Bergen was founded in 1070 and was from early on a major European trading and seafaring port and an important trading centre for Hanseatic merchants. The German Office was established in 1360 and it remained for 400 years (appr. 1360-1761). The Office in Bergen was the last of the four Hanseatic Offices to be established but lasted the longest. Trade at the Office was based on the export of stockfish, fish oil and hides, and the import of grain, flour, malt and beer. The Office achieved an almost complete monopoly in the trade of stockfish and fish oil, and had its own area, Bryggen, in the city centre. Bryggen har burned down several times, with the biggest in 1702, but a lot of the architecture is preserved or rebuilt in the same style. Today's houses are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
