BERGEN, Norway, a seaport on the west coast, capital of a province or diocese of the same name, formerly the principal town of the kingdom, but now the second. It is 186 miles northwest of Christiania, and about 25 from the open sea, and is situated on and about the head of two inlets, one of which forms the harbor. The tongue of land between the harbor and the other inlet (Puddefjord) is an elevated ridge crowned by an old fort, while the entrance on the other or northeast side is commanded by the old fortress of Bergenhus, now partly used as a prison. Rocky hills from 800 to 2,000 feet high encircle the town on the land side and furnish many picturesque spots. The climate is com paratively mild, on account of the sheltered situation, but is remarkable for rain, the annual rainfall being about 73 inches. The town is well built and clean, but the houses are mostly of wood, and many of the streets are crooked and uneven, on account of the irregularity of the site. A portion of the city, burned in 1855, has' been rebuilt very regularly. Electric tram ways traverse the principal streets. There are a number of squares or open spaces, including the market-place. There is a cathedral (built in 1537), and several other churches, the oldest being Saint Mary's, built after a fire in 1249. The public institutions include schools, a library of 90,000 volumes, a theatre, a museum, etc. The inhabitants of the middle coast of Norway bring timber, tar, train-oil, hides, etc., and particularly dried fish (stock-fish), to Bergen to exchange them for grain, flour and other neces saries. The town carries on a large trade in these commodities. It is the great fish market of Norway. Twice a year the Norland men come to Bergen with their fish. In March and April several hundred vessels are to be seen in the harbor at once, laden with the produce of the winter fishing and with skins and feathers. Codfish for salting, fish roe, blubber, skins, herrings and cod-liver oil are the chief exports, amounting to two-fifths those of the entire country. A fair, attended by fishermen
of all nations, is annually held. A fishery museum was established here in 1881. A con siderable amount of ship-building is carried on. A United States consul is resident here. Bergen is the native place of the poet Holbcrg. Bergen was founded in 1070 by King Olaf Kyrre, who made it the second city of his kingdom, and it was soon raised to the first rank. The first treaty entered into by England with any foreign nation was made with Bergen in 1217. But the English and Scottish traders were soon displaced by the merchants of the Hanse towns, who made Bergen one of their four depots, compelled the fishermen to trade here exclusively, and continued to exercise and abuse their monopoly until their supremacy was broken by an act issued by Frederick II of Denniark in 1560. In 1763 their last ware house fell into the hands of a dtizen of Bergen, Pop. 76,867.
berg/en-op-thin', Holland, a town in the province of North Brabant in a marshy situation on the Scheldt, where the Zoom enters it, 20 miles north-north west of Antwerp. It was formerly a strong fortress, the morasses around it making it al most inaccessible to an assailing force, wlule its fortifications consisted of regular works, con structed by the celebrated Cochorn. It is well built, but has no edifices deserving of particular notice. It made an important figure during the Spanish war, and successfully resisted the at tacks of the Duke of Parma in 1581 and 1588, and of Spinola in 1622. It was taken by the French in 1747 after a siege of nearly three months; and in 1795 the French under Pichc gru again gained possession of it by capitula tion. It was unsuccessfully attempted by the British under Sir Thomas Graham, afterward Lord Lynedoch, in 1814. Its trade has suffered greatly from the proximity of Antwerp. Its industries include the making of cloth, pottery and bricks, and it raises and exports consider able quantities of oysters and anchovies. Pop. 15,000.