The Cathedral of Bergen in has existed nearly 900 years. The church was dedicated to the Norwegian saint Olav around 1150. Since then it has burnt five times and was even hit by a cannonball in 1665. The cannonball is still firmly stuck in the church tower to remind us of a time with battles in the bay.

When the Bergen Fire Brigade was founded in 1868, Corps de Garde was an obvious choice as one of two primary locations for fire stations. Corps de Garde, however, has a history that goes some years further back.

Ladegårdsgaten 19 was built in 1853. The house started out as a school, Stølen School. Later on it has been used as a maritime school, a fire station and a police station. Today the house is privately owned.

The only thing left from Nikolaikirken, St Nikolai’s Church, is the name of the street that leads past the church’s location in past times. In the Middle Ages the church was used as a lookout for fires, but probably the Reformation made the churche redundant.

The little lookout post at Fredriksberg Fortress still stands. Little else gives testimony to the fact that the fortress also has played its part in protecting Bergen from devastating fires. When Bergen Fire Brigade was modernized after a big fire in 1901, Fredriksberg Fortress was turned into a small fire station and lookout post.

Bergen Fire Station is situated in central Bergen next to both the old and the new Town Hall. The fire station was built in 1888, but the fire brigade had used the beautiful Hagerup’s town house as residence for the fire chief since 1863.

The fire station at Skansen was built in 1903. After a big fire in 1901, the city acknowledged the need for an up-to-date fire department and found hidden resources for its funding. The investments of 1903 are still enjoyable for us today - the fire station is now a cultural heritage site and among the town’s many prides. Mind you, not everyone praised the building’s architecture in 1903…