Bergen, Norge: Veenkoloniale Genealogieën

Notes:
Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway, a municipality, and a former county, in the county of Hordaland.

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

The city is located on the south-western coast of Norway, in the county of Hordaland, with its centre situated between a group of mountains known collectively as de syv fjell ("the seven mountains"), although the number of mountains is a matter of definition. Bergen is host to part of the country's large oil industry, as well as deep sea operations. Its harbours are used by everything from small pleasure vessels to cruise ships and cargo vessels, and is the base of many of the country's fishing vessels.

Bergen is an important cultural centre in its region and was one of nine European cities honoured with the title European City 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 de jure capital in 1299. 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 introduced 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 was able to force the Saxon merchants to become Norwegian citizens or return home, heralding a decline in the Saxon influence. In 1665, the city's harbour was the site of the bloody Battle of Vågen, between English ships on the one side and Dutch ships supported by the city's garrison on the other.

Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, Bergen remained one of the largest cities in Scandinavia, and was Norway's biggest city until the 1830s, when it was bypassed by Oslo. Bergen retained its monopoly of trade with Northern Norway until 1789.

In 1916 parts of the city centre were destroyed by a devastating fire, the last of many such fires throughout the city's history. During World War II, the city was occupied on the first day of the German invasion on April 9, 1940, after a brief fight between German ships and Norwegian coastal artillery. On April 20, 1944, during the German occupation, the Dutch cargoship Voorbode anchored off the Bergenhus Fortress, loaded with over 120 tons of explosives, blew up, killing at least 150 people and damaging historic buildings. The city was subject to some allied bombing raids, aiming at German naval installations in the harbour. Some of these led to civilian casualties numbering over 100.

In 1972, Bergen was unified with neighbouring municipalities (Arna, Fana, Laksevåg and Åsane), abolishing its county status and getting its present boundaries.

Toponymy

The Norse forms of the name were Bergvin and Bjørgvin. The first element is berg (n) or bjørg (f), which translates to mountain. The last element is vin (f), which translates to pasture or meadow. The full meaning is then 'the meadow among the mountains'. (A suitable name: Bergen is often called 'the city among the seven mountains'.)

There are about one thousand names in Norway composed with the element -vin, which are pronounced with the second tone. The only exception is the name Bergen (which is pronounced with the first tone). The cause of this is probably the German influence in the city.

In 1918, there was a campaign to reintroduce the Norse form Bjørgvin as the name of the city. This was turned down - but as a compromise the name of the diocese was changed to Bjørgvin bispedømme.

Panoramic view of Bryggen

Birth

Matches 1 to 4 of 4

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Birth		Person ID	Tree
1	Bergen, Hans Hansen	About 1617	Bergen, Norge	I192213	Veenkoloniale voorouders
2	Daae, Konrad Severin	Tuesday 08 February 1910	Bergen, Norge	I448432	Veenkoloniale voorouders
3	Naess, Erling Dekke	Thursday 05 September 1901	Bergen, Norge	I683127	Veenkoloniale voorouders
4	van der Wijk, Martha Nannes	Wednesday 02 August 1809	Bergen, Norge	I308806	Veenkoloniale voorouders

Death

Matches 1 to 2 of 2

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Death		Person ID	Tree
1	Magnusson, Erik II King of Norway (1280-99)	Wednesday 15 July 1299	Bergen, Norge	I827361	Veenkoloniale voorouders
2	Thompson, Laurine Myrtle	Friday 05 May 1978	Bergen, Norge	I449346	Veenkoloniale voorouders

Marriage

Matches 1 to 1 of 1

	Family	Marriage		Family ID	Tree
1	Bouvij / Blaauw	Monday 07 April 1817	Bergen, Norge	F188045	Veenkoloniale voorouders

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Bergen, Norge