The day “Tyskebryggen” became Bryggen again
A name change approved in May 1945 reveals how a city handles its own memory.
For decades, the historic waterfront was officially called Tyskebryggen, the “German wharf”. The name recalled the long presence of German merchants involved in Hanseatic trade. After Germany’s occupation of Norway in the Second World War, however, those words carried additional weight.
At the first municipal council meeting after the war, on 25 May 1945, the mayor proposed removing “Tyske” from the name. The proposal to call it simply Bryggen passed unanimously. The minutes are preserved in the city archive.
The new name did not erase centuries of trade or the scars of war. It showed how even a sign can be a choice about what to emphasize in the present. Visitors photographing Bryggen today may not realize they are also capturing a place whose name went through a political change.