Håkon's Gothic hall
Royal receptions since 1261.
CC BY-SA 2.5 · JoachimKohlerBremen — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Unknown authorUnknown author — Public domain · Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — CC BY 2.0
A German ammunition ship (the Voorbode) exploded in Bergen harbour during Nazi occupation — an industrial disaster, not a battle — killing hundreds and damaging part of the fortress and nearby neighbourhoods. Norwegians recall it as a catastrophe distinct from the war itself, its trace still told locally as one of Bergen's gravest non-combat incidents.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.
Bergenhus is Bergen's oldest working royal complex: a fortress at the harbour mouth since the 13th century, when Bergen was Norway's effective capital — and Håkon's Hall (1261) within is a Gothic grey-stone royal reception hall still used for state occasions today, Norway's oldest surviving secular civic building. The neighbouring Rosenkrantz Tower (1560s) — a Renaissance defensive keep with cannons and balconies — climbs a stone stair to a panorama of harbour, fjord and islands: a unique mix of noble bedchambers and narrow military passages reflecting the fortress's turn from palace to war castle across centuries. Outer walls and courtyards are free to walk — and the explosion that damaged part of the fortress (1944, a German ammunition ship blew up at the harbour) left scars still visible on some walls: a final layer atop seven centuries of history.
Royal receptions since 1261.
Noble chambers and military passages together.
Bergenhus, 5003 Bergen