Stranges Stiftelse

Stranges Stiftelse is one of Bergen’s oldest social institutions. Founded in 1609 as a poorhouse for women, it offered housing and support to those without family or financial means. Completed in 1751, the current building is a rare example of intact 18th-century institutional architecture in Norway, retaining its original layout, based around a central hall with small, adjoining private rooms.

The building remained in operation until the last women moved out in 1972. Since 1989, Stranges Stiftelse has been owned and maintained by Fortidsminneforeningen (the National Trust of Norway), and today it is cared for by this volunteer-run organisation. The venue remains both a historical site and a place of living memory — a testament to how lives on the margins shaped collective forms of care.

As part of across, with, nearby, Stranges Stiftelse becomes both a site and a contributor. Its architecture provides more than context — it carries stories of interdependence, resistance, and solidarity. The building’s past and present frame questions about how social care, memory, and community are practised and remembered.

In this edition of Bergen Assembly, the venue offers a space to reflect on how archives — formal and informal — can support social transformation. What remains visible in the historical record? What is preserved in traces, or passed on through shared space and storytelling?