This warren of wood clapboard buildings became the Hanseatic HQ from the 14th to the mid-16th century, and though periodic fires – including an especially huge humdinger in 1702 - have over the centuries done away with chunks of this district (hey, build in wood, duh…); the most recent was in 1955 But the swath of 62 buildings that remains delivers the proverbial blast from the past – narrow lanes, askew façades, and hanging galleries, all now occupied by cute little boutiques, restaurants, and other stalwarts of the tourist trade. I learned about the past in the Hanseatic Museum and dined on some very tasty local uer (red snapper) in the city´s oldest eatery, Bryggen Tracteursted, with a red-clapboard exterior and a cozy, equally woody décor of rustic green wood-plank walls. 

Read more in my post Bergen, Norway´s Most Historic City.