Hanseatic Museum and Schøtstuene

The Hanseatic Museum and Schf8tstuene is a museum in Bergen that interprets the presence and operations of Hanseatic merchants who traded from the city’s Bryggen wharf. It focuses on merchant life, trading practices and the material culture of northern European trade.

Displays include a restored merchant’s office and living quarters with original fittings and objects that illustrate 18th- and 19th-century mercantile routines, and the Schf8tstuene assembly rooms used by merchants for meetings and meals. The museum explains the role of Bergen as a regional hub in the Hanseatic trading network.

The collection is presented within the wooden buildings of Bryggen, allowing visitors to see how merchant houses, storage and harbour access were arranged along the waterfront. Guided tours and interpretive labels place the museum material in the broader history of trade and urban development in Bergen.

The museum sits in the Bryggen area of central Bergen, on the city’s historic waterfront and within walking distance of other museums and the harbour.

• Setting: Located within the historic wooden wharf area of Bryggen, the museum offers close-up views of tight, timber-built merchant houses and narrow alleys typical of Hanseatic trading ports.

What to See #

• Hanseatic Museum building: The preserved merchant's office and living quarters that recreate an 18th-century Hanseatic trading house interiors, restored and laid out to show daily business and domestic life.
• Schf8tstuene (assembly rooms): A set of traditional wooden assembly rooms used historically by German merchants for meetings and dining, presented with period furniture and objects related to trade and social life.