Bergenhus fortress is a fortress located in
BergenBergen is the second largest city in Norway, with a population of 253,600 as of July 2009. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Economic Region, as defined by Statistics Norway, had a population of 385,450 as of January 2009.Bergen is located in the...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
.
The fortress contains buildings dating as far back as the 1240s, as well as later constructions built as recently as
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. 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 (
The islet), and contained the royal residence in Bergen, as well as a cathedral and several churches, the bishop's residence, and a
dominicanThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France...
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
. Excavations have revealed foundations of buildings believed to date back to before 1100, which might have been erected by king
Olav KyrreOlaf III of Norway , also known as Olaf Haraldsson and Olav Kyrre , was king of Norway from 1067 until his death in 1093 in Håkeby...
. 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, built around 1260, is the largest medieval secular building in Norway. After restoration in the 1890s, and again after the destructions during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bergenhus is today again used as a feast hall for public events. The defensive tower, known in the Middle Ages as the
keep by the sea, was built around 1270 by
King Magnus VI LagabøteMagnus Lagabøte or Magnus Håkonsson , was king of Norway from 1263 until 1280.-Early life:...
, and contained a royal apartment on the top floor. In the 1560s it was incorporated by the commander of the castle, Erik Rosenkrantz, into a larger structure, which is today known as the Rosenkrantz Tower. Haakon's Hall and the Rosenkrantz Tower are open for visits by the public.
In the Middle Ages, several churches, including the Christ Church, Bergen's cathedral, were situated on the premises. These however were torn down in the period 1526 to 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 the Christ Church probably started around 1100. It contained the shrine of saint
SunnivaSaint Sunniva is the patron saint of the Norwegian Diocese of Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western Norway. According to legend, Sunniva was the heir of an Irish kingdom, but had to flee when a heathen king, who wanted to marry her, invaded. At the Norwegian island of Selja, in the present-day...
, the patron saint of Bergen and western Norway. 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.
In the 19th century, the fortress lost its function as a defensive fortification, but it was retained by the military as an administrative base. 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 the Haakon's Hall, were severely damaged when a Dutch ship in the service of the German navy, carrying approximately 120 tons of dynamite, exploded on 20 April 1944 in the harbour just outside the fortress walls, but the buildings were later restored.
Bergenhus is currently under the command of the
Royal Norwegian NavyThe Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 3 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 6 corvettes, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection...
, which has about 150 military personnel stationed there.
The fortifications Sverresborg fortress and
Fredriksberg fortressFredriksberg fort is a Norwegian fortification located at the highest point of Nordnes in Bergen.-History:The Norwegian fortress Fredriskberg lay strategically placed on Nordnes’ highest point with a precipitous cliff face to the sea on the west side...
also lie in the centre of Bergen.
Haakon's Hall
Haakon's Hall is a
medievalThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
stone hall located inside the fortress. The hall was constructed in the middle of the 13th century, during the reign of king
Håkon HåkonssonHaakon Haakonsson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....
(1217-1263). In medieval times, it was the largest building of the royal palace in Bergen, then the capital of Norway. It was built as a replacement for older wooden structures on the site. It is the largest secular medieval building in Norway.
No written records survive of the construction of the hall. According to
Håkon Håkonsson's sagaHákonar saga Hákonarsonar is an Old Norse kings' saga, telling the story of the life and reign of king Haakon Haakonsson of Norway. The saga was written by the Icelandic historian and chieftain Sturla Þórðarson, in the 1260s...
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 HåkonssonMagnus Lagabøte or Magnus Håkonsson , was king of Norway from 1263 until 1280.-Early life:...
and the
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
princess Ingebjørg Eriksdatter on 11 September 1261. The hall is built in
GothicGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style. In addition to the great hall itself, 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 EnglandHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
, with whom king Håkon was on friendly terms.
The hall has been hit by several fires, the first one as early as 1266. From the death of king
Eirik IIEirik Magnusson was the king of Norway from 1280 until 1299.He was the eldest surviving son of king Magnus the Lawmender of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg Eriksdatter, daughter of king Eric IV of Denmark...
in 1299, Bergen lost its status as the main royal residence, and 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 BrothersThe Victual Brothers were a companionship of privateers who later turned to piracy. They were hired in 1392 by the Dukes of Mecklenburg to fight against Denmark, because the Danish Queen Margaret I had imprisoned Albrecht of Mecklenburg and his son to subdue the kingdom of Sweden...
, but a new stone portal from the mid-15th century shows that the hall was rebuilt after this event. Soon after that, however, as the old royal residence was transformed into a purely military fortress, the Hall was turned into a storage building.
By the 1800s, its original function had been completely forgotten, and it was sometimes referred to as "the old church". However, the 1800s saw the rise of national romanticism in Norway 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 IbsenHenrik Johan Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as the "father of modern drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre. His plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when Victorian values of family...
wrote a poem in the hall's honor, and poet
Henrik WergelandHenrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist...
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
frescoFresco is any of several related painting types, done on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Italian word affresco which derives from the adjective fresco , which has Latin origins...
s with motives from Håkon Håkonsson's saga, and
stained glassThe term stained glass can refer to the material of coloured glass or the craft of working with it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term "stained glass" has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches, cathedrals, chapels, and other significant buildings...
windows.
The hall was severely damaged on 20 April 1944, when a Dutch ship in the service of the German navy, carrying over 120 tons of
dynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth or another absorbent substance such as sawdust as an absorbent...
, accidentally exploded whilst docked on the harbour outside the walls of Bergenhus fortress. The stone structure was undamaged, but the wooden roof caught fire and burned 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
tapestriesTapestry is a form of textile art, woven on a vertical loom. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a loom, and the weft thread is passed back and forth across part or...
.
Haakon's Hall is now administered by the Bergen City Museum, which also takes care of the Rosenkrantz Tower and other protected buildings in the city. The hall is occasionally used for concerts, especially choir song and
chamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, and for banquets, mainly for official functions.
Rosenkrantz Tower
The
Rosenkrantz Tower is one of the most prominent buildings of Bergenhus fortress. The
towerTowers are tall structures that are almost always taller than they are wide, usually by a significant margin. Towers are generally built to take advantage of their height, and can stand alone or as part of a larger structure.- History :...
derives its name from governor Erik Rosenkrantz. It was during his reign (1559–1568) that the tower received its present shape and structure. The oldest part of the building, however, is made up of a
medievalThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
tower, known as the "Keep by the Sea", built by king
Magnus the LawmenderMagnus Lagabøte or Magnus Håkonsson , was king of Norway from 1263 until 1280.-Early life:...
in the 1270s as part of the royal castle in Bergen. The keep was slightly modified c. 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
dungeonA 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 is a form of dungeon which was accessible only from a hatch...
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
magazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
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 attractionA tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
.