BERGEN, NORWAY.

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway, according to data from Statistics Norway.1 Located in the west of the country, he was part of the Hanseatic League. Bergen is a municipality and the capital of the province of Hordaland. 

The city is situated on the southwest coast of Norway, in a valley formed by a group of mountains known collectively as "fjell syv" ("the seven mountains"). Bergen is the unofficial capital of the region known as Western Norway, and is also known and touted as the gateway to the famous Norwegian fjords, and is therefore also become the largest cruise ship port in Norway, and one of the largest in Europe. In addition, the port is also by far the largest in Norway in 2005, he managed more than 50% of goods by sea in Norway.

In 1349 came the Black Death, introduced in Norway by the crew of an English ship that docked in Bergen. During the fifteenth century the city was attacked several times by pirates, and in 1429 succeeded in burning the royal castle and much of the city. In 1536, King was able to bind to the Frisians and Germans merchants to become Norwegian citizens, or else they should return to their 

countries, from which point began to decline Germanic influence in the city. In 1665, the port city was the scene of the bloody Battle of Vågen, between English ships on one side and Dutch ships supported by the city government on the other. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Bergen remained the largest city in Norway, and remained until 1850, date when it was surpassed by Oslo. Bergen retained its monopoly of trade with Northern Norway until 1789.

In 1916 part of the city was destroyed by a devastating fire, the last of many throughout the history of the city. During World War II the city was occupied on the first day of the German invasion on 9 April 1940, after a brief fight between German ships and the Norwegian coastal artillery. The April 20, 1944, during the German occupation, a Dutch freighter anchored by the strength Bergenhus and loaded with 120 tons of explosives, blew up, killing at least 150 people and causing major damage to historic buildings. He also suffered the bombing of the allied forces, with the aim of damaging the German naval port facilities. These events caused about 100 deaths. 

In 1972, Bergen absorbed the neighboring municipalities (Arna, Fana, Laksevåg and Åsane) being abolished provincial status and acquiring its present boundaries.