Buekorps

What they are

Every buekorps belongs to one district of Bergen and takes its name from that district. Inside a company there are three kinds of member. Privates carry wooden rifles or crossbows. Officers are the older children, who hold more seniority. Drummers keep the marching beat. Members join at about seven years old and some stay past twenty, and adult veterans help with particular events and with money. What makes the companies unusual is that the young members, not adults, run them day to day. Fourteen are active in Bergen today. Drill and play are not all they do: they also raise money for charity.

Origins and history

Boys in Bergen used to watch the town militia drilling in the streets and copy what they saw. In the 18th and 19th centuries they built small forts of their own and fought play battles against gangs from other parts of town. Written recollections from the end of the 1700s mention such gangs by name. The poet Johan Sebastian Welhaven looked back on his childhood in 1814 in a poem published in 1839, remembering rows of boys on the march with paper banners and coats cut from silk and linen. In the 1830s the neighbourhood gangs still fought proper battles. During the 1850s that fighting had to stop, and the groups were formally organised. Nobody knows for sure who made the change from battle to parade.

The marching season

The official season opens in March and lasts into the summer, but spring is the busiest part of it. The high point falls on 17 May, Norwegian Constitution Day, when the companies march through the streets of Bergen as part of the main parade and are among its most popular features. Each battalion also keeps its own celebration on the date it was founded, with ceremony and speeches. Once every four years the companies come together for Buekorpsenes Dag, the day of the buekorps, which is given over to competitions and display.

Saturday and Sunday groups

Buekorps were once sorted by the day their members could march. Groups that paraded on Saturday were made up of boys whose families could spare them for a weekday. Groups that paraded on Sunday came from working-class districts, where children worked on Saturday and had no other free day. Most of the older companies belonged to the second kind. Some families were too poor for a proper uniform, and the boys marched in decorated shirts instead. Two companies still wear those shirts today.

Girls and change

For most of its history the tradition was for boys only. The first girls' buekorps was set up in 1991. That caused argument in Bergen at the time, and today girls' companies and mixed companies are accepted by most people in the city. Recruiting new members has become harder, and some battalions have had trouble filling their ranks. Even so, the buekorps are still a source of local pride, apart from the occasional complaint about the noise of the drums.

How Buekorps is kept

The young members do the work. A company parades in ranks behind its drummers, with privates carrying wooden rifles or crossbows and officers leading. On 17 May the companies form up and march through Bergen, and each district turns out to watch. Through the season there are drills, parades, play and charity collections, and every battalion keeps a founding-day ceremony. Veterans and parents help with organisation and equipment, but the day-to-day running stays in the hands of the children and young people themselves.

When and where

The season runs from March into the summer, with the busiest weeks in spring. The central day is 17 May, Norwegian Constitution Day, when the companies march in Bergen's parade. Each battalion also marks its own founding date, and every fourth year all of them take part in Buekorpsenes Dag.

Buekorps belong to Bergen, on Norway's west coast, and each company is tied to a particular district of the city. The tradition is unique to Bergen today. Brigades once existed in other Norwegian towns as well, started after the Bergen example, but most had come to an end by the early 20th century.

What Buekorps means

A buekorps is a mark of neighbourhood. Children learn to march, to drum and to hold a line, and they learn that the group outlasts any single member. Many adults in Bergen remember their own battalion years, and veterans keep the connection for life. Marching under a battalion's name on 17 May says which part of the city you belong to. For many people, the sound of those drums means their own district.

Days Buekorps is marked

Questions people ask about Buekorps

See also

JulebukkingA Scandinavian Christmas custom where masked visitors go door to door for songs and treats.GáktiA traditional coat worn by the Sámi people across northern Scandinavia and Russia, signaling origin and status through cRapper swordA fast-paced five-person sword dance from the coalfields of North East England, kept alive by teams worldwide.Advent calendarA daily countdown to Christmas using doors, images, or small gifts.

Good reading and sources

• Buekorps on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.