Håkonshallen

Built between 1247 and 1261 for King Håkon Håkonsson, this stone banqueting hall is the largest secular medieval building surviving in Norway, and its design shows clear influence from England, likely a result of the friendly ties between Håkon and King Henry III. Its three floors held a grand festive hall above, royal administration in the middle, and storage in the cellar, and it hosted the 1261 wedding of Håkon's son Magnus to a Danish princess — a celebration reportedly spread across three buildings for 2,000 guests. A 1944 explosion aboard the ammunition ship Voorbode in Bergen harbour badly damaged the hall, and it wasn't fully reconstructed to its medieval appearance until 1961.