Bryggen Hanseatic trading post in Bergen

Timeline

1. 1301–1450Bryggen, Bergen · BergenFrom the 14th century German merchants settled at Bryggen, trading dried cod and furs from northern Norway for continental grain, cloth and metal goods. The Hanse established a kontor (trading post) in Bergen, where German merchants enjoyed autonomous jurisdiction and warehousing privileges, with wooden merchant houses extending along the Vågen harbor quays.
2. 1491–1500Bryggen, Bergen · BergenIn the late 15th century Bryggen was still the Hanse's only kontor in Norway, where German merchants traded dried fish and imported goods with local fishermen and shipowners. The merchant house district maintained its wooden terraced layout, with complete warehouses, guildhalls and quay facilities, a key link in the North Sea–Baltic trade chain.
3. 1500–1754Bryggen, Bergen · BergenNew sea routes and competition from Dutch and English merchants weakened the Hanse monopoly. After fires in the 1550s and in 1702 the merchant houses were rebuilt several times; in 1754 Norway abolished German extraterritorial jurisdiction at Bryggen, ending the Hanseatic trading post's function, and the district became an ordinary harbor commercial area.