Bergen, Norway

Bergen
City
From upper left: City center with Lille Lungegårdsvannet, Bergen University College and Bybanen at Nygård, Bergenshus and Laksevåg with Bryggen, Vågen by Byfjorden, Boathouses at Nordnes, Bergen City Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Bergen Location of Bergen in Norway
Coordinates: 60°23′22″N 5°19′48″E / 60.38944°N 5.33000°E / 60.38944; 5.33000Coordinates: 60°23′22″N 5°19′48″E / 60.38944°N 5.33000°E / 60.38944; 5.33000
Country	Norway
Region	Western Norway
County	Hordaland
District	Midhordland
Municipality	Bergen
Established	before 1070
Government
• Mayor	Marte Mjøs Persen (A)
• Governing mayor	Harald Schjelderup (A)
Area
• City	465.56 km2 (179.75 sq mi)
• Land	445.64 km2 (172.06 sq mi)
• Water	20.22 km2 (7.81 sq mi)
• Urban	94.03 km2 (36.31 sq mi)
• Metro	2,755 km2 (1,064 sq mi)
Highest elevation	987 m (3,238 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population
• City	278,121 (End Q1 2016)
• Metro	420,000 (1 January 2015)
Demonym(s)	Bergenser/Bergensar
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	5003–5268 (P.O.box 5802-5899)
Area code(s)	(+47) 5556
Website	www.bergen.kommune.no

Bergen, historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Hordaland on the west coast of Norway. At the end of the first quarter of 2016^[update], the municipality's population was 278,121, and the Bergen metropolitan region has about 420,000 inhabitants. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers an area of 465 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and is located on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen. The city centre and northern neighbourhoods are located on Byfjorden, "the city fjord", and the city is surrounded by mountains; Bergen is known as the city of seven mountains. Many of the extra-municipal suburbs are located on islands. Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland and consists of eight boroughs—Arna, Bergenhus, Fana, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Ytrebygda, Årstad and Åsane.

Trading in Bergen may have started as early as the 1020s. According to tradition, the city was founded in 1070 by king Olav Kyrre; its name was Bjørgvin, "the green meadow among the mountains". It served as Norway's capital in the 13th century, and from the end of the 13th century became a bureau city of the Hanseatic League. Until 1789, Bergen enjoyed exclusive rights to mediate trade between Northern Norway and abroad and it was the largest city in Norway until the 1830s when it was surpassed by the capital, Oslo. What remains of the quays, Bryggen, is a World Heritage Site. The city was hit by numerous fires over the years. The "Bergen School of Meteorology" was developed at the Geophysical Institute beginning in 1917, the Norwegian School of Economics was founded in 1936, and the University of Bergen in 1946. From 1831 to 1972, Bergen was its own county. In 1972 the municipality absorbed four surrounding municipalities, and at the same time became a part of Hordaland county.

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