Norway, Bergen

Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway, a municipality, and a former county, in the county of Hordaland.

The Norwegian city of Bergen was separated from Hordaland as a county of its own in 1831. It was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Bergen landdistrikt was merged with Bergen January 1, 1877.

Bergen is an important cultural centre in its region and was one of nine European cities honoured with the title European City of Culture in 2000.

History

The city of Bergen, thought to have been founded by king Olav Kyrre, son of Harald Hardråde, in 1070 AD, celebrated its 900th anniversary in 1970. It is considered to have replaced Trondheim as Norway's capital in 1217, and that Oslo became de jure capital in 1299.[citation needed] Towards the end of the 13th century, Bergen became one of the Hanseatic League's most important bureau cities.

In 1349, the Black Death was introduced to Norway by the crew of an English ship arriving in Bergen. In the 15th century the city was several times attacked by the Victual Brothers, and in 1429 they succeeded in burning the royal castle and much of the city.

In 1972, Bergen was unified with neighbouring municipalities (Arna, Fana, Laksevåg and Åsane), abolishing its county status and getting its present boundaries.

Geography

Bergen municipality occupies the majority of the Bergen peninsula in mid-western Hordaland. It is sheltered from the North Sea by the islands Askøy, Holsnøy (municipality Meland) and Sotra (municipalities Fjell and Sund). It is the administration centre of Hordaland, as well as the second-largest city in Norway and the largest in Western Norway. Bergen is the centre of the Bergen region, a statistical metropolitan area with a population of 356,633.

Bergen's city centre is situated between a group of mountains known collectively as de syv fjell ("the seven mountains"), describing the mountains Ulriken, Fløyen, Løvstakken and Damsgårdsfjellet, as well as three out of Lyderhorn, Sandviksfjellet, Blåmanen, Rundemanen, and Askøyfjellet.

Demographics

As of 2002, the average gross income for men above the age of 17 is 426,000 NOK, the average gross income for women above the age of 17 is 238,000 NOK, with the total average gross income being 330,000 NOK. In 2007, there were 104,6 men for every 100 women in the age group of 20-39.

Economy

Bergen's inter-municipal harbour is by far Norway's largest port and one of Europe's largest ports, according to the inter-municipal company Port of Bergen.

In August 2004, Time magazine named the city one of Europe's 14 "secret capitals" where Bergen's capital reign is acknowledged within maritime businesses and activities such as aquaculture and marine research, with the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) (the second-largest in Europe) as the leading institution.

The headquarters of TV 2 Norway's largest commercial television channel are located in Bergen. However, they may be moving to Oslo when they lose their analog TV broadcasting license in 2008.

Culture

Bergen is an important cultural centre in its region and in Norway, maybe best known for hosting the annual Bergen International Festival (Festspillene i Bergen). The city is home of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, which was founded in 1765 and is one of the world's oldest orchestral institutions. The orchestra performs regularly at the 1,500 seat Grieg Hall.

There are numerous amateur bands in Bergen and the surrounding communities, performing regularly throughout the city. They generally fall within two distinct categories: brass bands, following the British band tradition, and Janitsjar or wind bands, which include both woodwind and brass instruments.

Sport

Bergen has two professional football teams, Brann and Løv-Ham. Brann plays in the premier league, while Løv-Ham plays in the first division.

Although Brann is one of the largest teams in Norway, the team has had limited success in the Premier League and the cup. They have won the cup six times, most recently in 2004. Brann won the Premier League in 1961/62 and then in 1963.

Transportation

Bergen has an international airport, Bergen Airport, Flesland, with direct flights to several European cities. The Bergensbanen railway line runs east to Voss, Geilo, Hønefoss and Oslo. The E16 road to Oslo passes through the Lærdalstunnelen, the longest road tunnel in the world.

Public transportation is provided by the transportation company Tide, the result of a merger between Gaia and HSD. Among the fleet of buses are 8 trolleybuses (two of which are dual-mode buses). Local train transport to Arna is provided by Norges Statsbaner.

The Norwegian coastal steamer service Hurtigruten originates in Bergen, running north to Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Kirkenes. Passenger catamarans run from Bergen south to Haugesund and Stavanger, and north to Sognefjorden and Nordfjord.