Taxi in Bergen

Bergen (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈbæ̀rɡən] ), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. As of 2022, its population was around 289,330. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway after the national capital Oslo. The municipality covers 465 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and is located on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen. The city middle and northern neighbourhoods are upon Byfjorden, ‘the city fjord’. The city is between mountains, causing Bergen to be called the “city of seven mountains”. Many of the extra-municipal suburbs are on islands. Bergen is the administrative centre of Vestland county. The city consists of eight boroughs: Arna, Bergenhus, Fana, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Ytrebygda, Årstad, and Åsane.

Trading in Bergen may have started as beforehand as the 1020s. According to tradition, the city was founded in 1070 by King Olav Kyrre and was named Bjørgvin, ‘the green meadow in the midst of the mountains’. It served as Norway’s capital in the 13th century, and from the halt of the 13th century became a society city of the Hanseatic League. Until 1789, Bergen enjoyed exclusive rights to mediate trade in the midst of Northern Norway and abroad, and it was the largest city in Norway until the 1830s in imitation of it was overtaken by the capital, Christiania (now known as Oslo). What remains of the quays, Bryggen, is a World Heritage Site. The city was hit by numerous fires greater than the years. The Bergen School of Meteorology was developed at the Geophysical Institute starting in 1917, the Norwegian School of Economics was founded in 1936, and the University of Bergen in 1946. From 1831 to 1972, Bergen was its own county. In 1972 the municipality absorbed four surrounding municipalities and became a portion of Hordaland county.

The city is an international centre for aquaculture, shipping, the offshore petroleum industry and subsea technology, and a national middle for unconventional education, media, tourism and finance. Bergen Port is Norway’s busiest in terms of both freight and passengers, with more than 300 cruise ship calls a year bringing approximately a half a million passengers to Bergen, a number that has doubled in 10 years. Almost half of the passengers are German or British. The city’s main football team is SK Brann and a unique tradition of the city is the buekorps, which are acknowledged marching neighbourhood puberty organisations. Natives speak a positive dialect, known as Bergensk. The city features Bergen Airport, Flesland and Bergen Light Rail, and is the terminus of the Bergen Line. Four large bridges attach Bergen to its suburban municipalities.

Bergen has a serene winter climate, though afterward significant precipitation. From December to March, Bergen can, in scarce cases, be taking place to 20 °C (36 °F) warmer than Oslo, even though both cities are at just about 60° North. In summer however, Bergen is several degrees cooler than Oslo due to the same maritime effects. The Gulf Stream keeps the sea relatively warm, considering the latitude, and the mountains protect the city from frosty winds from the north, north-east and east.