About
Join the Bryggen Guiding Walking Tour and learn about Bergen’s earliest history.
The walking tour start inside Bryggens Museum, in the medieval exhibition. Here you can see the remains of the oldest secular buildings and archaeological finds from Bryggen, and hundreds of artifacts that give insight to the life of people in medieval Bergen. Ceramic shards which bear witness to the international trade that took place in the city’s infancy. Gaming pieces and dices that tells us about board games being played as a social activity. Runic inscriptions that show us trading letters, receipts, sexual allusions, and name tags. These are just some of the artifacts you will see and hear about at the museum.
The walking tour then goes outside where we make a quick stop next to St. Mary’s Church to look at the nearby medieval ruins, before we continue in between the old wooden houses at Bryggen. These buildings date back to the 18th century, when Bryggen was rebuilt after the great city fire in 1702. This part of Bryggen is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We continue to the ruin of the medieval Wine Cellar and Town Hall which today lays hidden below a parking house. The Town Hall housed the counsel that governed Bergen, and in its cellar, they sold alcohol, which the counsel had a monopoly on In the Middle Ages.
The tour ends in Schøtstuene, the assembly rooms of the German Office, where you will hear more about the Hanseatic merchants and their way of life. During the Hanseatic period open flames were not allowed in the tenements at the front, only in the assembly halls and connected cook houses at the back of Bryggen. Schøtstuene therefore became a natural meeting place, especially during the winter months. Here the German traders met to share meals and gather for court sessions and parties. Schøtstuene also functioned as school rooms for the young apprentices.
The tour goes partly outside so make sure to have suitable clothing. Due to the cobblestone at Bryggen, and the staircases at Schøtstuene, the tour is not recommended for wheelchairs and strollers. Dogs are not allowed on the tour.
Duration 90 minutes.
Meeting point Bryggens Museum.
The ticket includes entry to Bryggens Museum and Schøtstuene the same day.
Ticket can be bought online here.
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