Bergen (pronunciation) is the second largest city in Norway, with a population of 252 051 as of January 1, 2009. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Economic Region, as defined by Statistics Norway, had a population of 378 818 as of January 1, 2008.

Bergen is located in the county of Hordaland on the south-western coast of Norway. Its city centre is situated among a group of mountains known as "De syv fjell" (lit. The Seven Mountains), although which mountains these are is a matter of definition. Bergen is an important cultural center in its region and was one of nine European cities honored with the title of European Capital 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 the de jure capital in 1299.Fact: date=December 2007 Towards the end of the 13th century, Bergen became one of the Hanseatic League's most important bureau cities.

The main reason for Bergen's importance was the trade with dried cod from the northern Norwegian coast, which started around 1100 CE. By the late 1300s, Bergen had established itself as the center of the trade in Norway. The Saxon Hanseatic merchants lived in their own separate quarter of town, where Middle Saxon (“Middle Low German”) was used, enjoying exclusive rights to trade with the northern fishermen that each summer sailed to Bergen. Today, Bergen's old quayside, Bryggen is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites.

In 1349, the Black Death was inadvertently brought 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 1536, the King of the country was able to force the Saxon merchants to become Norwegian citizens, or else to return home, heralding a decline in the Saxon influence. In 1665, the city's harbor was the site of the Battle of Vågen, between English ships on the one side and Dutch ships supported by the city's garrison on the other.

Bergen was separated from Hordaland as a county of its own in 1831. It was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The rural municipality of Bergen landdistrikt was merged with Bergen on 1 January 1877. The rural municipality of Årstad was merged with Bergen on 1 July 1915. The rural municipalities of Arna, Fana, Laksevåg, and Åsane were merged with Bergen on 1 January 1972. The city lost its status as a separate county on the same date. Bergen was Norway's largest city until the 1830s, when it was surpassed by the capital city of Oslo. Bergen is now a municipality in Norway, in the county of Hordaland.