Curious what Bergen looked like in medieval times? A video has been released on YouTube that shows Bergen around approximately 1300 AD. This is before the plague that killed 50-70% of the population and the Hanseatic League rose to dominance. At this time, Bergen was Scandinavia’s largest trading port and had a population of approximately 10,000 people. It had also served as Norway’s capital and was home to the palace (Bergenhus) and was also one of the main religious centres of Norway, with at least 15 Catholic churches and monasteries.
In this video, you’ll get an idea of what the Bryggen area looked like as well as the medieval city centre at Vågsbunnen (where the famous hot dog stand and Korskirken church is today). The video also shows the peninsula Nordnes with the Munkeliv Monastery.
If you’ve done one of our tours, you’ll recognise many of these places!
The project is a collaboration between The Medieval Research Cluster, City of Bergen, University of Bergen and the Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
Watch the video below:
