Bergen Then and Now
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2022
- This is a story about trees. It is a look at how Bergen, Norway has worked to reforest the community. But trees grow slowly, so what’s the best way to show changes over time? Through archive photographs.
To understand the transformation, it helps to visualize the passage of time, comparing an image from the past to a contemporary view, compressing decades to mere moments. Linking what “was” to what “is” lets you immediately understand what has changed, what has been lost and what remains the same.
Bergen Kommune has curated a rich public repository of photographs, many dating to the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. These thousands of images present a window into where the community has been. Through this lens of the past, we can view what we have lost with an eye to what we may lose in the future.
It has been a labor of love, with hours spent wandering the city trying to find the exact location where the original photographer set up his camera. I have done my best to be accurate, but there are times where the landmarks are missing, or through reforestation, are now hidden.
I love old photos, they open moments of time that give us insight into life long ago. If you are like me, and you love to see what was, take some time to dig through the archive. It is simply magical.
Bergen fotoarkiv - Bergen Kommune
www.bergen.kommune.no/hvaskje...
Music by Epidemic Sound
Train Ride - Alex Kehm
Intimacy - Alex Kehm
Thoughts in the Rain - Elm Lake
Little Lucifer - Mattias Tell
Not Blue - Kylie Dailey
Fantastic video and great use of the before and after images (expertly done too - well done!). Bergen is one of those cities which I love to visit, almost in a "touching base" kind of way, and which draws me back all the stronger the longer I leave it between trips. Unlike Oslo, where I live, it has managed the almost impossible task of retaining, through judicious preservation of much of its urban architecture, a character to its centre which - whether true or not - strongly suggests it hasn't changed much at all for well over a century or so. The focus on greenery you present actually made me aware of at least one reason why this characteristic of the city persists too, one which I simply took for granted on every visit. I'll be looking at it with new eyes on my next trip. Thanks!
Once I understood what was rebuilt after the fire of 1916 I acquired a new appreciation for all that has been protected and preserved. The word I would use to describe the center of town is "coherent. Most everything seems to fit together. Most everything, there are a few klunkers. I appreciate that you took the time to share such a great and thoughtful comment. Really good insights.
Oslo has some great recreational areas, but not all of them are so apparent, sometimes not even to inhabitants, and they can be placed unevenly. Grønland for example is - despite its name... something we've seen before eh? Haha - ironically devoid of ANY green area, just the river and a few walkways. Many areas have huge areas with little greenery although they often lie in between areas, while others have plenty. Østmarka and Nordmarka also has the most extensive light trails in the world as well as maintained ski tracks. As I said, the recreational areas are plenty.
But there's also 3 times as many people in Oslo and apart from the also much huger green parks than in Bergen, may seem more "gray" some places.
Oslo of course also suffered fires and also a lot more during WWII, as well as being horribly victim to the idiotic "functionalist" - I'd call it lifeless Soviet - "style" of soulless expansion.
Today, Oslo is ever evolving and the waterfront is truly unique and just becoming better and better. I've lived in Bergen and I have lots of friends in Berge, but they also have a lot to learn from Oslo just as Oslo can learn from that city.
Where in Oslo are you from/where have you lived?
This unique video was very special to me. I grew up in Bergen but left the city in my early twenties in favor of the United States where I lived for 12 years. I have since lived in 5 different countries but am now after 31 years abroad back in Norway and live in Oslo. Over the last 43 years, I have only been back to Bergen a handful of times and the last time was close to 20 years ago. This presentation shocked me at how much the city has changed over the years. Even if you recognize the topography from above, you can clearly see changes in the details up close. Bergen has actually always been a "green" city because of all the rain so rain is not always negative but has in many ways given Bergen its special identity. In one of your videos, I saw that you and your wife were walking in Solheim cemetery right where my parents are buried. It made me recall memories of my happy childhood and time as a young man in the city to which my heart belongs. Thank you so much for taking the time to capture moments that in themselves will become historic over time.
As someone who has lived in Bergen my whole life I really enjoy this new view on my city and the fact that you went back to show Bergen then and Bergen now.
Hopefully my admiration and appreciation for Bergen comes through. To me, the greening of Bergen is a big success story. Thank you for watching!
Absolute masterpiece. Thank you! - A Bergener.
Seeing the absolutely perfect transition between the old pictures and the current is unbelievably satisfying. Wonderful job there, mate. Must've been a lot of dedicated work!
I have to say, it took a while to put together. But there was magic every time I would create a new comp to see what had changed. The reveal was just as magical for me. It was a challenge that I wanted to figure out. Thanks!
So well done! I loved the research you did, as well as posting “then” pictures, that morphed into “now” videos, showing the same landscape. Very cool
If there is any medal to ever be given out for best transitions, you're nominated!
Drew, it has been said before, but this video is a real masterpiece!
Thanks for all the hours that you must have put into finding and recreating all the perspectives at the right angles and doing the montages! I wish I would have seen this, before visiting Bergen in the beginning of August.
I just returned from a visit there. A very charming slice of Heaven.
So nice to see a video from you again sir. I hope you still are enjoying your stay in Norway.
Really feels like home to me now. In many ways, this video is a love note to the city.
Wonderful production and presentation. As a Bergen native I loved this!
Bravo. Really, really well done. My wife and I visited Bergen in '99, and we found it a wonderful city.
Wow this video blew me away I love your videos can’t wait to see more!
This was simply brilliant 👍
Exquisite storytelling and editing . It truly moved me. And so well researched too.
Thank you Lars. It is hard to tell a story like this as a newcomer. I wanted to do my best to talk from a point of fact rather then just guessing wildly about the changes. As to the editing, I have spend my lifetime practicing the craft. It is my happy place.
Brilliant video! Loved the transitions!
wOw! What an absolutely fantastic video. Exquisite use of history, scenery; both man made and nature. The fusing old and new photoes, almost cinematic. 👍👍
Classifies as an historic document i.m.o. This should be bought by Bergen city, museums, visitor info, tourist info, Visit Norway etc.
I actually learned a lot by watching this. Thanks for sharing with us.
KuDos! You should live in every major city in Norway, and do simular projects 😉
Btw, have you enjoyed your time in Norway?
Thank you. I do appreciate the positive feedback.
Your video and editing skills are so good! Dont know how many times i just asked myself how you do all these transitions where you use parts of the old and video from the new. Also very good job getting the exact framing as the old picture. One thing that makes me sad, is when you see the beautiful old architecture are swapped out with some minimalistic crap that does not blend in at all. Loved your video :)
This place sounds great
I remember your videos about moving to Bergen during covid. Hope you enjoy it here. I'll buy you a beer if I ever come across you "in the wild"
Your work is amazing. I am blown away. Thank you for the wonderful comparisons of the then and now of my home town. It is amazing how much you have accomplished since you arrived.
So cool❤ Thank you😊
So cool to see the before and after transitions! It's refreshing to see such care being given towards nature while planning expansions to the city, especially compared to a place like Houston, TX. The preference we give to cars, particularly in the US, is disheartening. I find myself wishing for a simple bus or tram route just to get groceries or something from the pharmacy, instead of having to spend half an hour in traffic just to get to where I'm going. But I don't believe anything will be done even in the far future, unfortunately.
My wife and I will be travelling to Norway in less than a week and will be spending a short time in Bergen during our trip, so I can't wait to explore some of the sites that you've shown here and experience a far greener city than where I currently am.
Thank you for the well made and informative video!
Hey Taylor, welcome to Norway. At least in a few days. Let's hope the weather cooperates and you get to see this wonderful town in all its glory. Now when you stand in the harbor and look up at the trees you will know that 70 years ago most of them were not there. Planning is always difficult, as reaching consensus with so many stakeholders takes time and persistence. I like that Bergen is working hard to find the balance between growing the city and protecting what makes it great.
Amazingly interesting video Drew! A very deep look at a fascinating city
Well thank you for the kind words. It took some time to put together, more of a labor of love. I really appreciate that you took the time to watch it and let me know.
Of course! My girlfriend lives in Bergen, so i am familiar with the city. Love to see the history layed out like this. Great work
Glad to see you have settled in. More than most, it seems, and that warms a rain drenched heart. You have summed it up nicely, but the way you have done it is masterful. Truly interesting to see the city from your eyes and how you perceive it.
I came across your move to Norway videos a while back, so when I saw this appear on my page, I remembered and instantly wanted to check out how you were faring. I hope the inhabitants are treating you well, and that the transition went smoother after the inital (global) hiccups.
My dad is an architect with half a century of experience, and I myself love history - and geography, sociology and geopolitics.
So this was interesting to watch! Thank you and you're still a great presenter :))
Really enjoy your storytelling style!
Well thank you very much. That is so kind. I do my best to just be me. Thank you for watching my story.
I love the way you are able to tell your story's, its so refreshing to consume content on "todays" YT. Instead of blasting out 10 videos, taking the time to plan out a story and make the editing, voice-overs, stunning pictures.. pure quality.
If you are up for a free beer and a chat someday please let me know.
-Even 32
Glad to see you have settled in. More than most, it seems, and that warms a rain drenched heart. You have summed it up nicely, but the way you have done it is masterful. Truly interesting to see the city from your eyes and how you perceive it, and also from the perspective of the past and the present.
I came across your move to Norway videos a while back, so when I saw this appear on my page, I remembered and instantly wanted to check out how you were faring. I hope the inhabitants are treating you well, and that the transition went smoother after the inital (global) hiccups.
Loved it! :)
Fascinating video would love to visit Bergen someday !
Be careful, you could be like me... visit, fall in love with the community, and then move here. :) It is a wonderful town to visit, just bring your rain gear.
@@TheStoryGuide I'm currently living in north India it's like living inside an oven and we face
40 degree celcius ( 104 degree Fahrenheit + ) days everyday for months on end . I'm somebody that loves winters so cold rainy weather sounds like heaven to me ! Would love to come visit norway see Bergen , Trondheim , Tromso , I'm sure just like you i would fall in love with norway and not want to leave 😂
Lived in Bergen my hole life. Now that i'm almost fifty, i packed up and moved to the old family farm 2 hours drive(and a ferryride) north of Bergen. Just had to tell you i loved this video, and hope to see many more. 😊🥰 (I come back a few times a month... Just because. 😉😁)
Your videos of Norway through your perspective are incredibly enjoyable and I hope to see more soon. Thanks for the effort you put into it. I hope to be there one day
Lovely animation!
Great work!! Incredible skilled work. Impressing!
Bravo. Excellent movie about Bergen.
Very interesting and educational about Bergen's history and present.
Amazing video technique of showing the past and the present. Enriching content of urban planning and great historical research. Thank you so much.
Amazing videos as always. I looked from start to finish
That means a lot to me. Not your usual UA-cam fare, but I wanted to create something that would give a new perspective on how things change over time. Thanks for watching!
Great video essay, Drew! I love the thoughtful analysis and script and, of course, the amazing transitions between archived photos and present day Bergen. Bravo!
Vivian, you are so very kind. Thank you very much for the feedback. I really appreciate that you took the time to watch it. I will admit, I learned a ton on this project... both on the topic and the technique. It was fun.
En utrolig fasinerende video.
Amazing 💝
wow, what a carefully craftet and visually pleasing video. I really like your channel and your approach to making videos.
Love the images!
The fotoarkiv here in Bergen is pretty cool. I put a link in the description. You should check it out. Thanks!
Excellently done! And welcome to Bergen! Hopefully our paths will cross before you head back.
If you see me out and about be sure to say hello. I sometimes get a little lost in my thoughts so be bold. I love to talk with all the great folks in this town. And thank you for watching.
This video reminds me of back when I tried studying cultural heritage management.
It's a well made video. :-)
Amazing video of Bergen history, well made. Nice to se a video from you again :))
Thanks Egil for commenting. This year has been really busy with non-UA-cam work so it feels great to be back. The topics of the last few videos have wandered a bit as I explore some ideas for school. I appreciate you sticking with me.
As we say here in Bergen, anyone can become a bergener if you fulfill two criteria: 1) you love Bergen, and 2) you will stand up when we sing our city anthem. I´m sure you are happy to stand up for the song, and your video clearly shows that you love Bergen, so welcome as one of us!
(Source: Morten Hammerborg, "Bergenseren - en historisk analyse", 2020, Universitetsforlaget).
We do stand, and do our best to sing Nystemten. Although I am still a bit confused about why someone would have a sitar at the top of Ulriken. :)
Hi! I love your videos:) Are going to make more?🙂
Nice work duude 👍 You got the point! I visualize Bergen history all the time. But you mixed the pictures 😀
Thanks! 😃
I'm glad, that Bergen and the western Norwegian mountains exist.
Without them, we would get less sun and more rain in Denmark.
So interesting, Drew! I really liked your use of color fading in as time went on. Obviously, done by a pro! Linda
Wonderful historytelling, and use of onion skin! :-)
Loved your masking technique!!!
Thanks so much 😊
A fantastic video Drew!
Thanks for touching base. I appreciate hearing from you. Hope all is well. Spring finally arrived and the 20 degree days are melting the moss off my bones. How is life in Sweden?
@@TheStoryGuide Hej Drew! Life here in Northern Värmland is pretty good - spring is also here and we are busy keeping up with renovating the house and getting the garden ready for vegetable and strawberry plants. We are also waiting for the cows to be brought over to our fields, for the summer. Our neighbour across the lake have lots of cows this year and so my wife Kathy asked if we could take care of some cows and calves (like we did last summer). So, have you guys applied to change your nationality to Norwegian yet?
@@TheStoryGuide Heard about the avalanche near Bergen? Still a fair amount of snow in the mountains?
New sub, great video
Nice editing.
Wow, kind of you to notice. The audio took awhile to put together, but on the whole it was a fun project to edit.
Great video.
In addition to potitical changes, the city centre and some of the suburbs have also been affected by Bwergen’s old curse: fires.
The 1702 fire was the worst when 90% of the buildings burnt. Rebuilding the city laid the basic street plan oof Bergen as it is today.
The biggest fire the last 100 years or so was the i9i6 fire which destroyed of the city centre from Byparken and Hotel Norge up to Den nationale scene wown to Vågen and Torget as well as outwards, almost reaching Nykirken. There have been more but lesser fires too.
In 1944 the Vooorbode wxploded, igniting houses aon bloth sides of Vågen - in addition to damages from the blast itself.
Both disasters caused housing problems in a poor country and poor city reeling from problems during and after the world wars as well as the need to renovate the worers' slums from Vaskerelven/Håkonsgaten north to Sydnes and Verftet/USF.
1n 1955 Bryggen burnt, burning 6-8 of the buildings, leading to a heated discussion about whether to tear it down completely.
I dont know your profciency in reading Norwegian, but Gunnar Stallesen & Jo Gjerstad published "Hundreårsboken" (2000) to acconpany Staalesen’s 1900-1999 novel trilogy (later a tretralogy with the addedd novel ’2020 Post Festum ’novel published k0ki) containing among other things maps and photos showing the development of Bergen in the 20th Century.
All this is of course too muchnd too detailed to cover in a short video like this.
😍
2:44 That bank has been there for a long time... damn
I've seen a similar video but for Oslo, and it was comparing clips from the old Olsen Banden movies.
It's surprising to see both how much, and how little has changed in ca 50 years
That is a project that has been rolling around in the back of my head. After watching "Bergen i all beskjedenhet" on NRK I realized how much archive footage there is for the town. But I think I have about 5 ideas to create before I tackle that one. Thanks for watching and for all the thoughtful comments.
I don't have enough superlatives for this. Oh my, the local government should be giving you the Freedom of The City for this
I just hope for the next one they give me access to all the places I couldn't reach (because it was now the top floor of a building or fenced off). :) I found some great images that I couldn't use because I couldn't position myself where the original photographer stood. It was fun to figure out each of the locations, somewhat like a treasure hunt, looking for landmarks, triangulating the position, trying not to get run over by a bus. Thanks for watching and thank you for the kind words.
how is living in Bergen for you, compared to when you left US and now. Are you enjoying Norway and your studies etc. Would be cool to get a update vid :)
I've never been to Bergen.
When will you be posting an update to how you and your wife have adjusted to living in Norway?
Hi Diana. Thank you for reaching out. The past year-and-a-half has been very full. I should conclude my research project in the next month and then I will have the bandwidth to resurface with new content. I have months and months of footage, just no time to cobble together the stories.
We call it the city between the 7 mountains and the once that are most decently is Ulriken, Sandviksfjellet, Fløyen, Damsgårdsfjellet og Lyderhorn at least for me :P Been on them all?
I have to agree with your list of 7. But I have certainly heard different combinations. I will admit I put that line in the story just to see if folks would jump in with their combination. I have been on most, but not Lyderhorn.
Fortuitous timing!
Posten wants to build a new terminal at Kokstad near Bergen airport, but the city council is making last-minute costly demands in order to preserve nature in that area. Posten is now having second thoughts, and are threatening to build in a different county.
On one hand, I like to have easy access to nature. One the other, it's 300 jobs we could potentially lose, and we already have plenty of forest to go around. The mountains limit our real estate, so preserving our forests comes at an even higher cost.
Managing these sorts of opportunities has got to be difficult. I would hate to be a stakeholder in reaching that decision. To keep a city vital it needs to grow, but where and how is the tough part. Perhaps videos like this can help folks frame both the near-term and long-term benefits of the final decision. There has been a century of arguing over land use here, and I don't think that discussion will end any time soon. Thanks for watching and thanks for sharing a great observation.
Wao this video is incredeble. I love the way you edited it and shows the changes in the city. Some of these pictures i have seen before but the way you edited and mixed old and new photos puts the old photoes i have seen in a compleatly new context. You also found several photoes that I have never seen before. You did an amazing jobb with this video.
Also welcome to Bergen hope you enjoy the wather ⛈️🌧🌩🌦🌥🌤🌞🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🌧🤣🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for the kind words. And I like that your comment looks oddly like my YR forecast on my phone. Maybe needs a little less sun for Bergen. 😉
2:19 That gray, brutalist building in the background is such an eyesore. As we say in Norwegian: Uff! :(
That is so funny that you mentioned the Radhus. Two days ago my wife and I were having an utepils and commenting on the incongruity of a brutalist structure planted in the middle of town. We chalked it up to a combination of lowest bidder and an effort to be contemporary 50 years ago. Afraid that architectural movement has not aged well in this context. For me, I completely agree. But that is just me.
Why did you stop making videos? 😐
Honestly, as much as I love making videos, my other responsibilities have sucked up all my available time. I have made videos for a very long time (in some form or fashion for most of my life) so I know I will get back to it. I fear it won't be until the end of Spring when I submit the research I have been working on for the last year. Thank you for checking in.
So.. what's up, or is it just bugger that youtube thing?
Been so incredibly tied up between my research and work. I simply have not had the bandwidth to focus on what I really enjoy, which is storytelling. I actually miss making videos and perhaps after I complete a thesis I will finally find the time and energy to get back to creating. Thanks for asking
@@TheStoryGuide I was just about to ask the same thing. Glad to hear you will be posting sometime in the future. Good luck with your research!