bryggen in 1360 and for almost 400 years they dominated this side of town.
From the 13th to the middle of the 15th century, the Hanseatic League dominated the trade between the north-east and the north-west of Europe, and covered the raw material and food supplies of the West from the East, and the east with the Western products. These included, for example, furs, wax, grain, fish, flax, hemp, wood and timber products such as pitch, tar and potato. In return, the Hanseatic merchants brought into these countries the industrial finished products of the West and South like cloths, metal goods, especially weapons, and spices.
It is somewhat unclear as to when the Hanseatic times originated in Bergen, but one knows for sure that there were trades going on between Bergen and Germany in 1100's. In Germany the Hanseatic time is considered to have lasted from around the 1200's to the 1500's.
Bergen was not a Hanseatic town as such, but actually one of the four Hanseatic quarters, which also included Brügge, London and Novgorod. The Hanseatic period lasted longer in Bergen than the rest of Europe and without a doubt, Bergen had great importance. It should be noted that Bergen was marked on the world map from the Middle Ages, where London was not.
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