Bergen was founded by King Olav Kyrre in 1070 and soon developed into an international trading centre. Bergen was the capital of Norway until Oslo took over in 1299. Still, Bergen remained a clerical and commercial centre. The German Hanseatic League had one of their main offices in the city and controlled most of the trade from the late Middle Ages until the middle of the 16th century. By 1600, Bergen was the largest city in Scandinavia with a population of around 15.000.
Bergen has expanded several times by incorporating neighbouring municipalities and districts. In 1877, the county parishes belonging to the Cathedral and Korskirken (Sandviken, Møhlenpris, Nygård, Lungegården and Kalfaret) were incorporated. Årstad was incorporated in 1915 and Gyldenpris was transferred to Bergen from Laksevåg in 1921. Fyllingsdalen was transferred to Bergen from Fana in 1955. In 1972 the following municipalities were merged to form a single large municipality called Bergen: Arna, Bergen, Fana, Laksevåg and Åsane. At the same time, Bergen ceased to be a separate county.
Bergen lies on latitude 60E 23’ 36’’ and eastern longitude 5E 20’ 6’’ (measured from the Cathedral spire). The city’s total area is 465.3 km², and the land area is 445.1 km². The population density per km² (land) is 638. The municipality has four deaneries with 21 parishes.
The leading business and industry clusters are: Energy (oil, gas and renewable energy) – Maritime industries – Tourism – Creative (media, design film and music) – Marine sector.
The population on 1. January 2024 was 292 482.