ArticleGamle Bergen

All the houses on display in the Norwegian Museum were built as exhibits, and nobody has ever actually lived in them. As opposed, each and every building in "Gamle Bergen" (Old Bergen) had been inhabited for centuries, and their past owners would be very surprised and flattered to find out that their property became a museum exhibit. There was nothing historic about those very typical, very commonplace houses - and, ironically, it was their typicality that secured their place in history, as each and every of them was taken apart, transported (plank by plank) to a new location and reassembled there exactly as it used to be... 

Ordinary as each of those buildings might be, together they work a miracle of bringing to life a prosperous medieval town full of contrasts and flair. A town where a baker and his entire household would live like cavemen, sleeping between 6 pm and midnight and working for the rest of the time with short breaks for meals. Only the lady of the house/baker's wife would have some semblance of leisure between selling bread and bookkeeping - just enough time to sit in front of the window and people-watch, sew or repair clothes. The baker's servants and apprentices would sleep in massive iron chests with heavy lids. The guide never mentioned if any of those lids were prone to snap shut on their own accord... 

A neighbouring barber-shop would also stay open until late but barbers and their assistants worked shifts there. The main room was always kept clean and orderly, customers' seats were somewhat hard but rather comfortable. Many customers would return to the shop month after month, and they were considered almost family and treated accordingly. Occasionally, if not often, people would drop by the shop simply to chat and share news rather than have a haircut. All in all, the place looked and functioned quite like a modern cafe or a social club...