Some 200 m (200 yds) NW, at the S end of the Municipal Park, is a building (Permanentan) housing the Vestlandske Kunstindustri-museum (applied and decorative art, furniture, carpets, porcelain, etc.), the Fishery Museum, which gives a good general picture of the Norwegian fishing industry, and the Municipal Museum of Art, with a collection of work by Norwegian painters of the 19th and 20th c. (J. C. Dahl, H. Gude, E. Munch, etc.). From here Christies Gate runs S past St Paul’s Church (Paulskirker, R.C.) to the hill of Sydneshaugen, on which are the University and, adjoining the Botanic Garden, the University Collections : in the old building natural history, in the new building cultural history and a Shipping Museum. To the SE extends the beautiful Nygardspark, in the southern part of which is Vigeland’s Unicorn Fountain. From the Museum the Puddefjord Bridge runs towards the southern districts of the town.
To the N of the Vestlandske Kunst-industrimuseum is the small Municipal Park, Travel within Scandinavia in the northern part of which can be seen a statue (by J. Vik, 1 91 7) of the Bergen-born composer Edvard Grieg (1 843-1 907). To the W of the park is the elongated Oe Bulls Plass, with a monument (by Stephen Sinding, 1901) to another native of Bergen, the king of fiddlers Ole Bull (1810-80). At the W end of the square is the handsome Theatre, the Nasjonale Scene (1 906-9). In the gardens stands a bronze statue (by G. Vigeland, 1917) of the dramatist Bjornson (1832-1910). In the NW of the town, at the tip of a promontory between VSgen and the Puddefjord, we find the Nordnespark, with a beautiful view and an interesting Aquarium (1960).
SURROUNDINGS.- To the NE ofthe town rises the Floyfjell (319 m 1047 ft), from which there are magnificent views of Bergen and its surroundings, particularly beautiful in the early morning or at sunset. The hill can be climbed either on foot (about 3 km 2 miles) or by means of the funicular (Floybanen) from the Vetrlidsalmenning (10 minutes: the line passes through a tunnel 150 m (1 60 yds) long and then, after the Fjellveien station, another tunnel 75 m (80 yds) long). At the upper station is the Fleyen Restaurant (31 3 m 1027 ft), from which there are splendid views of the town and the coastal scenery, extending as far as the open sea. From the upper station a road (30 minutes’ walk) runs NE over the plateau, which becomes steadily more barren, to the foot of the BlSmann (551 m 1 808 ft). There is a footpath to the top of this hill, from which there are
fine panoramic views, particularly by evening light. The somewhat higher peak behind it is not worth the extra climb. Travel within Scandinavia The road continues to the radio station on the Rundemann (556 m (1824 ft): half-hour’s walk).
The Fjellvei, half-way up the Fltfyfjell, affords a number of attractive viewpoints. At the SE end of this path, Travel within Scandinavia some 25 minutes’ walk from the intermediate station of the funicular, is a restaurant.
To the SE of the town is another summit offering far-ranging views, Ulrikken (643 m 2110 ft), reached by a cableway from Haukeland, on the SE outskirts. On foot it takes approximately two hours to reach the top. 6km (4miles) from the middle of the town is the Fantoft stave church, brought here from Fortun in 1 884 and extensively restored.
Sognefjord, Hardangerfjord, Nordfjord and Hardangervidda: see the entries for these places.
