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Bergen

Bergen

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Bergen , city (1995 pop. 221,645), capital of Hordaland co., SW Norway, situated on inlets of the North Sea. It is Norway's second largest city and a major shipping center. Formerly a major textile and ship-building center, the city's economy is now mainly service-based, including educational, medical, technical, insurance, financial, and retailing services. A small shipyard and ship-repair facilities remain. Other manufacturing includes fish processing, steel, machinery, and electrical equipment.

Founded c.1070 by Olaf III (Olaf Kyrre), Bergen soon became the largest city of medieval Norway. It was often the royal seat, and the earliest coronations took place there. The city became an establishment of the Hanseatic League in the mid-14th cent. The Hansa merchants, enjoying extraterritorial privileges, imposed their unpopular rule on Bergen until 1560, and thereafter continued to have influence until the late 18th cent. During the disturbances accompanying the Reformation (16th cent.), most of the city's old churches and monasteries were destroyed. However, Bergen remained Norway's leading city until the rise of Oslo in the 19th cent.

The center of Bergen was rebuilt after a severe fire in 1916. Nevertheless, the city retains many impressive monuments of its medieval past. One of its most famous buildings is Bergenhus fortress, which contains Haakon's Hall (1261); it was rebuilt after being heavily damaged in World War II. Other old buildings include the Quay, a group of wooden quayside houses rebuilt in their medieval style after a fire in 1702; St. Mary's Church (12th cent.); Fantoft Stavkirke (12th cent., destroyed by fire in 1994 and reconstructed); and, just south of Bergen, the 12th-century ruins of Norway's first Cistercian monastery.

One of the chief cultural and educational centers of Norway, Bergen has a university (founded 1948), a school of economics and business administration, several scientific institutes, and a Hanseatic museum. Bergen's theater was founded (1850) by the composer and violinist Ole Bull and gained international recognition under such directors as Ibsen and Bjørnson. The dramatist Ludvig Holberg and the composer Edvard Grieg were born in Bergen.

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Bergen

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Bergen Atlantic port, capital of Hordaland county, sw Norway. Founded in the 11th century, Bergen was the Norway's royal residence in the Middle Ages. It is now Norway's second largest city, with a university (1948), national theatre (1850), and 13th-century Viking hall. Industries: shipbuilding, textiles, fishing. Pop. (1997) 294,496.
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Bergen

Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names | 2005 | | Copyright

Bergen, Norway Bjǫrgvin ‘Mountain Pasture’ from bjǫrg or berg ‘mountain’, and vin ‘pasture’ or ‘meadow’. Founded in 1070, it was the Norwegian capital in the 12th and 13th centuries.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Bergen." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Bergen." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Bergen.html

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Bergen." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Bergen.html

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Bergen

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Bergen N.J.: see Jersey City .

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Bergen

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

Bergen •deafen •griffon, stiffen •antiphon •hyphen, siphon •often, soften •orphan • ibuprofen •roughen, toughen •colophon •dragon, flagon, lagan, pendragon, wagon •snapdragon • bandwagon • jargon •Megan •Copenhagen, pagan, Reagan •Nijmegen •Antiguan, Egan, Keegan, Regan, vegan •Wigan • cardigan • Milligan • polygon •hooligan • mulligan • ptarmigan •Branigan • Oregon • Michigan •Rattigan •tigon, trigon •toboggan •Glamorgan, gorgon, Morgan, morgen, organ •Brogan, hogan, Logan, slogan •Cadogan • decagon •Aragon, paragon, tarragon •hexagon • pentagon • heptagon •octagon • Bergen • Spitsbergen

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Exhausted, Bergen is back - and busy.(VARIETY)
Newspaper article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN); 10/7/1996
AmeriSource, Bergen plan merger.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Chain Drug Review; 4/9/2001
Bergen is music to the eyes.(TRAVEL)
Newspaper article from: The Washington Times (Washington, DC); 7/28/2007

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