It’s no secret that I have an island home within Second Norway; I’ve written about the estate on numerous occasions in these pages, both pre- and post my move to it. Some of these posts covered the estate’s near-closure and subsequent recovery while others have highlighted some of the public spaces to be found within Second Norway. It is in reference to the second category of Second Norway that this little piece belongs.
At the end of August 2025, I received a message from Gian (GiaArt Clip), a region designer whose work I’ve also covered on multiple occasions in these pages, informing me about their latest project – the overhauling of what might be regarded as the “gateway” to Second Norway when approaching it along the water corridor from Blake Sea: Bryggen.
The region is named for the eastern side of Vågen harbour in Bergen, Norway, once part of the centre for Hanseatic League commercial activities in that country (Bryggen meaning “the dock”, and also being known as Tyskebryggen – “the German dock”). It is particularly famous for its Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings, marking it as a natural tourist attraction as well as being a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. In respect of this, Bryggen in Second Life has long offered a reproduction of those famous houses on its waterfront.
Under Gian’s reworking of the region, reproductions of these famous building have been retained. They straddle a waterway running west-to-east through the region, those on the north side of this waterway forming a double row of properties, most (all?) of which appear available for rent, the gay colours of the front row lining a pedestrian waterfront much like those so often photographed in the real Bryggen also do so).
The units on the southern side of the waterway are a little more constrained in terms of space, being partnered with a part of Second Norway’s road system – notably the local bus station / terminus, which sits behind the local working docks and Get the Freight Out hub and fish market. Movement between these two waterfront areas is facilitated by the broad pedestrian / road/rail bridge spanning the waterway. All of the brightly-painted Hanseatic style units are occupied by local businesses, adding more colour and life to the setting.
As well as the Hanseatic buildings, Bryggen in Second Norway was also home to a distinctive stave church. At one time in Bryggen’s history, this stood on a rugged headland overlooking the main channel leading into the estate from Blake Sea. With Gian’s remodelling, the church has been retained, but it has been relocated into an expanded recreation of a Viking settlement.
The village is located on a rocky plateau in the south-east quadrant of the region. Here it overlooks the southern precinct of Hanseatic commercial buildings. Cut through by a road tunnel, the plateau for the village sits at the same elevation as a large neighbouring commercial / business district in the north-east side of the region. However, the two are separated by a narrow gorge – home to the Bryggen central rail station – which appears to leave the village isolated on its plateau.
Solving the mystery of accessing the village is a matter of taking the footbridge over the rail station from the bus terminus (itself alongside the landing point), then following the cobbled footpath along the edge of the gorge towards the local courthouse. Here visitors will find a sign directing them down to a grassy path leading to the main entrance to the village.
The business district itself is home to a range of properties, including the courthouse mentioned above, the local hotel and pub and the local nightclub – Club 25, which will be (at the time of writing) hosting DJ Noir from 00:00 SLT on September 19th, 2025.
It should be noted that there are a couple of private residences within the setting – notably in the north-west corner, on the far side of the bridge relative to the double rows of Hanseatic units on that side of the waterway, and also on the raised headland sitting above the Viking village. Other than these, I think the rest of Bryggen is open to exploration, and has plenty of detail and touches in order to make it an interesting and attractive backdrop for photography.
Overall, this reworking of Bryggen brings a real sense of life to the region and offers an engaging visit. My thanks to Gian for the invitation to drop in and explore, and my apologies for taking a little time to get to the point of writing it up.
SLurl Details
- Bryggen (rated: Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
Bryggen is for sure one of my favorite regions here at Second Norway. GiaArt Clip is very talented and has become a very valuable member of our community! She is full of passion and has an eye for the details.
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