St Mary's Church (Mariakirken)

St Mary's Church (Mariakirken) stands on the hill above Bryggen at Dreggsallmenningen in Bergen, in Vestland county, Norway. It was built in the period from about 1130 to 1180 as one of the churches of the medieval royal town, and it is the oldest preserved building in Bergen. The church is a Romanesque basilica with two western towers and walls of local stone, and later additions include Gothic elements and a Baroque interior phase. During the Hanseatic period, from the 15th century, it became the parish church of the German merchants, who used it for worship until the 1700s, and services in German were held here for a long period. Many of the furnishings date from that era, including a richly carved Baroque pulpit from 1676, an altarpiece from around 1450 depicting the Virgin and saints, and memorial plaques linked to the merchant community. The church interior is arranged around the nave and aisles, where the stone architecture remains visible, and the building has been restored several times, with major conservation work in the 19th and 20th centuries to preserve the Romanesque structure. It remains in use as a congregation church and for concerts and services, which affects visiting times. In summer it opens for visitors on weekdays, with a small admission fee for visiting the interior. The church provides an uncluttered view of Bergen's earliest ecclesiastical architecture, in contrast to the timber buildings of Bryggen immediately below.