Puddefjorden

Puddefjorden, often anglicized as Pudde Fjord, is an inlet or fjord in the central part of the city of Bergen in Hordaland county, Norway. An arm off of the main Byfjorden, the Puddefjorden is 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) long and stretches from the tip of the Nordnes peninsula to the Solheimsviken bay at the entrance to the Store Lungegårdsvannet bay. The fjord is 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) at its widest, between Nordnes and the inner part of the borough of Laksevåg. The innermost part of the fjord, known as Damsgårdssundet, is far more narrow, scarcely 100 metres (330 ft) wide at the narrowest. The fjord is located next to some of Bergen's most important industrial areas, and has played a significant part in the city's development and industrialisation.

Despite being situated in the central part of the present-day city of Bergen, the Puddefjorden has not played a major role in the city's early history. The fjord experiences strong currents and has numerous small islets, rendering boat passage dangerous. Furthermore, its innermost parts used to lightly freeze over during winters. Because of that, the nearby Vågen bay was the highly preferred entrance to the city for nearly all water-craft traffic.

The ice, islets, and strong current caused the kings of Alrekstad (today known as Årstad) to avoid using Puddefjorden. The ice also stopped an invasion attempt by Kristoffer Throndsen in 1536, when Puddefjorden went all the way in to what is now known as Lille Lungegårdsvann.

Puddefjorden was originally not considered a part of the city of Bergen, but rather a nearby area. This view held until the mid-1800s. The fjord's northeastern side belonged to the city, however, and scattered habitations appeared there at the end of the 17th century, later becoming the neighbourhoods of Møhlenpris and Nøstet.

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