Bergen (Bjørgvin), is a city on the west coast of Norway with population of 285.900. Bergen is the second largest city in Norway. The city centre and northern neighbourhoods are on ‘the city fjord’, and the city is surrounded by mountains. Bergen is known as the city of seven mountains.
Trading in Bergen may have started as early as the 1020s. According to tradition, the city was founded in 1070 by King Olav Kyrre and was named Bjørgvin, ‘the green meadow among the mountains’.
The city is an international center for aquaculture, shipping, the offshore petroleum industry and subsea technology, and a national centre for higher education, media, tourism and finance. Natives speak a distinct dialect, known as Bergensk.
Bergen has a mild winter climate, though with a lot of precipitation. From December to March, Bergen can, in rare cases, be up to 20 °C warmer than Oslo, even though both cities are at about 60° North. The Gulf Stream keeps the sea relatively warm, considering the latitude, and the mountains protect the city from cold winds from the north, north-east and east.
