During the second half of the nineteenth century, meat markets were established all over Europe as well as in Bergen. This happened for two reasons. First of all, there was a large increase in the population, particularly in the towns and cities. Secondly, knowledge about health and hygiene also increased among the general population at this time.

The Grammar School has had different locations over time – but always in connection with the Cathedral of Bergen. It began as a clerical school, but is today a modern gymnasium. The old school house for the Grammar School is today a museum of education.

The school building next to the funicular station in Øvregaten has been in constant use as an elementary school for over 260 years. Established in 1739, the building is as old as compulsory schooling in Norway, and raised to give the poorest their basic knowledge.

Children have come to school at Stølen and Krohnengen for 150 years. Around 1853 the children started to attend Stølen School. Krohnengen School was ready to accept children in 1880, as the first of a number of big, modern public schools in Bergen. In 1883 1360 children in 39 classes went to Krohnengen Public School. In 2004, 350 boys and girls fight for room in 15 classes.

The sailors’ poor house – De Sjøfarendes fattighus – is one of several historical poor houses in Bergen. Traditionally convents ran these social institutions. After the Reformation the convents were no longer able to continue their charitable work, and caring for the old, sick and poor turned into a major challenge for society. The sailors’ poor house was initiated by the City Council in 1571.

Ulrike Eleonora Pihl returned from England in 1863, where she had received her pedagogical training. She started to work as a governess with a family in Western Norway, but came back to Bergen in 1865. In April that same year she advertised in the local paper for pupils for her institute for girls.

The prison at Bergenhus Fort and Castle was commonly known as the Slave Prison. The convicts of particularly hard crimes were kept here. The prison opened in 1739, and offered board and lodging to people who had been a bit careless about the laws of society. The last slaves left the prison in 1878.

People who suffer from psychological diseases have always been “taken care of”. But what kind of care have the ill people received? In the early 19th century it was believed that the opportunity to take walks in a beautiful garden could be of some help to the ill. In 1815 the hospital purchased an ajacent meadow, and Bergen Mental Hospital was newly built with gardens in 1833.