About 1070 Olav Kyrre granted municipal status to Bjørgvin ("hill pasture"), then a port settlement of some importance on the east side of the Bergen peninsula. The town developed rapidly as an occasional royal residence. In 1233, Håkon Håkonsson's hereditary right to the throne was recognized at a general assembly held here, and by 1240 Bergen was formally declared the capital of Norway in place of Trondheim. King Håkon Håkonsson held his court here. He was a very popular king and his reign was long and peaceful.  His son, Magnus, married the Danish princess Ingeborg and the same day was crowned joint King of the land of Norway by his father. To celebrate the event, a great banquet was held in the hall now called Håkonshallen which stands at the entrance to the harbour of Bergen.

As early as 1236 there were permanent German trading establishments in Bergen, but the town's rise to prosperity began with the establishment of a "counting house" of the Hanseatic League, first recorded in 1343. By virtue of the privilege granted by the Danish kings, the German merchants quickly gained control of the entire Norwegian trade. The people of the northern territories were required by royal decree to bring the produce of their fisheries to Bergen. The Hanseatic employees lived in a special quarter of town called Tyskebryggen ("German warf").

In 1599 the power of the Hanseatic League was broken by the feudal lord Kristofer Walckendorf, but the counting house remained in existence for another 200 years, By 1630, the power of the Hanseatic League was completely broken and in 1764, the last stue was sold to a Norwegian business.

The Middle Ages saw the Black Death sweep over Europe. Norway was devastated, having half the population succumb to the pestilence. After this, from about 1420, and for about 400 years, the rule of Norway oscillated between Denmark and Sweden. Bergen, during this time, remained a major trading centre. It maintained international contact and the old, socially elite families of Bergen built up large trading empires. Life in Bergen was centered around fishing and shipping up until the present time when, during the 1980's, oil was discovered off the North Sea. Thus, with this discovery, Bergen entered an age of new prosperity and industry. In 1986, the bubble burst; the drop in oil prices caused an economic recession in Bergen.

Bergen nowadays is still a centre for oil exploration, shipping and fishing but it has grown as a centre for environmental and oceanographic research in Norway. The future is brightening for "The Gateway to the Fjords".