Perspective view of Bergen, the Capital of Norway

Title

Perspective view of Bergen, the Capital of Norway

Description

Map shows the city of Bergen in nowadays Nordaland, Norway.

ca. 1720

Artist

Thornton

Historical Description

Bergen is also known in Norway as Syvfjellsbyen (German for "City of the Seven Hills"). This nickname is said to go back to the poet Ludvig Holberg, presumably in reference to the Seven Hills of Rome. According to information in the King's Sagas, Bergen was founded in 1070 as Bjørgvin ("mountain meadow") by King Olav Kyrre. From the 12th century it was the Norwegian coronation city; later it was replaced in this function by Trondheim. In 1360, a Hanseatic trading post "Tyske Bryggen" opened in Bergen. Although Bergen is often referred to as a "Hanseatic city", it was not an equal member city. In 1665, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, English warships attacked a Dutch merchant fleet in Bergen harbour. The battle in Bergen Bay ended in defeat for the English. Until 1880, Bergen was Norway's most important port and largest city. In 1873, the Norwegian doctor Gerhard Armauer Hansen discovered the pathogen Mycobacterium leprae in Bergen. The oldest leprosy hospital, St. Jørgens Hospital, opened in the 15th century, treated lepers until the 1940s and today houses the Bergen Leprosy Museum and the Leprosy Archive, which is part of the UNESCO Memory of the World programme.