Portal:Norway

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Norway Portal
Norge Portal

Map of the mainland of Norway

Norway Listeni/ˈnɔrw/ (Norwegian: About this sound Norge (Bokmål) or About this sound Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Scandinavian unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and the subantarctic Bouvet Island. The Spitsbergen Treaty (also known as the Svalbard Treaty) of February 9, 1920, recognizes the full and absolute sovereignty of Norway over the arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen (now called Svalbard). Peter I Island is dependent territory (Norwegian: biland) of Norway but is not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land. Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 5 million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait across from Denmark. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.

Two centuries of Viking raids tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav Tryggvason in 994. A period of civil war ended in the 13th century when Norway expanded its control overseas to parts of Britain, Ireland, Iceland, and Greenland. Norwegian territorial power peaked in 1265, but competition from the Hanseatic League and the spread of the Black Death weakened the country. In 1380, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by the Third Reich. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a founding member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. Key domestic issues include immigration and integration of ethnic minorities, maintaining the country's extensive social safety net with an aging population, and preserving economic competitiveness.

Norway is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with King Harald V as its head of state and Jens Stoltenberg as its prime minister. It is a unitary state with administrative subdivisions on two levels known as counties (fylke) and municipalities (kommuner). The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Although having rejected European Union membership in two referenda, Norway maintains close ties with the union and its member countries, as well as with the United States. Norway remains one of the biggest financial contributors to the United Nations, and participates with UN forces in international missions, notably in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sudan and Libya. Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the Council of Europe, and the Nordic Council; a member of the European Economic Area, the WTO, and the OECD; and is also a part of Schengen Area.

Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. The country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world. On a per-capita basis, it is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East, and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. The country maintains a Nordic welfare model with universal health care, subsidized higher education, and a comprehensive social security system. From 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 through 2011, Norway has had the highest human development index ranking in the world. In 2011, Norway also ranked the highest on the Democracy Index.

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Z33 under attack by Allied aircraft on 9 February 1945
In the "Black Friday" air attack of World War II a force of Allied Bristol Beaufighter aircraft suffered heavy casualties during an unsuccessful attack on German destroyer Z33 and her escorting vessels on 9 February 1945. The German ships were sheltering in a strong defensive position in Førde Fjord, Norway, forcing the Allied aircraft to attack through heavy anti-aircraft fire. The Beaufighters and their escort of North American P-51 Mustang fighters were also surprised by twelve German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. In the resulting attack the Allies damaged at least two of the German ships for the loss of seven Beaufighters shot down by flak guns. Another two Beaufighters and one Mustang were destroyed by the Fw 190s. Either four or five German fighters were shot down by the Allied aircraft, including one flown by an ace. Due to the losses suffered in this raid the Allied anti-shipping force adopted new tactics which placed a lower priority on attacking warships.

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Norwegian "nisser", Nordic analogy to Santa Claus
Credit: Nils Bergslien

The main Jul event for Norwegians is on Julaften on December 24th, the evening of the main feast, is served and gifts are exchanged. Almost all Norwegian breweries produce traditional beer, juleøl, and a special soda, julebrus. Jul dishes are also served on Julebord, where people from work gather in early December to feast and drink alcoholic beverages. The mother of the house bakes seven types of cookies, julekaker. In the tradition called Julebukk or Nyttårsbukk, children dress up in costumes, visit neighbours, singing Christmas carols and receiving candy, nuts and clementines.

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Wikinews Norway portal
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Norwegian Storting passes the "revolutionary" resolution

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Frederick III of Denmark
Frederick III (March 18, 1609 – February 19, 1670) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He stands as the ruler who introduced absolute monarchy in Denmark. Frederick was born at Haderslev in Slesvig, the son of Christian IV and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg. His position as a younger son profoundly influenced his future career. In his youth and early manhood, there was no prospect of his ascending the Danish throne, and he consequently became the instrument of his father's schemes of aggrandizement in Germany. While still a lad, he became successively bishop of Bremen, bishop of Verden, and coadjutor of Halberstadt. At the age of eighteen, he was the chief commandant of the fortress of Stade. On October 1, 1643 Frederick wed Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (daughter of George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg). During the disastrous Swedish War of 1643–1645, Frederick was appointed commander of the duchies by his father. The death of his elder brother Christian in June 1647 first opened to him the prospect of succeeding to the Danish throne, but the question was still unsettled when Christian IV died on February 28, 1648 (old style; March 9 new style). Not until July 6 did Frederick III receive the homage of his subjects, and only after he had signed a Haandfæstning or charter, by which the already diminished royal prerogative was still further curtailed.

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Bjørn Kjos

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The Seven Sisters
Credit: Janter

De syv søstre (The Seven Sisters) is a mountain range on the island of Alsten in Norway. The range is popular with hikers and offers scenic views over the surrounding area.

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Harald V of Norway
We have been given an assignment as a monarchy, and we do as well as we can ... We try to be as little populistic as possible. We don't do anything on the spur of the moment to win an opinion poll, or short-term popularity.

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Norway
Norway in winter

Counties: AkershusAust-AgderBuskerudFinnmarkHedmarkHordalandMøre og RomsdalNordlandNord-TrøndelagOpplandOsloØstfoldRogalandSogn og FjordaneSør-TrøndelagTelemarkTromsVest-AgderVestfold

Culture: BunadConstitution DayCuisineFarm cultureJulLiteratureMusic

History: Ancient Norwegian property lawsNordic Stone AgeNordic Bronze AgeKomsaFosna-Hensbacka cultureFunnelbeaker cultureHamburg cultureNøstvet and Lihult culturesMaglemosian cultureViking AgeHarald I of NorwayOlav IV of NorwayHaakon I of NorwayOlaf I of NorwayOlaf II of NorwayBattle of StiklestadCanute the GreatMagnus I of NorwayHarald III of NorwayBattle of Stamford BridgeMagnus III of NorwaySigurd I of NorwayMagnus V of NorwaySverre of NorwayHaakon IV of NorwayMagnus VI of NorwayEric II of NorwayKalmar UnionDenmark–NorwayUnion between Sweden and NorwayDissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905Haakon VII of NorwayOlav V of NorwayHarald V of NorwayOccupation of Norway by Nazi GermanyNorwegian CampaignNorwegian resistance movementLegal purge in Norway after World War IIForeign relations of NorwayMilitary of NorwayNorway and the European Union

Language: ÅÆØBokmålDet Norske Akademi for Sprog og LitteraturDifferences between Norwegian Bokmål and Standard DanishHøgnorskNordic CouncilNordic Language ConventionNoregs MållagNorsk OrdbokNorth Germanic languagesNorwegian alphabetNorwegian dialectsNorwegian Language CouncilNorwegian language conflictNorwegian phonologyNynorskOld NorseRiksmålsforbundetRussenorsk

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