Norway's first pharmacy
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The characteristic swan you see above the door of the pharmacy shows that you have arrived at the old "Svane apoteket". Today Ithe pharmacy is called "Apotek 1 Svanen", and is considered the country's oldest pharmacy. It was established in 1595 when the Dutch-born merchant Nicolaus de Freundt received royal permission from King Christian IV to run a pharmacy in Bergen. In 1688, the pharmacy was taken over by the Swedish-born Johan de Besche. He was licensed as a pharmacist in Bergen and bought the pharmacy of the later police chief Henrich Blat. De Besche's descendants sat with the pharmacy until 1793 where they planted a herb garden – later known as Maartmannshaven – on the north bank of Lille Lungårdsvann. The violin virtuoso Ole Bull was born here on 5 February 1810. His father and grandfather were both pharmacists. This building was destroyed by the town fire in 1916, but a new farm, with address Strandgaten 6/8, was completed in 1921