St Mary's Church

Mariakirken was built in the mid-twelfth century in Romanesque style with two western towers, and it has stood through every fire that destroyed the wooden city around it, which makes it the oldest surviving building in Bergen. From about 1408 to 1766 it served the German merchants of the Hanseatic Kontor at Bryggen, and their money furnished it: a richly carved and gilded triptych altarpiece from around 1420 made in northern Germany, and a baroque pulpit of 1676 covered in allegorical figures, one of the most elaborate in Norway. Sermons were preached in German here until 1868. A long restoration closed the church for years, and it reopened in 2015 with the medieval fabric conserved.

What you actually see

• The Romanesque stonework - twelfth-century masonry and twin west towers.
• The Hanseatic altarpiece - a gilded German triptych from around 1420.
• The baroque pulpit - an elaborately carved and painted 1676 pulpit.
• The German connection - three centuries of use by the Bryggen merchants.

When to go

Year-round, with longer hours in summer; the church closes for services and concerts. It is a five-minute walk from Bryggen and easily combined with the Hanseatic Museum.

Honest expectations

Opening hours are limited and vary by season, and the church shuts for services without much notice. The interior is small and dark. There is a modest entry charge.

Nearby

Bryggen and the Hanseatic Museum are alongside; Bergenhus fortress is a few minutes north.