OSLO, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - Thousands of people were briefly evacuated Wednesday from the western Norwegian city of Bergen, after a fire broke out near an historic wharf, which is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage site.

The blaze in Zachariasbryggen, a restaurant some 100 metres (328 feet) from the Hanseatic wharf, was rapidly brought under control and none of the medieval buildings were damaged, according to Bergen fire chief Geir Boe.

'A young woman was slightly affected by the fumes and was in need of medical care,' he told AFP in a telephone interview.

A thick plume of smoke from the burning building had forced police to evacuate thousands of people from Torget, a tourist-filled central square that is home to Bergen's legendary fish market.

The cause of the fire was not yet clear, but Boe said it appeared to have started in the building's ventilation system.

The Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe between the 13th and 17th centuries.