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Looking into Bryggen Laneways
The old streets of Bergen’s Hanseatic Wharf district are narrow, cobbled, and winding – and busy with visitors exploring Bryggen‘s history and shops.
It was raining.
But that didn’t stop the residents of Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, from coming out into the streets and public spaces to celebrate their cultural heritage. I was very lucky with the Sunday I had by myself exploring the delightful city: a local troupe was performing traditional folk dances under the protective roof of the central railway station, and the Buekorps – the Bow Corps or Archery Brigade – were marching through the city.
The Buekorps is a peculiarly Norwegian concept that was once active across other cities, but is now unique to Bergen. The tradition dates back to the 18th century when local boys would imitate the adult militia soldiers performing close-order drills. By the 1850s, the boys had organised themselves into bataljoner (battalions) and built their own “fortresses” from which to engage in “warfare” against children from other neighbourhoods. Today, members range in age from about 7 to 20, with the first girls being admitted in 1991. On special days during spring – especially on May 17th, Norwegian Constitution Day – the children march through the streets with wooden guns, swords, and drums.
Even away from the dancers and the marching children, the streets of this UNESCO World Heritage City and European City of Culture were a delight to explore. I had gained an overview of some of the surrounding hills the day before (see: Overlooking Bergen), so I was looking forward to wandering the steep cobbled streets at my own pace.
Do join me!
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Little Girls in Costume
I was lucky: my hotel was near the train station, and when I went in to check it out (and to escape the rain), some delightful Norwegian children in their plaits and embroidered reindeer boots were waiting to dance.
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Enthusiasm!
The enthusiasm of these little girls, as they performed their traditional folk dances with their teacher, was infectious!
Children’s Folk Dancing Circle
Portrait of a Folk Dancer
The next group to perform were women, with flower wreaths on their heads, …
Swirling Skirts
… and with plaited hair and long skirts flying.
Folk Dancers
High kicks featured, …
Dancer in a Red Bodice
… as did a joyful attitude.
The Dancing Suitor
This was a couple’s dance, but the woman and man did a solo turn …
Joyful Couple
… before joining together in a cheerful and lively pantomime.
Street Art
I left the shelter of the station to climb a hill through the old city – where I came upon my first fearsome troll of the day. Trolls are a feature of Scandinavian folklore and Old Norse mythology. They live in isolated rocks, mountains, or caves… and on the sides of some Bergen buildings.
Steep Streets
The cobbled streets are steep and narrow as they wind and zig-zag up the hillside.
Johanneskirken Standing Tall
The views back down over the city make the climb worth it. The red brick Gothic-revival St. John’s Church, built in 1894, stands out below.
St. Paul’s Church and Bergen Harbour
Colourful walls and rooftops lift any gloom from the lowering sky …
Knitted Trees
… and knitted skirts around some of the trees are positively cheerful.
Over Bergen Rooftops
From another vantage point, we can see Christi Krybbe Skoler, the oldest existing elementary school in Scandinavia, and the two towers of the oldest existing building in Bergen: Mariakirken (St Mary’s Church), built in the 12th century.
Skansen Brannstasjon
Inspired by 17th- and 18th-century panel architecture, the old Skansen fire station was actually opened in late 1903.
Bergen Harbour from Above
Cobbled Pathways
I work my way back down the hill using cobbled pathways between tall buildings.
Øvre Blekeveien and Ole Eides Gate
Spring Magnolias
Magnolia blooms signal spring.
Audun Hetland (1920 – 1998)
A bust in a street near Bryggen celebrates a Bergen-born Norwegian illustrator.
Rainy Courtyard
When I get back down to the courtyard outside St. Marys Church, light rains have settled in again.
Mariakirken
The Romanesque-style St. Mary’s Church is a basilica-shaped stone church with two towers. The oldest remaining building in Bergen, it was started in the 1130s and finished some time before 1250.
St. Mary’s Church Door
The German merchants during the Hanseatic era (1356 – 1862) used this church, leading it to be called the “the German church” (Tyskekirken).
St. Mary’s Church Door Latch
Tyskebryggen – “German Bryggen”
Narrow old wooden walkways wind through the UNESCO heritage-listed Hanseatic commercial buildings in Bryggen. They are slippery when wet – and a fire-hazard when dry.
3 Kroneren Pølsebu
It was well past lunch time when I got back to the centre of the old town, but this historic sausage shop was still doing a brisk trade. In operation since 1948, the ‘three kroner’ sausages have gone up since then. There is a huge selection of international treats to chose from, but when in Norway... I had the reindeer sausage with loganberry – and it was delicious!
Youths of the Buekorps
By early afternoon, groups of uniformed and ‘armed’ youths were walking into the city centre to form their battalions.
Portrait of Young Buekorps Boys
Each troupe has their own colours and insignia. Some of the children look very young!
Back Lanes
It’s the everyday sites that attract my eye: like this child’s bicycle in a graffitied laneway.
St. Jorgens Hospital
St. Jørgen’s Hospital, one of Scandinavia’s oldest hospital complexes, was established in the early 1400’s. This well-preserved building was built in the 18th-century and was a residential treatment facility for people with leprosy from the 1870’s until the death of the last two residents in 1946.
Museum Lepramuseet
The Leprosy Museum was established in 1970 in this hospital complex. The museum recognises the thousands of people who suffered from the illness in Norway. Bergen-born Norwegian physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen (1841 – 1912) discovered the bacterial cause of leprosy, the Mycobacterium leprae, in 1873. This lead to better treatments and ultimately a vaccine and a cure.
Buekorps in the Street
Back in my room in the late afternoon, I can see the drummers, still marching in the wet street below.
Koselig or Hygge
Downstairs in the dim dining room, I am met with shining glassware on tables set with candles and flowers, and chairs draped in comforting sheepskins: the kind of scene that invites the warm cozy feeling that the Norwegians call koselig, and the Danish introduced to the world as hygge. (iPhone6)
The Danish word hygge comes from a sixteenth-century Norwegian term, hugga, meaning “to comfort” or “to console,” and is related to the English word “hug.”
That dining room – and a wonderful meal – chased away any chill remaining from being out in the wet streets, and was a fitting end to a lovely couple of days exploring Bergen.
Like a warm hug.
Until next time,
Happy Wandering!
Photos: 28April2018
