Norway

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Norway
Norway.gif
Flag of Norway
Capital Oslo
Inhabitants 4.856.464
Language(s) Norwegian
Norwaym.jpg

Norway is a long, narrow country on the northwestern edge of the European continent. The northern third of Norway lies above the Arctic Circle and is called the Land of the Midnight Sun. Because this region is so far north, it has long periods every summer when the sun shines 24 hours a day. Oslo, Norway's capital and largest city, is in the southern part of the country.

Despite its neutrality, Norway was not able to avoid occupation by Germany in World War II. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO.

Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU.


Contents

History

Norway's first settlers arrived over 10,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age. These early hunters and gatherers followed the glaciers as they retreated north, pursuing migratory reindeer herds. The country's greatest impact on history was during the Viking Age, a period thought to have begun with the plundering of England's Lindisfarne monastery by Nordic pirates in 793 AD.

Over the next century, the Vikings made raids throughout Europe, establishing settlements along the way. Viking leader Harald Fairhair unified Norway around 900 and King Olaf, adopting the religion of the lands he had conquered, converted the people to Christianity a century later. The Vikings were great sailors and became the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Eric the Red, the son of a Norwegian exiled to Iceland, colonised Greenland in 982.

In 1001, Eric's Icelandic son, Leif Eriksson, became possibly the first European to explore the coast of North America when he sailed off course on a voyage from Norway to Greenland. However, the Viking Age came to an end in 1066 when the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada was routed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England.

In the 13th century Oslo emerged as a centre of power. It continued to flourish until the mid-14th century when bubonic plague decimated its population. In 1380 Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark which lasted over 400 years. Norway was ceded to Sweden in 1814. That same year a defiant Norway - fed up with forced unions - adopted its own constitution, but its struggle for independence was quelled by a Swedish invasion.

In the end, Norwegians were allowed to keep their new constitution but were forced to accept the Swedish king. Growing nationalism eventually led to Norway's peaceful secession from Sweden in 1905. Norwegians subsequently voted in favour of a monarchy over a republic and selected Prince Carl of Denmark to be king. Upon acceptance, he took the title Håkon VII and named his infant son Olav, both prominent names in Norway's Viking past.

Norway stayed neutral during both world wars but was occupied by the Nazis in 1940. King Håkon set up a government in exile and placed most of Norway's huge merchant fleet under the command of the Allies. An active Resistance movement fought tenaciously against the Nazis, who responded by razing nearly every town and village in northern Norway during their retreat. The royal family returned at the end of the war.

In 1960 Norway joined the European Free Trade Association but has been reluctant to forge closer bonds with other nations, partly due to concerns about its ability to preserve small-scale farming and fishing. North Sea oil and natural gas finds brought prosperity to the country in the 1970s, and Norway has since achieved one of the highest standards of living in the world. It is now applying for membership in the EU, a procedure that requires a national referendum.

A no-vote in a 1994 referendum sent shock waves through European governments who were attempting to `sell' the Maastricht treaty to their citizens. EU membership is a hot topic in Norway, but resistance is still strong across the political spectrum.


Culture

Art

Norwegian architecture is renowned for its unique stave churches - among the oldest wooden buildings on earth - which have one foot in the Viking Age and the other in the 11th-century early Christian era. The country has produced a wealth of artistic talent including the painter Edvard Munch, composer Edvard Grieg, sculptor Gustav Vigeland and playwright Henrik Ibsen. Norway has also produced three winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Sigrid Undset and Knut Hamsun.


Traditions

Norway holds on to many of its cultural traditions and it's not uncommon to see elaborate folk costumes worn at weddings and other festive events. Traditional folk dancing, singing and storytelling (often featuring trolls) are also popular.

Food

Norwegian dishes include laks (grilled or smoked salmon), reker (boiled shrimp) and torsk (cod). Popular at Christmas time is lutefisk (dried cod made near-gelatinous by soaking in lye), which is definitely an acquired taste. A common sight on most breakfast tables is sweet brown goat cheese called geitost and pickled herring. Alcohol may be hard to find in some rural communities where virtual prohibition is the norm.

Music

Any account of popular music In Norway has to begin with a-ha, the only Norwegian band which has achieved resounding international success and has created songs of real quality.

But a-ha is not alone. Lene Marlin, a teenager from Tromsø in north Norway is indisputably talented and the newcomers in the pop-band Briskeby show signs of promise. Bel Canto has also received some degree of international recognition and the rather more sombre rock group Madrugada is becoming known both at home and abroad. In the field of jazz Norway has a shining star in saxophonist Jan Garbarek.

Film

Polar bears do not stalk the streets of Norway, not even in films, despite the country's far north location and its icy, stormy climate. In the context of films, so little separates Norway from the rest of the world that had it not been for the country's publishers, far fewer films would have been made. More than half of new film projects spring from literature, which inspires and entices filmmakers into creating new visual interpretations.

Language

Of Norway's population of a little more than four million, 95 per cent speak Norwegian as their native language. Everyone who speaks Norwegian, whether it be a local dialect or one of the two standard official languages (Bokmål, Dano-Norwegian, and Nynorsk, New Norwegian), can be understood by other Norwegians. In Norway - as in other countries - not everyone understands everyone equally well, and in particular people from the capital, Oslo, claim that they have a tough time understanding their countrymen from rural areas, while those from non-urban areas have no problem understanding the language of Osloites. In the areas where Norwegian is spoken, there are no real language barriers. However, the minority Sami language is not related to Norwegian, and it is incomprehensible to Norwegian speakers who have not learned it.

Christmas

Like the other Scandinavian countries, Norway has its gift-bearing little gnome or elf. Known as Julebukk or "Christmas buck," he appears as a goat-like creature. Julebukk harkens back to Viking times when pagans worshipped Thor and his goat. During pagan celebrations a person dressed in a goatskin, carrying a goat head, would burst in upon the party and during the course of evening would "die" and return to life.

During the early Christian era, the goat began to take the form of the devil, and would appear during times of wild merry-making and jubilation. By the end of the Middle Ages, the game was forbidden by the Church and the state. In more recent times the goat has emerged in the tamer form of Julebukk.


Events

coming soon...

National holidays

  • Jan 1: New Year's Day
  • Apr 12: Holy Thursday
  • Mar 29: Good Friday
  • Easter Monday
  • May 1: Norwegian Labor Day
  • May 9: Ascension Day
  • May 17: Norwegian Independence Day
  • May 20: Whit Monday
  • Dec 25: Christmas Day
  • Dec 26: 2nd Christmas Day


Embassies

 

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