Autumn vibes

It’s November soon, and another season of guiding visitors is practically over. The tourist season has been longer than usual this year. Apparently Bergen is trending! Below you can see Østre Murallmenning, with its colourful houses from the 1850’s. In this area you can see traces of four different fires. Actually the word “allmenning” goes back to the middle ages, and means a wide street or some sort of boulevard. Bergen has been the victim of more than 20 major fires, and after each fire, people would build wider streets to prevent the flames from spreading.

The white stone building below is an old medieval building called Muren, from the 1500. It was the private residence of Danish governor Erik Rosenkrantz, when he stayed in Bergen. Norway’s relation to Denmark (and Sweden) goes way back, and 1500 was a century when Bergen was heavily influenced by Denmark. As for the Muren building it is today partly a raingear shop going back 5 generations.