Bergen

St Mary's is the oldest remaining church in Bergen, its date of construction estimated to 1140-1180, though the gothic influences of the extended choir and the taller towers of west front is from after a fire in 1248. The church was used by the German community of Bergen from 1408 and though it became a normal parish church in 1874, sermons were still held in German as late as after WWI. It is the only survivor of the twelve churches and three monasteries built in Bergen by the end of the 12th century.

Håkonshallen was built as a royal residence in the 13th century and was at least completed by 1261, when it was recorded as the location of a royal wedding. After centuries of neglect, its restoration began in 1873 and was completed in 1895. The explosion of 1944 created more damage, resulting in a second restoration campaign in 1955-61.   

The old town hall was originally a private residence built for the feudal lord Christopher Valkendorf in 1558. It became a public building in 1568, served a Bergen town hall until 1974 and is still used for meetings by the city's representatives. It has been damaged in several fires and various changes and additions to the facade have altered its appearance over time, in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.  

Rosenkrantz Tower was built in the 1560s on the remains of a previous keep from the 1270s. It is named after Erik Rosenkrantz, who was the feudal lord of Bergenhus Len during the period of construction. It was built as a residence and as part of a military complex, but has in its history only been involved in a single military campaign, on the side of the Dutch in a naval battle against the English in 1665. The building on the left is one of a series of building added to the fortress in the early 18th century.

Erik Rosenkrantz also built a private residence on the opposite side of the bay, on Nordnes, partly by using stone from the cloister ruins of Munkeliv. The building has been damaged by several fires and the original gables were replaced with a hipped roof in 1702. 

The short side street named Forstandersmauet is thought to be the location of the oldest preserved wooden house in Bergen. At least the ground floor of the house in question is from the 16th century.

There has been a church on the site of Bergen cathedral since at least 1181, though the original church has been reduced to ruins on multiple occasions and the current west front, or at least its upper part, is from a rebuilding in the 1640s. Restoration was also undertaken after the fire of 1702 and the previous baroque interior was removed in favour of the medieval. The church belonged to a Franciscan cloister in the 13th century and became the city's cathedral in 1537 after Christ church was demolished in 1531.       

The water front of Bryggen is from 1702, when the previous medieval buildings were rebuilt after the most devastating fire in the city's history. The buildings at the far end were replaced with modern brick buildings in 1902-1908 by architect Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland, with the exception of the very far end, where the owner resisted modernisation. The latter has an annex from 1874-76 by architect Conrad Fredrik von der Lippe. There is also a modern hotel and museum inside the Bryggen area, built about 30 years after a fire in 1955 destroyed several older buildings. 

The Bergen Customs House was built in 1759-61 by architect Johan Joachim Reichborn, after the previous customs house was destroyed in a fire in 1756. Most of the water front of Nordnes was lost in this fire and it also resulted in the creation of the 15-metre wide street Tollbodallmenningen. The pediment is decorated with an unfinished relief decoration in marble, which was supposed to depict Mercuria, Justitia and the crown.  

Nykirken, the new church, was built in 1756-63 by Johan Joachim Reichborn, replacing a previous church from 1622 on the site of the old archbishop's residence. The church was rebuilt after a fire in 1801 and the explosion of 1944, after which Reichborn's design for the spire was finally realised. Most of the surrounding buildings are modern due to the explosion.   

The wooden houses on Sliberget are dated to the late 1700s and the street is first mentioned on a map from 1746. The houses have been protected since 1927 but three of them have been removed to Gamle Bergen Museum, an open-area museum featuring several reassembled wooden houses, most of which had been threatened with demolition. 

Klosteret is the name of a square on the ridge of Nordnes in Central Bergen. It is named after a Benedictine abbey founded about 1110, which became the seat of the bishop of Bergen after the reformation and the church was designated Bergen's cathedral. The entire complex burnt to the ground in 1536 and was not rebuilt. Some of these houses are said to have medieval basements.

The area along the southern slope of Nordnes, known as Nøstet, include a number of narrow alleys and tightly packed wooden houses. Most of the buildings are from the 18th and 19th centuries and the first effort to modernise the street grid only began in 1880. A plan was adopted to completely modernise the area in 1948 but this was never carried out. The name Strangehagen refers to Strange Jørgensen who founded a charitable institution in 1609 to provide accommodation for poor women. The original building disappeared in the fire of 1702 but a later building from 1751 still stands in nearby Klostergaten.     

The building that housed the Bergen branch of the Norwegian Bank was built in 1845 to a design by the architect Ole Peter Riis Høegh. An extension was considered in 1926 but was rejected in favour of preserving the existing building. 

The pedestrian section of Strandgaten differs from the rest of the street in the sense that it was untouched by the fire of 1916 and the explosion in 1944, and therefore has buildings dated to before the 20th century. It includes the Sundt department store, which was built in 1889 and extended in 1914. The department store first opened in 1845 and moved to a new-build in Torgallmenningen in 1938.  

The street Marken refers to an area, which in the middle ages belonged to Nonneseter cloister, and was named accordingly in 1856. The old street grid was long threatened with urban renewal, particularly after the new central train station was opened in 1913. A plan was adopted in 1908 and several of the properties had been acquired by the municipality already in the 19th century but the plan was never carried out. A decision to completely rebuild the area was adopted as late as 1964 but was abandoned in 1974.

The main body of the University Museum was built in 1863-65 to a design by the architect Johan Henrik Nebelong. The original proposals were by Christian Christie and Franz Schiertz but opinions from other architects were sought, a process which ended with Nebelong submitting his own plans.   The lateral wings were added in 1896-98 by Hans Jacob Sparre. Founded as Bergen Museum in 1826,  the institution became part of Bergen University when the university was created in 1946. 

Known as the town's bazar when it opened in 1877, the market building on Vetrlidsallmenningen was designed by architect Conrad Fredrik von der Lippe, who also designed the buildings on the corner of Finnegårdsgaten (left) and Kong Oscars gate (right). In the back can be seen a mansion block from 1904 by architect Egill Reimers. 

The former headquarters of Bergen Kreditbank was originally built in 1876 by the architect Herman Schirmer, but was extended twice by later architects without breaking with the original style. The first extension was in 1897 by Adolf Fischer and the second in 1918 by Schak Bull. The bank was merged with Bergens Privatbank to create Bergen Bank in 1975, which later merged in 1990 to become Den norske Bank (DnB).

C.G. Sundts house on Muséplassen was built in 1881 by architect Edvard Madsen. It has been the property of the university of Bergen since 1968. 

The ambition for Sydneskvartalet was for it to become Bergen's Victoria Terrasse, and it was originally intended to have a single facade by Schak Bull when construction began in 1890. However, the project stalled and was only finished in 1915, resulting in various changes in style and cost-saving measures.

The plan for Haugeveien was adopted in 1891 and features a number of buildings from that period though construction was not fully realised due to opposition from one of the local property owners. The case was only settled by a supreme court ruling in 1916.  

The stock exchange building was originally built in 1860-61 by Franz Wilhem Schiertz but was given a new facade by Lars Solberg in 1893. It is one of only two buildings to survive the fire of 1916 and is now mainly used as a restaurant.

This building at the tip of the Nordnes peninsula was built in 1896 by the architect Schak Bull for a charitable institution providing accommodation for poor and retired mariners. The institution was originally created in 1571 and previous buildings were located in the vicinity of the old town hall. 

Skansen fire station was built in 1902-03 as a response to the fire in 1901. Architect Peter Andreas Blix originally intended to build a brick building in neo-gothic style, but a cheaper alternative was chosen, resulting in this wooden building by Paul Thedor Bjørnstad. It served as a fire station until 1969.

Little wooden houses clambering up hillsides is typical for Bergen but particularly for the area above.  Bryggen. The name of this street, Søndre Blekeveien, refers to an estate which was first referred to as Bleken in 1744. The manor house from 1772 was demolished in 1900 to make way for the new fire station.   

Den National Scene was built in 1906-09 after the architect Einar Oscar Schou won a competition in 1904. The theatre was founded in 1875, succeeding previous institutions from 1850 and 1794. The theatre building that had been used since 1794 was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1944. 

 Along with the stock exchange building, the headquarters of Bergens Privatbank survived the fire of 1916 and had been completed only three years before, in 1913. The architects were Fredrik Arnesen and Arthur Darre Kaarbø.

The cluster of buildings between Bryggen and Bergenhus are mostly modern due to the explosion in 1944, with the exception of this office building from 1919-20. It was originally built for the shipping company Det Nordenfjeldske Dampskibselskab by architect Eystein Michalsen. It was sold to Bergen port authorities in 1979 and has since been turned into a hotel.  

The first building to be completed after the fire of 1916 was built for Svaneapoteket, a pharmacy that was created in 1595 and is considered the country's oldest company still in existence. The architects behind the new building, completed in 1821, are Fredrik Arnesen and Arthur Darre Kaarbøe. The previous pharmacy was probably built after the fire of 1756 with alterations to the facade dated to 1848.

The rebuilding of Torgallmenningen is mostly to a uniform design concept by architect Finn Berner, who won a competition in 1923. The central avenue was originally created in 1582 and was first named Torgallmenningen after 1702.  

The Telegraph Building was completed in 1927 to a design by architects Finn Berner and Anton Kielland. The open competition was won by Finn Berner alone in 1923 but the telegraph company had already selected Kielland to take part in the project. The style has been described as neo-Georgian and differs from the neo-classical buildings, which dominate in the rest of the area rebuilt after the fire of 1916. 

Blaauwgården was built in 1936 by architect Leif Grung as a combined warehouse and office building. The facades are separated into two sections to indicate the space allocated to each function, though the building is now used purely for offices. The street C. Sundts gate was created after a fire in 1901 and consists mainly of art nouveau buildings from that period.

Gamle Bergen Museum was opened in 1949 and features a number of houses from the 18th and 19th centuries that have been relocated for the purpose of preservation. It is an open-air museum built on the grounds of a summer residence called Elsero.

A few modern buildings can be seen east of the traditional city centre, including a high-rise by architects Solheim and Jacobsen from 2008. The buildings in the foreground are Bergen Library from 1917 and Lysverket from 1935-38.