From the mid 12th century the wooden buildings of the king was replaced with stone halls, among them the Haakon Hall. In the area around it there were built walls with towers and in one of these the king created a chancery. The reason for the king’s association to Bergen was due to the city’s fast growing trading with fish from the north and grain, clothing and wine from foreign trade countries. From the mid 13th century German merchants established in Bergen as a resident colony attached to the German (Hanseatic) office. In the 13th and 14th century Bergen suffered from financial crises and misery and it was not until the 15th century that things were getting better. In the end of 15thcentury immigration from Denmark, Germany, Scottland, Netherlands increased and gave the shipping industry new impulses and built new relations with Arkhangelsk in the north to Sicily in the south. Bergen was the largest city in Scandinavia until the 16th century and Norway's largest city until the 18th century.
In the centuries that followed Bergen can be characterized by many ups and downs. In the first half of each century the city was marked by economic recessions. Then came the golden times, often accompanied by a new immigration wave. The same pattern repeated itself in each century until the 1850’s. Here we reached the industrial age and Bergen became the leading city in Norwegian shipping with fast transition from sail to steam. Export goods had until the 1900's mainly been fish products and lumber, but new technology and industry like textiles and clothing, mechanical workshops, merchant mills and new businesses like banks, insurance companies and new stock exchange building had made its way. This became the basis for further growth until 1914. After the first World War Bergen was once again hit by financial crises, closed industrial facilities and bankruptcies. Then came the great fire in 1916 that nearly burned down the entire city center, and it was not until 1935 that the business sector experienced a definite improvement. In 1940 World War II came and the damages that Bergen suffered from were bigger and more expensive than in any other city in Norway. Buildings on Bergen Hus, Nykirken and Tollboden had also been destroyed and it took several years before the buildings were rebuilt.
Although it is a long time since the Hanseatic times, Bergen is still a commerce city and appear today as an important, modern hub where thousands of tourists arrive each year.
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