is the highest of the seven City Mountains and can be reached either by cable car or walking up the mountain. The cable car takes a few minutes to reach the upper cable car station at 607 metres above sea level but it takes anything up to one and a half hour to climb the mountain from the lower cable car station. The summit is approximately a 15-minute walk from the cable car station.
The picture below shows the view from the restaurant at the upper cable car station, which is the starting point for a lot of trails. One trail leads across Vidden, the plateau between .
","","",""], [1,"Rundemanen",568,1864,"20 May 2000 and 26 May 2007","Foggy Glasses (28 April 2005)","mountains/rundemanen_smal.jpg","100%","249","360","20","5000","no","The walk from the city centre to the summit of takes approximately one and a half hour or approximately one hour if one takes the funicular (Fløibanen) up and start walking from there. The summit area is fairly flat and over the years a few buildings have been put up in connection with all the telecommunication masts that have been erected on the summit.
The picture below shows the view from the summit area. The best view of Bergen is found a few hundred metres southwest of the summit.
is the dominating mountain among the western City Mountains, which also includes and . On clear days it is possible to see oil installations in the North Sea to the west and Folgefonnen glacier and Rosendalsalpene in Hardanger to the east.
","60.36140","5.31926","14"], [3,"Sandviksfjellet",417,1368,"25 May 2002","Foggy Glasses (27 March 2005)","mountains/sandviksfjellet_smal.jpg","100%","255","360","20","5000","no","Many paths lead up to the area around the summit of , varying from easy to very hard (Stoltzekleivene). The paths to the actual summit are not easy to find, and is perhaps the least visited of all the City Mountains (I am reliably informed that BH3 never found the summit on the 2002 Killer Hill).
As seen on the picture below the view from the summit is very good. On clear days oil installations in the North Sea can be seen, as can most of the City Mountains:
The easiest way to reach the summit on , is to take the funicular (Fløibanen) from more or less the city centre to . The funicular takes 5-6 minutes to reach the upper station at meters above sea level. It takes anything up to 45 minutes to walk up.
The summit at meters above sea level (below) is reached after an approximately 20-minute walk from the upper station. The paths leading to the summit are not signposted and therefore not easy to find. Anyway, most people probably regard Fløyen and Fløyfjellet as the same mountain.
The elevation in various documents varies. BH3 uses the official elevation for this mountain as given by Bergen kommune.
","","",""], [5,"Lyderhorn",396,1299,"15 May 1999 and 27 May 2006","Foggy Glasses (26 February 2005)","mountains/lyderhorn_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","is the westernmost of the seven City Mountains. It has a characteristic shape and has historically been used as a navigational mark for vessels sailing along the coast off Bergen. In the Middle Ages it was also one of the places in Norway where witches would gather on Walpurgisnacht and Midsummer Eve.
Among the trails leading to the summit, perhaps the easiest (and certainly the longest) trail starts at NUTEC and leads through an abandoned costal fortress at Kvarven. The other six City Mountains are all visible from , and on clear days it is possible to see oil installations in the North Sea to the west and Folgefonnen glacier and Rosendalsalpene in Hardanger to the east.
","","",""], [6,"Damsgårdsfjellet",317,1040,"15 May 1999","Foggy Glasses (16 June 2004)is the lowest of the seven City Mountains. In fact, some people claim it is not a mountain in its own right but part of another mountain; Olsokfjellet. The walking distance between and Olsokfjellet is 485 metres and the difference in elevation is approximately 15 metres.
Together with a third summit (Gravdalsfjellet) the area is crisscrossed with paths and is popular for its easy hiking, as it does not present any real challenge for seasoned hikers.
The elevation in various documents varies between 284 m and 350 m. BH3 uses the official elevation for this mountain as given by Bergen kommune.
","","",""], [7,"Blåmanen",554,"1818","","Foggy Glasses (28 April 2005)","mountains/blamanen_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no"," used to be one of the seven City Mountains, but after a referendum some years ago it was demoted to an 'ordinary' mountain! The walk from the centre of Bergen to the summit takes approximately an hour and a half or approximately one hour if one takes the funicular (Fløibanen) to and start walking from there. , one of the seven City Mountains, is a short walk from the summit of in a northerly direction. The route takes one past among other things the remains of gun positions built by the Germans during the Second World War.
The picture below is not taken at the actual summit but a bit 'further forward' (and 2 metres lower) to get a better view of Bergen.
is the summit on a ridge to the south of . There are trails leading to from Fjøsanger to the west and Fyllingsdalen to the east. BH3 killed this hill on the 2005 Killer Hill weekend on our way to .
","","",""], [9,"Knappenfjellet",133,"437","","Foggy Glasses (11 May 2005)","mountains/knappenfjellet_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","","","",""], [10,"Ørneberget",238,"781","","Foggy Glasses (20 April 2005)","mountains/eidsvagsfjellet_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","The mountain ridge on the Eidsvåg peninsula (Eidsvågsneset) is called Eidsvågsfjellet. The highest point is called , and is seen here on run #533.
","","",""], [11,"Vardeggi",590,"1936","","Foggy Glasses (24 April 2005)","mountains/vardeggen_smal.jpg","100%","231","360","20","5000","no","Vardeggi is part of the mountain range that lies to the nort-east of the city centre. The quickest way up to the summit is from Hjortland in Åsane, but it also possible to reach the summit from Jordalen in Åsane. If one starts from the city centre, the route takes one up . It is also possible to start out from and head north towards Vikinghytten rather than after the decent from Vidden. The mast on can be seen clearly in the picture below.
","","",""], [12,"Kvarven","","","","Foggy Glasses (8 May 2005)","mountains/kvarven_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","Kvarven together with the fortresses on Hellen and Sandviksbatteriet were built between 1895-1902 to protect Bergen from possible Swedish attacks (Norway gained her independence from Sweden in June 1905). They formed the 'inner fortification' to protect Bergen from a sea-born invasion. Kvarven was manned in April 1940 and took part in the defence of Bergen on 9 April 1940 (in Norwegian).One route to leads through the now abandoned fortress at Kvarven. The military have mostly departed many years ago, but the area is still riddled with remnants of the military activity that once took place. One such remnant is the torpedo battery down by the sea, with a grand view of Bergen and the surrounding fjords - and a favoured fishing spot.
","","",""], [13,"Herdla","","","","Foggy Glasses (16 May 2005)","mountains/herdla_v_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","To the west of Bergen on the island of Herdla (part of the municipality of Askøy) the Germans built an airport and fortified the area during the Second World War. Today the northern part of the island is one of the largest bird sanctuaries in Norway. The area is still riddled with remnants from the Second World War including gun positions, bunkers, tunnels, caves and remains of runways and various buildings.
","","",""], [14,"Sverresborg","","","","Foggy Glasses (21 October 2007)","mountains/Sverresborg_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","Sverresborg, situated just to the northeast of Bergenhus Castle in the centre of Bergen, is a fortress and former castle built in the mid 1180's by king Sverre Sigurdsson (approx. 1150–1202). It is thought that Sverresborg originally had an outer wall of stone and inner buildings of wood. A saga mentions that 600 men and 40 noble women lived in the fortress in 1207. The castle has been destroyed and subsequently rebuilt several times. The fortress participated in the Battle of Vågen in 1665 and much of the present day fortifications are from the 17th century. The last known expansions took place during the Napoleonic wars.
During World War II the Germans are said to have established two anti aircraft batteries in the fortress. According to most sources 8 people (5 Norwegians, 2 Germans and 1 Dane) were executed in Bergen for treason or war crimes after the war, 7 in Sverresborg and 1 in Kvarven fortress. Sverresborg has not fulfilled an operative capacity since World War II, but is still used by the military for office facilities. The area is under the command of the commandant of Bergenhus and is still a military area, but open to the public.
King Sverre also had a Sverresborg built in 1183 in Trondheim. In 1263 the walls of this fortress were pulled down.
","","",""], [15,"Sandviksbatteriet","","","","Foggy Glasses (22 July 2006)","mountains/Sandviksbatteriet_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","Sandviksbatteriet together with the fortresses on Kvarven and Hellen were built between 1895-1902 to protect Bergen from possible Swedish attacks (Norway gained her independence from Sweden in June 1905). They formed the 'inner fortification' to protect Bergen from a sea-born invasion. Sandviksbatteriet was not manned in April 1940 and did not take part in the defence of Bergen on 9 April 1940 (in Norwegian).
Sandviksbatteriet has long been open to the public and a winding road leads up to the plateau with the remains of gun positions. Other remains and ruins are also clearly visible, among them a Monier ammunition bunker.
","","",""], [16,"Mjølfjell","627","2057","","Foggy Glasses (25 March 2007)","mountains/Mjolfjell_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","Mjølfjell (literally 'Flour Mountain', probably due to the light-coloured bedrock in the area) is located to the east of Bergen on the Bergen-Oslo railway line and is easily accessible either by train or car (approx. 2 hours drive from Bergen). The railway station is 138 km from Bergen at 627,2 metres above sea level. The area today is used mostly for recreational purposes (there are approx. 500 cabins in the area), but there are still a few farms and also a military training facility at Mjølfjell.
Over the years Dog Handler and Mata Hari have organised the BH3 Mjølfjell weekend at Dog Handler’s family's cabin. Mjølfjell also happens to be the area where Foggy Glasses learned all about mountain and cross-country skiing in the early 1960’s.
","","",""], [17,"Fløyen","320","1050","","Foggy Glasses (4 November 2007)","mountains/floyen_01_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","is the most civilised and easiest accessible of the mountains in and around Bergen. The trip up the mountain with the funicular (Fløibanen) from the city centre takes approx. 5-6 minutes or 30-45 minutes if one prefers to walk up. The official summit on is a further 20 minutes walk from the upper funicular station.
At the top there is a restaurant and a kiosk and a good view of Bergen and the surrounding fjords. During the summer of 2007 the viewing platform was rebuilt and is now much larger than it used to be.
Roads lead from the upper station to . It is also possible to walk to over Vidden, a walk which takes anything up to 5-6 hours.
","","",""], [18,"Vidden","673","2208","","Foggy Glasses (15 July 2006)","mountains/vidden_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","Vidden is a flat mountain ridge leading in a north northwesterly direction from Ulriken. The highest point on Vidden is Haugevarden at 673 metres above sea level. Vidden is a popular area for hiking, and the walk from Ulriken to Rundemanen takes approx. 3 hours to complete, with a further 1-hour walk from Rundemanen to Fløyen. If the weather is fine (below) the view can be stunning and oil installations far out in the North Sea are clearly visible, as are the mountains and glacier Folgefonnen in Hardanger. During the winter months it is often possible to cross Vidden on skis.
On fine summer days crossing Vidden can be an exhilarating experience, but the weather can change very quickly and there have been fatal accidents where people have got lost in fog and fallen into the valleys below, so seasoned hikers always carry at least a map, a compass and a change of clothes.
","","",""], [19,"2nd World War remains on ","","","","Foggy Glasses (21 May 2007)","mountains/blaamanen_rundemanen_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","The road leading to the right heads toward whilst the road leading to the left (past the trees) heads toward . The only remains of the buildings that once stood here are some steps leading to overgrown and barely visible foundations. The gun positions are on the ridge behind the trees.
","","",""], [20,"2nd World War gun positions on ","554","1818","","Foggy Glasses (21 May 2007)","mountains/blamanen_guns_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","A view of Bergen and the surrounding mountains and fjords (and North Sea) as seen from one of the four AA gun positions on . The guns used were 4 x 105mm SKC/32 with Dreiwag in addition to 2 x 20 mm Flak. The path leading of to the right is the remains of a road leading to what was one of these 20 mm Flak positions. It has been razed to the ground and only rubble remains to indicate where it once stood. The 105mm SKC/32 was often plassed in fortifications of the Regelbau Fl243 Schwere Flakstellung type. Because the structures on are covered by stones, it is a bit difficult to tell what type they are.
The 105mm SKC/32 guns were dismantled in 1952 and moved to Kopåsbatteriet in the Oslo fjord. Two of the guns (guns nos 2 and 3) are still in place whilst guns nos 1 and 4 were removed in 1998.
The outlines of buildings are shown on a map from 1957, whilst they are hardly visible on aerial photographs taken in 2001. The gun positions are clearly visible on the photographs, but not shown on the map.
","","",""], [21,"2nd World War gun positions on and ","","","","Foggy Glasses (15 April 2007)","mountains/rundemannen_gun_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","A view of fjords and mountains surrounding Bergen. The mast in the background is the communication tower on the summit of . This area is fairly flat, and there are remains of what could have been a small gun position that has been razed to the ground (the picture is taken from this heap of rubble). There are also steps seemingly leading nowhere and a few foundations of buildings. There are also pillboxes and underground entrances with solid doors, but these might be post-WW2. There is however a big bunker next to the road leading to the summit. This bunker closly resembles a Regelbau Fl246 Munitionsauffüllraum
","","",""], [22,"Veten","284","932","","Foggy Glasses (6 April 2008)","mountains/Veten_Sotra_smal.jpg","100%","230","360","20","5000","no","There are a few mountains in and around Bergen called Veten. One is situated to the southwest of Bergen on the island of Sotra and is the highest mountain in Sund kommune. On clear days the view from the summit can be quite outstanding. Close to the summit there is a monument to mark the place where a Royal Norwegian Air Force Catalina crashed into the mountain in bad weather in 1948. One of the plane's engines forms part of the monument. According to signposts (and a map of the area) the remains of the plane are still visible at the foot of the mountain.
This is also the mountain where Deep Throat and Foggy Glasses got totally lost during a short stroll in 2001 when the sea mist rolled in, and the 2 hour 30 minute trip up and down the mountain took 12 hours to complete!
The construction of Fjell festning (MKB 11./504 Fjell) was started in 1942. The main armament was the B (Bruno) turret with three 28,3 cm guns from the German battleship “Gneisenau”. In addition numerous AA guns, anti-tank guns, machine guns, flame throwers, mortars, bunkers, 2 to 3 meter deep trenches and tunnels were added. All in all the area used by the Germans for the fortifications covered approx 185 acres.
After the Second World War the fortress was taken over by the Norwegian military. The main guns were scrapped in 1968, and the fortress used as a coastal radar station until 2004.
Today the area is preserved as a military heritage by The Central Office of Historic Monuments and most of it is open to the public as a museum. The fortress is still riddled with bunkers (mostly un-restored but open), gun positions, trenches and an exhibition in the tunnels below the main gun position. A detailed article (in Norwegian) can be found here and a shorter article in English can be found here.
","","",""] ];