Bergen - Bergenhus

Walk along Bryggen in Bergen's harbor district to the northwest, then by the Festningskai, on the north side of which is the old fortress of Bergenhus, formerly commanding the entrance to the harbor. At the south end of the fortress, on the quay, is the Rosenkrantz Tower, built by Erik Rosenkrantz in 1562-67 around an earlier 13th century structure; it was severely damaged by the explosion of a German munitions ship in 1944 but later rebuilt. Behind it is the Håkonshalle, begun in English Gothic style by King Håkon Håkonsson in 1247; thereafter it fell into disrepair and was restored in 1880-95 and again in 1957-61. Above the Bergenhus fortress are the walls of the Sverresborg, built about 1660 on the remains of a castle of King Sverre.