The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1955, Side 26

24
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1955
strand, in particular, is noted for its
scenic splendour — one of the most
popular summer resorts in Norway.
After a most pleasant but all too short
a stay there, we headed back to Ber-
gen on board one of the fjord steamers,
seeing much of scenic Sognefjord on
the way, and experiencing in a degree
the sudden wind squalls for which the
fjord is noted.
From Sogn came a large number of
the settlers of Iceland, including some
of the families who played a fundamen-
tal part in the political and cultural
life of the pioneering period of 'the
country.
Bergen, which was the next stop on
our extensive tour of Norway, is the
country’s second largest city, with
about 150,000 inhabitants, suburbs in-
cluded. Indeed “a lovely and charm-
ing 'town”, it is located in uncom-
monly attractive surroundings. It is
Norway’s “City of Seven Hills”, and
from the highest of these, Floyfjellet,
there is, on a clear day, a magnificent
view of the city and its environs. Ber-
gen, on the other hand, is noted for
its heavy rainfall, but we have no
cause for complaint on that score, as
our day there was, for the most part,
one of radiant sunshine.
Bergen (or Bjorgvin as it was known
in earlier days) is a very old and
historic city, founded by King Olafur
Kyrri (the Quiet) in 1070. For nearly
900 years it has been one of the most
important seaports of Scandinavia,
due in no small measure to its excel-
lent location for trade with Western
Europe and other parts of the world.
Formerly, for centuries, it was the
centre of the far-flung activities of
the Hanseatic merchants, who also
loom large in 'the history of Icelandic
trade and commerce.
In Bergen there are, therefore,
many reminders of the long stay of
the German merchants in the city and
their domination in commercial mat-
ters. That is particularly true of the
Flanseatic Museum, which presents a
vivid picture of the daily life of the
merchants and their trade policies,
far from being always of the admirable
kind.
St. Mary’s Church, the oldest build-
ing in Bergen, and one of the oldest
and most interesting churches in Nor-
way, also reveals in many ways its long-
time connection with the German
merchants.
Bergen, a cultural as well as a com-
mercial center, can point with pride
to many of Norway’s greatest sons as
its own. A number of these are com-
memorated by statues in their native
city. In Bergen there also stands in a
prominent place Gustav Vigeland’s
statue of Snorri Sturluson, similar to
the one at Reykholt already mention-
ed.
Among the most important sights
in the vicinity of Bergen are “Troll-
haugen”, the home of Edvard Grieg,
the famous composer, now a museum;
the manor house of Christian Michel-
sen, who occupies a special place of
honor in the history of Norway be-
cause of his wise and effective leader-
ship during the period of crisis when
Norway and Sweden came to the part-
ing of the ways in 1905; and Fantoft
Stave Church, another splendid
example of the unique Norwegian
wooden churches of that type, set in
natural surroundings which strikingly
accentuate its beauty.
From Bergen we continued our
journey south along the Norwegian
coast to Haugesund, but from that
general area, Rogaland and Agder, a