Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lopsided, with just one side aisle. Before leaving, look up to see the gorgeous
wood-carved organ over the main entrance. In the entryway, you'll see por-
traits of each bishop dating all the way back to the Reformation.
Cost and Hours:
Free but donations appreciated; mid-June-mid-Aug
Mon-Fri 10:00-16:00, Sun 9:30-13:00, closed Sat; off-season Tue-Fri
11:00-12:30, closed Sun-Mon except for worship; tel. 55 59 32 70,
Leprosy Museum (Lepramuseet)
—Leprosy is also known as “Hansen's
Disease” because in the 1870s a Bergen man named Armauer Hansen did
groundbreaking work in understanding the ailment. This unique museum is
in St. Jørgens Hospital, a leprosarium that dates back to about 1700. Up until
the 19th century, as much as 3 percent of Norway's population had leprosy.
This hospital—once called “a graveyard for the living” (its last patient died
in 1946)—has a meager exhibit in a thought-provoking shell attached to a
300-year-old church. It's really only worth your time and money if you stick
around for one of the free tours, which generally leave at the top of the hour
or by request.
Cost and Hours:
50 kr, mid-May-Aug daily 11:00-15:00, closed Sept-
mid-May, between train station and Bryggen at Kong Oscars Gate 59, tel. 55
96 11 55,
www.bymuseet.no
.
