Do you know when Bergen’s 17 May cannon salute tradition began?

17 May — a day of salutes

There are plenty of signs that it is 17 May in Bergen: traditional costumes battling the crosswind, ice creams melting before you have paid, and people singing the national anthem with solemn pride and unmistakable Bergen passion. But one thing really makes the city prick up its ears: the cannon salutes. This is more than a sound. It is a boom with history behind it.

When the cannons fire, you know where you are

Newspapers record cannon salutes from Bergenhus on 17 May as early as 1827. In 1835, a salute was heard from Fløyen for the first time.

In 1855, newspapers reported that cheers during the processions were answered simultaneously by salutes from a ship on Vågen and from Fløyen. The first salute from Skansen, then privately owned, followed in 1866. By 1879, morning and evening salutes were being fired from both Skansen and Sydneshaugen.

A salute from Bergenhus in the early twentieth century.

Official salutes

Those early cannon shots were somewhat informal. In 1880, Bergenhus Fortress fired its first official public salute, at 13:00 rather than today’s noon. Bergens Tidende reported that an official salute had been fired from the fortress for the first time during the Constitution celebrations. It was answered by ships in the outer harbour and an improvised battery in the quarry below Fjeldvejen.

In 1912, the arrangement was finally introduced whereby the Skansen salute followed a cheer at Torgallmenningen in memory of the men of Eidsvoll, towards the end of the song “På Eidsvoll stander”. That year’s programme instructed that the salute from Fløyfjellet should begin at the start of the final verse, the flags should be lowered and the public should uncover their heads.

The salute from Skansen is part of a Bergen 17 May, although it has often caused a commotion. This photograph dates from the early twentieth century.

Complaints and clinking glasses

Not everyone was equally enthusiastic. In the postwar years, drinking glasses rattled alarmingly in the cupboards around Skansen, and residents threatened legal action. Pressure waves were measured, complaints written and concerns aired. But Bergen was not to be stopped by a little clinking glass. Mayor Aug. D. Michelsen captured the city’s spirit with a remark that is still remembered: “In Bergen, the drinking glasses should be on the table on the Seventeenth, not in the cupboard.” Perhaps that settled the matter?

Bergen’s 17 May salutes have a long history. This photograph shows the salute from Skansen in 2014.

More than a bang

The salutes are among Constitution Day’s most resounding highlights, but they belong to a broader tradition of fire and light. In the nineteenth century, celebratory bonfires blazed on the city’s mountains, signalling freedom and fellowship. Later came Roman candles and even gas flames spelling out “17de Mai”. Fireworks have also long been part of the celebrations.

Few things match a proper cannon salute on the Seventeenth, its boom echoing through Bergen’s streets and alleyways. Then we know it really is 17 May!