Bryggen, Norway

Norway-2, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Bryggen (Norwegian for the Wharf), also known as Tyskebryggen (the German Wharf) is a series of Hanseatic commercial buildings lining the eastern side of the fjord coming into Bergen, Norway. Bryggen has since 1979 been on the UNESCO list for World Cultural Heritage sites. The name has the same origin as the Flemish city of Brugge.

The city of Bergen was founded in 1070. In 1360 a Kontor of the Hanseatic League was established there, and as the town developed into an important trading centre, the wharfs were improved. The administrative buildings of Bryggen housed clerks from many areas, especially Germany. The warehouses were filled with goods, particularly fish from northern Norway, and cereal from Europe.

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Roros, Norway

Norway-1, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Røros was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was split into four municipalities on 1 January 1926 (Røros town, Røros landsogn, Brekken, and Glåmos), but these four were merged together again on 1 January 1964.
The town is named after the old Røros farm ("Røraas" around 1530), since the town was built on its ground. The first element is the river name Røa and the last element is os meaning "mouth of a river" (the small river Røa runs into the great river Glåma here). The meaning of the river name Røa is unknown.

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