Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-09-30
BERGEN.
A City Of Old Buildings. Rain. and Fish-His
tOrical "reminiscences
Boston Herald

!
There are only three large cities in Nor
way. Christiania has the greatest number
of inhabitants, and is the capital. Thron-
dhjen is the oldest, and perhaps the most
famous historically. Bergen is best known
for its interesting old buildings and its
| fish, 1T lies for the most part on billy
peninsula, and on three sides are steep
mountains whose tops are almost alwavs
cloud covered. There are four distinct
SUBMITS, though after one has become acI
climated and received due instruction, he
will learn that there are three more peaks,
for Bergen like ancient Rome, Is a ''city
of seven hills" and in token thereof has
| blazOned them on her scutcheOn beneath
a fortified castle. These mountains are
considered the cause of the heavy rainfall
| for which Bergen has long been noted,
! They attract the clouds, which then pour
| their waters into the town, seyenty-tWO
inches falling during the year. This has
| been an unusually rainy summer, and out
of six consecutive weeks here there have
been but four bright days. So notorious
| is Bergen weather that a story is told of
an old Dutch skipper who for twenty years
had brought goods to the town, and always,
when he reached his port, it was raining,
or very misty. One day when he arrived
it happened to be bright and clear, which
so surprised the worthy sea dog that he
felt he must have mistaken his course and
gone into the wrong harbor, so he set sail
again and hunted for many weeks along
the shore in search of Bergen wharves, with
the rain and wet
Ajargvin, the "pasture among the noun
tains," is said to have been founded
by famous old king, Olaf Cyrre, on the
site of an ancient royal residence. For
many years it was the largest and most
prosperous city in Norway, though a num-
Der of battles and naval conflicts took
place in its vicinity. About the year 1910
the town first began to come under the
control of the Hansetic league, which for
upward Of two hundred years, welded a
powerful influence on the trade of all ma
tions. Bergen soon became the entire
center of export for all the fish of Norway.
The Mortimer came down in their broad
beamed, double-ended "j@gts," bringing
loads of dried cod and herring to exchange
with the German traders for dry goods
and other merchandise. All along the
north side of the harbor is the Tydskebry-
gge or German quai, on which were built
warehouses, many of which are still in
use. On the pier in front of each is
simple crane, made like an old fashioned
well-sweep, and used for unlnading the
fish from the boats. These stOrehouses or
guards pronounced ''goards'') belonged to
merchants IN Bremen, Lubbock, or some
other Hanseaitic. city and each was under
the control of a head clerk, responsible
for all the business transacted. Each
gard consisted of one long building with
an M-shaped, red-tiled roof and a straight
passageway leading through the center to
different parts of the storehouse. One
of these guards has been preserved intact,
and contains many interesting curiosities
of the old days.