Bergenhus fortress ( no, Bergenhus festning) is a fortress located in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. Located at the entrance of Bergen harbour, the castle is one of the oldest and best preserved stone fortifications in Norway.

History

The fortress contains buildings dating as far back as the 1240s, as well as later constructions built as recently as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The extent of the enclosed area of today dates from the early 19th century. In medieval times, the area of the present-day Bergenhus Fortress was known as ''Holmen'' and contained the royal residence in Bergen, as well as a cathedral, several churches, the bishop's residence, and a Dominican

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

. Excavations have revealed foundations of buildings believed to date back to before 1100, which might have been erected by King Olav Kyrre. In the 13th century, until 1299, Bergen was the capital of Norway and Holmen was thus the main seat of Norway's rulers. It was first enclosed by stone walls in the 1240s. Of the medieval buildings, a medieval hall and a defensive tower remain. The royal hall, today known as Haakon's Hall, was built around 1260., The defensive tower, was built around 1270 and contained a royal apartment on the top floor. In the 1560s, it was incorporated into a larger structure, which is today known as the Rosenkrantz Tower. In the Middle Ages, several churches, including Bergen's cathedral Christ Church (''Kristkirken på Holmen i Bergen''), were situated on the premises. These were torn down between 1526 and 1531, as the area of Holmen was converted into a purely military fortification under Danish rule. From around this time, the name ''Bergenhus'' came into use. Building work on Christ Church probably started around 1100. It contained the shrine of Saint

Sunniva Saint Sunniva (10th century; Old Norse ''Sunnifa'', from Old English ''Sunngifu'') is the patron saint of the Norwegian Church of Norway Diocese of Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western Norway. Sunniva was venerated alongside her brother Alban ...

, the patron saint of Bergen. In the 12th and 13th centuries it was the site of several royal coronations and weddings. It was also the burial site of at least six kings, as well as other members of the royal family. The site of its altar is today marked by a memorial stone. Bergenhus Castle sign

In the 19th century, the fortress lost its function as a defensive fortification, but it was retained by the military as an administrative base. After restoration in the 1890s, and again after destruction sustained during

, Bergenhus is today again used as a concert venue and as a feast hall for public events. During World War II, the German navy used several of its buildings for their headquarters, and they also constructed a large concrete bunker within the fortress walls. The buildings, including Haakon's Hall, were severely damaged during

but the buildings were later restored. Bergenhus is currently under the command of the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

, which has about 150 military personnel stationed there. The fortifications Sverresborg fortress and Fredriksberg fortress also lie in the centre of Bergen. Haakon's Hall and Rosenkrantz Tower are open for visits by the public. Koengen, the central part of Bergenhus Fortress is also known as a concert venue.

Prominent buildings

Haakon's Hall

''Haakon's Hall'' ( no, Håkonshallen) is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

stone hall located inside the fortress. The hall was constructed in the middle of the 13th century, during the reign of King

Håkon Håkonsson Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 ...

(1217–1263). In medieval times, it was the largest building of the royal palace in Bergen. It is the largest secular medieval building in Norway and the likely inspiration to similar great halls that were built on the royal estates in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and

Avaldsnes Avaldsnes is a village in Karmøy municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located on the northeastern part of the island of Karmøy, along the Karmsundet strait, just south of the town of Haugesund. The village was an ancient c ...

. No written records survive of the construction of the hall. According to Håkon Håkonsson's saga the building was not there at the coronation of King Håkon in 1247. It does, however, state that it was used during the wedding celebrations of King Magnus Håkonsson and the Danish princess Ingebjørg Eriksdatter on 11 September 1261. The hall is built in

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style. In addition to the great hall, there were two more levels, a cellar and a middle floor. The hall's similarity to English structures of the same time, and the fact that monumental stone building was relatively uncommon in Norway at the time, has led to an assumption that the hall was designed by English architects, possibly the court architect of King

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry ...

, with whom King Håkon was on friendly terms. Die Festung Bergenhus (Hakonshallen)

The hall has been hit by several fires, the first one as early as 1266. Upon the death of King

Eirik Magnusson Eric Magnusson (1268 – 15 July 1299) (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr Magnússon''; Norwegian: ''Eirik Magnusson'') was the King of Norway from 1280 until 1299. Background Eirik was the eldest surviving son of King Magnus the Lawmender of Norway, and his ...

in 1299, Bergen lost its status as the main royal residence. From 1380 until 1814, Norway was in a personal union with Denmark, which meant that the royal castle in Bergen gradually fell into decay. In 1429 it was captured and burnt by the

Victual Brothers , native_name_lang = , named_after = french: vitailleurs (provisioners, Hundred Years' War) , image = Vitalienbrueder, Wandmalerei in d, Kirche zu Bunge auf Gotland, gemalt ca. 1405.JPG , image_size = 250px ...

(''viktualiebrødrene''), but a new stone portal from the mid-15th century shows that the hall was rebuilt after this event. Soon after, however, as the old royal residence was transformed into a purely military fortress, the Hall was turned into a storage building. Haakonshallen-Main-Hall

By the 18th century, its original function had been largely forgotten. However, the 19th century saw the rise of

Norwegian romantic nationalism Norwegian romantic nationalism ( no, Nasjonalromantikken) was a movement in Norway between 1840 and 1867 in art, literature, and popular culture that emphasized the aesthetics of Norwegian nature and the uniqueness of the Norwegian national ident ...

as the country gradually regained its independence. As a result, the independent medieval kingdom was used as a source of new national symbols to rally around. In 1840, it was proven that the great stone building in Bergenhus fortress was, in fact, King Håkon Håkonsson's old feast hall. For the next half century, its restoration back to its original function was debated.

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...

wrote a poem in the hall's honor, and poet

Henrik Wergeland Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland (17 June 1808 – 12 July 1845) was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as a leading pioneer in the develo ...

first used the name ''Haakons hall'' in one of his poems. The hall was finally restored in the 1890s, and in the 1910s it was decorated with

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

s with motives from ''Håkon Håkonsson's saga'', and

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows. The hall was severely damaged on 20 April 1944, when the wooden roof caught fire and burnt up. The fire also destroyed all the decorations from the first restoration. A second restoration took place in the 1950s, and the hall was reopened on 11 September 1961, the 700th anniversary of its first use. It is now decorated more discreetly, primarily with

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

. Haakon's Hall is now administered by the

Bergen City Museum Bergen City Museum ( no, Bymuseet i Bergen) is a foundation which operates several museums in Bergen, Norway. History The museum foundation was established on 1 July 2005 through merger of the former independent institutions. The establishment ...

, which also takes care of Rosenkrantz Tower and other protected buildings in the city. The hall is occasionally used for concerts, especially choir song and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...

, and for banquets, mainly for official functions.

Rosenkrantz Tower

''Rosenkrantz Tower'' ( no, Rosenkrantztårnet) is a

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

that derives its name from governor Erik Rosenkrantz (1519-1575) who was governor of Bergenhus Fortress from 1560 to 1568. During his administration, the tower received its present shape and structure. The oldest part of the building is made up of a

tower built during the reign of King Magnus the Lawmender in the 1270s as part of the royal castle in Bergen. The keep was slightly modified ca. 1520, then extensively modified and expanded in the 1560s by Scottish stonemasons and architects in the service of Erik Rosenkrantz to attain its present form. Rosenkrantz' building contained

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

s on the ground floor, residential rooms for the governor higher up, and positions for cannons on the top floor. In the 1740s, the tower was converted to a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

for gunpowder, a function it served until the 1930s. The whole building has been open to the general public since 1966. Today, the tower serves primarily as a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

.''Rosenkrantz Tower'' (Bergen City Museum)
/ref>

References

Other sources

* Kavli, Guthorm. ''Norges festninger, fra Fredriksten til Vardøhus'' (Universitetsforlaget. 1987) *

Knut Helle Knut Helle (19 December 1930 – 27 June 2015) was a Norwegian historian. A professor at the University of Bergen from 1973 to 2000, he specialized in the late medieval history of Norway. He has contributed to several large works. Early life, ...

and Ole Egil Eide. ''Holmen - Bergenhus, The Royal and Ecclesiastical Centre of Bergen in the Middle Ages'' (Alveheim & Eide. 1985)

External links

HomepageBergenhus Fortress - Haakon's Hall picturesBergenhus Fortress 1954
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Castles in Norway Forts in Norway Military and war museums in Norway Royal Norwegian Navy bases Buildings and structures in Bergen 1240s establishments in Europe 13th-century establishments in Norway Museums in Bergen World War II museums in Norway Tourist attractions in Bergen Music venues in Bergen