Wikijunior:World Heritage Sites/Bryggen

Bryggen is found in a harbour called the Vågen harbour. This harbor is located in a town called Bergen in Norway. The local name for it is Tyskebryggen which means the German Dock. It is a series of commercial buildings lining the east side of the harbour. It was listed on UNSCEO list of World Cultural sites since 1979.

Bergen was founded in 1070. Around 1350, a trading post of the Hanseatic League (an alliance of trading guilds) was established there. The town slowly developed into an important center of trade and many buildings were taken over by the League Merchants. The building were turned into warehouses and goods such as fish (from Norway) and cereals (from other parts of Europe) filled the warehouse. There are regular fires to the warehouses as they are made of wood. In 1702, a large fire burned all the buildings belonging to the Hanseatic League and they cease using the town as a Trading Hub and all buildings are returned to the locals. The current town is made up of buildings that are built after 1700s as the eariler wood buildings are mostly burned with the exception of some stone buildings left intact.

Bryggen was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 mainly because it is the largest major trading port in the part of Europe.