Portal:Norway

The Norway Portal
Norge Portal

Norway (Bokmål: Norge, Nynorsk: Noreg), formally the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of Norway. Bouvet Island, located in the Subantarctic, is a dependency; Norway also claims the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo.

Norway has a total area of 385,207 square kilometres (148,729 sq mi) and had a population of 5,488,984 in January 2023. The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden. It is bordered by Finland and Russia to the northeast and the Skagerrak strait to the south. Norway has an extensive coastline facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. Harald V of the House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway. Jonas Gahr Støre has been Prime Minister of Norway since 2021. As a unitary state with a constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the parliament, the cabinet, and the supreme court, as determined by the 1814 constitution. The unified kingdom of Norway was established in 872 as a merger of petty kingdoms and has existed continuously for 1151–1152 years. From 1537 to 1814, Norway was part of Denmark–Norway, and, from 1814 to 1905, it was in a personal union with Sweden. Norway was neutral during the First World War, and in the Second World War until April 1940 when it was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany until the end of the war.

Norway maintains the Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system, and its values are rooted in egalitarian ideals. The Norwegian state has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, having extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, and fresh water. The petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). On a per-capita basis, Norway is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside of the Middle East. The country has the fourth- and eight highest per-capita income in the world on the World Bank's and IMF's list, respectively. It has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, with a value of US$1.3 trillion. (Full article...)

Featured article –

This is a Featured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

---

• 
  
  

  

  Bosse as Indra's daughter at the 1907 première of A Dream Play (1902) by August Strindberg

  
  Harriet Sofie Bosse (19 February 1878 – 2 November 1961) was a Swedish–Norwegian actress. A celebrity in her day, Bosse is now most commonly remembered as the third wife of the playwright August Strindberg. Bosse began her career in a minor company run by her forceful older sister Alma Fahlstrøm in Kristiania (now Oslo, the capital of Norway). Having secured an engagement at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, the main drama venue of Sweden's capital Stockholm, Bosse caught the attention of Strindberg with her intelligent acting and exotic "oriental" appearance.
  
  After a whirlwind courtship, which unfolds in detail in Strindberg's letters and diary, Strindberg and Bosse were married in 1901, when he was 52 and she 23. Strindberg wrote a number of major roles for Bosse during their short and stormy relationship, especially in 1900–01, a period of great creativity and productivity for him. Like his previous two marriages, the relationship failed as a result of Strindberg's jealousy, which some biographers have characterized as paranoid. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  A British Lancaster bomber over Kaafjord during Operation Paravane

  A British Lancaster bomber over Kaafjord during Operation Paravane

  
  Operation Paravane was a British air raid of World War II that inflicted heavy damage on the German battleship Tirpitz, at anchor in Kaafjord in the far north of German-occupied Norway. The attack was conducted on 15 September 1944 by 21 Royal Air Force heavy bombers, which flew from an airfield in the north of the Soviet Union. The battleship was struck by one bomb, and further damaged by several near misses. This damage rendered Tirpitz unfit for combat, and she could not be repaired as it was no longer possible for the Germans to sail her to a major port.
  
  The attack on 15 September followed a series of raids conducted against Tirpitz with limited success by Royal Navy carrier aircraft between April and August 1944, seeking to sink or disable the battleship at her anchorage, so that she no longer posed a threat to Allied convoys travelling to and from the Soviet Union. The first of these raids was successful, but the other attacks failed due to shortcomings with the Fleet Air Arm's strike aircraft and the formidable German defences. As a result, the task of attacking the battleship was transferred to the RAF's Bomber Command. Avro Lancaster bombers from the Command's two elite squadrons flew to their staging airfield in the Soviet Union on the night of 11/12 September, and attacked on 15 September using heavy bombs and air-dropped mines. All of the British aircraft returned to base, though one of the Lancasters later crashed during its flight back to the United Kingdom. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Z33 under attack by Allied aircraft on 9 February 1945

  
  On 9 February 1945, a force of Allied Bristol Beaufighter aircraft suffered many losses during an attack on the German destroyer Z33 and its escorting vessels; the operation was called Black Friday by the survivors. The German ships were sheltering in a strong defensive position in Førde Fjord, Norway, forcing the Allied aircraft to attack through massed anti-aircraft fire (FlaK).
  
  The Beaufighters and their escort of Mustang Mk III fighters from 65 Squadron RAF were intercepted by twelve Focke-Wulf Fw 190s of Jagdgeschwader 5 (Fighter Wing 5) of the Luftwaffe. The Allies damaged at least two of the German ships for the loss of seven Beaufighters shot down by FlaK. Two Beaufighters and a Mustang were shot down by the Fw 190s and four or five of the German aircraft were shot down by the Allied aircraft, including that of the ace Rudi Linz. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Title page from the first edition of Letters (1796)

  
  Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (1796) is a personal travel narrative by the eighteenth-century British feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft. The twenty-five letters cover a wide range of topics, from sociological reflections on Scandinavia and its peoples to philosophical questions regarding identity. Published by Wollstonecraft's career-long publisher, Joseph Johnson, it was the last work issued during her lifetime.
  
  Wollstonecraft undertook her tour of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark in order to retrieve a stolen treasure ship for her lover, Gilbert Imlay. Believing that the journey would restore their strained relationship, she eagerly set off. However, over the course of the three months she spent in Scandinavia, she realized that Imlay had no intention of renewing the relationship. The letters, which constitute the text, drawn from her journal and from missives she sent to Imlay, reflect her anger and melancholy over his repeated betrayals. Letters Written in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark is therefore both a travel narrative and an autobiographical memoir. (Full article...)
• 
  In September 1967, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands brought the Greek case to the European Commission of Human Rights, alleging violations of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) by the Greek junta, which had taken power earlier that year. In 1969, the Commission found serious violations, including torture; the junta reacted by withdrawing from the Council of Europe. The case received significant press coverage and was "one of the most famous cases in the Convention's history", according to legal scholar Ed Bates.
  
  On 21 April 1967, right-wing army officers staged a military coup that ousted the Greek government and used mass arrests, purges and censorship to suppress their opposition. These tactics soon became the target of criticism in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, but Greece claimed they were necessary as a response to alleged Communist subversion and justified under Article 15 of the ECHR. In September 1967, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands filed identical cases against Greece alleging violations of most of the articles in the ECHR that protect individual rights. The case was declared admissible in January 1968; a second case filed by Denmark, Norway and Sweden for additional violations, especially of Article 3 forbidding torture, was declared admissible in May of that year. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Barracuda bombers and Corsair fighters being armed on the flight deck of HMS Formidable during Operation Goodwood

  
  Operation Goodwood was a series of British carrier air raids conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord in occupied Norway during late August 1944. It was the last of several attacks made by the Home Fleet during 1944 which sought to damage or sink Tirpitz and thereby eliminate the threat it posed to Allied shipping. Previous raids on Kaafjord conducted by Fleet Air Arm aircraft had involved only one air attack; in Operation Goodwood several attacks were made in a single week. The Royal Navy hoped that these raids would wear down the formidable German defences.
  
  The British fleet departed its base on 18 August and launched the first raid against Kaafjord on the morning of 22 August. The attack failed, and a small raid that evening inflicted little damage. Attacks were conducted on 24 and 29 August and were also failures. Tirpitz had been hit by two bombs during the raid on 24 August, but neither caused significant damage. British losses during Operation Goodwood were 17 aircraft to all causes, a frigate sunk by a submarine, and an escort carrier badly damaged. German forces suffered the loss of 12 aircraft and damage to 7 ships. (Full article...)
• 
  The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (Norwegian: De 6. olympiske vinterleker; Nynorsk: Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
  
  Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city was keen to host the 1948 Winter Olympics, but that was made impossible by World War II. Instead, Oslo won the right to host the 1952 Games in a contest that included Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy and Lake Placid in the United States. All of the Olympic venues were in Oslo's metropolitan area, except for the alpine skiing events, which were held at Norefjell, 113 km (70 mi) from the capital. A new hotel was built for the press and dignitaries, along with three dormitories to house athletes and coaches, creating the first modern athlete's village. Oslo bore the financial burden of hosting the Games in return for the revenue they generated. The 1952 Winter Olympics was the first of the two consecutive Olympics to be held in Northern Europe, preceding the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  The Norse-American medal was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1925, pursuant to an act of the United States Congress. It was issued for the 100th anniversary of the voyage of the ship Restauration, bringing early Norwegian immigrants to the United States.
  
  U.S. Representative from Minnesota Ole Juulson Kvale, a Norwegian American, wanted a commemorative for the centennial celebrations of the Restauration journey. Rebuffed by the Treasury Department when he sought the issuance of a special coin, he instead settled for a medal. Sculpted by Buffalo nickel designer James Earle Fraser, the medals recognize those immigrants' Viking heritage, depicting a warrior of that culture on the obverse and his vessel on the reverse. The medals also recall the early Viking explorations of North America. (Full article...)
• 
  "Don't Say You Love Me" is the debut single of M2M, a Norwegian pop duo consisting of singers Marion Raven and Marit Larsen. The song first appeared on Radio Disney before its official US radio and single release in October 1999. It was released on the soundtrack to the film Pokémon: The First Movie in November 1999 and appears in the film's closing credits. The song was featured on M2M's debut album, Shades of Purple (2000), and also appeared on their compilation album The Day You Went Away: The Best of M2M (2003).
  
  The song received positive reviews. Chuck Taylor from Billboard said it was "absolutely enchanting" and would appeal to both young and mature listeners. It reached number 2 in Norway, number 4 in both Australia and New Zealand, number 16 in the UK and number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was certified gold in the US and Australia and remained M2M's biggest hit. M2M performed the song on episodes of the television series One World, Top of the Pops and Disney Channel in Concert. Two similar music videos were released for the song, with one showing clips from Pokémon: The First Movie. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1 December 1864 – 21 April 1934) was a Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of Antarctic travel. He inspired Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and others associated with the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
  
  Borchgrevink was born and raised in Christiania (now Oslo) as the son of a Norwegian lawyer and an English-born immigrant mother. He began his exploring career in 1894 by joining a Norwegian whaling expedition, during which he became one of the first people to set foot on the Antarctic mainland. This achievement helped him to obtain backing for his Southern Cross expedition, which became the first to overwinter on the Antarctic mainland, and the first to visit the Great Ice Barrier since the expedition of Sir James Clark Ross nearly sixty years earlier. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  A Fleet Air Arm crewman chalks a message on the 1,600-pound bomb carried by a Fairey Barracuda of HMS Furious

  A Fleet Air Arm crewman chalks a message on the 1,600-pound bomb carried by a Fairey Barracuda of HMS Furious

  
  Operation Tungsten was a Second World War Royal Navy air raid that targeted the German battleship Tirpitz. The operation sought to damage or destroy Tirpitz at her base in Kaafjord in the far north of Norway before she could become fully operational again following a period of repairs.
  
  The British decision to strike Kaafjord was motivated by fears that the battleship, upon re-entering service, would attack strategically important convoys carrying supplies to the Soviet Union. Removing the threat posed by Tirpitz would also allow the Allies to redeploy the capital ships which had to be held in the North Sea to counter her. After four months of training and preparations, the British Home Fleet sailed on 30 March 1944 and aircraft launched from five aircraft carriers struck Kaafjord on 3 April. The raid achieved surprise, and the British aircraft met little opposition. Fifteen bombs hit the battleship, and strafing by fighter aircraft inflicted heavy casualties on her gun crews. Four British aircraft and nine airmen were lost during the operation. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (/ˈkwɪzlɪŋ/, Norwegian: [ˈvɪ̂dkʉn ˈkvɪ̂slɪŋ] ; 18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945) was a Norwegian military officer, politician and Nazi collaborator who nominally headed the government of Norway during the country's occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II.
  
  He first came to international prominence as a close collaborator of the explorer Fridtjof Nansen, and through organising humanitarian relief during the Russian famine of 1921 in Povolzhye. He was posted as a Norwegian diplomat to the Soviet Union and for some time also managed British diplomatic affairs there. He returned to Norway in 1929 and served as minister of defence in the agrarian governments of Peder Kolstad (1931–32) and Jens Hundseid (1932–33). (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  The orca (Orcinus orca), or killer whale, is a toothed whale that is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus. Orcas are recognizable by their black-and-white patterned body. A cosmopolitan species, they are found in diverse marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas.
  
  Orcas are apex predators with a diverse diet. Individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey. This includes a variety of fish, sharks, rays, and marine mammals such as seals and other dolphins and whales. They are highly social; some populations are composed of highly stable matrilineal family groups (pods). Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors, often specific to a particular group and passed along from generation to generation, are considered to be manifestations of animal culture. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Amundsen, Hanssen, Hassel, and Wisting at Polheim at the South Pole

  
  The first ever expedition to reach the Geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Himself and four other crew members made it to the geographical south pole on 14 December 1911, which would prove to be five weeks ahead of the competitive British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and about a year later heard that Scott and his four companions had perished on their return journey.
  
  Amundsen's initial plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North Pole by means of an extended drift in an icebound ship. He obtained the use of Fridtjof Nansen's polar exploration ship Fram, and undertook extensive fundraising. Preparations for this expedition were disrupted when, in 1909, the rival American explorers Frederick Cook and Robert Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole. Amundsen then changed his plan and began to prepare for a conquest of the South Pole; uncertain of the extent to which the public and his backers would support him, he kept this revised objective secret. When he set out in June 1910, he led even his crew to believe they were embarking on an Arctic drift, and revealed their true Antarctic destination only when Fram was leaving their last port of call, Madeira. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Fram leaves Bergen on 2 July 1893, bound for the Arctic Ocean

  
  Nansen's Fram expedition of 1893–1896 was an attempt by the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen to reach the geographical North Pole by harnessing the natural east–west current of the Arctic Ocean. In the face of much discouragement from other polar explorers, Nansen took his ship Fram to the New Siberian Islands in the eastern Arctic Ocean, froze her into the pack ice, and waited for the drift to carry her towards the pole. Impatient with the slow speed and erratic character of the drift, after 18 months Nansen and a chosen companion, Hjalmar Johansen, left the ship with a team of Samoyed dogs and sledges and made for the pole. They did not reach it, but they achieved a record Farthest North latitude of 86°13.6′N before a long retreat over ice and water to reach safety in Franz Josef Land. Meanwhile, Fram continued to drift westward, finally emerging in the North Atlantic Ocean.
  
  The idea for the expedition had arisen after items from the American vessel Jeannette, which had sunk off the north coast of Siberia in 1881, were discovered three years later off the south-west coast of Greenland. The wreckage had obviously been carried across the polar ocean, perhaps across the pole itself. Based on this and other debris recovered from the Greenland coast, the meteorologist Henrik Mohn developed a theory of transpolar drift, which led Nansen to believe that a specially designed ship could be frozen in the pack ice and follow the same track as Jeannette wreckage, thus reaching the vicinity of the pole. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Portrait by John de Critz, 1605

  
  Anne of Denmark (Danish: Anna; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until her death in 1619.
  
  The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Anne married James at age 14. They had three children who survived infancy: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, who predeceased his parents; Princess Elizabeth, who became Queen of Bohemia; and James's future successor, Charles I. Anne demonstrated an independent streak and a willingness to use factional Scottish politics in her conflicts with James over the custody of Prince Henry and his treatment of her friend Beatrix Ruthven. Anne appears to have loved James at first, but the couple gradually drifted and eventually lived apart, though mutual respect and a degree of affection survived. (Full article...)
• 

  

  S. A. Andrée and Knut Frænkel with the balloon on the pack ice, photographed by the third expedition member, Nils Strindberg. The exposed film for this photograph and others from the failed 1897 expedition was recovered in 1930.

  
  Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was a failed Swedish effort to reach the North Pole, resulting in the deaths of all three expedition members, S. A. Andrée, Knut Frænkel, and Nils Strindberg. Andrée, the first Swedish balloonist, proposed a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada, which was to pass, with luck, straight over the North Pole on the way. The scheme was received with patriotic enthusiasm in Sweden, a northern nation that had fallen behind in the race for the North Pole.
  
  Andrée ignored many early signs of the dangers associated with his balloon plan. Being able to steer the balloon to some extent was essential for a safe journey, but there was much evidence that the drag-rope steering technique he had invented was ineffective. Worse, the polar balloon Örnen (Eagle) was delivered directly to Svalbard from its manufacturer in Paris without being tested. When measurements showed it to be leaking more than expected, Andrée failed to acknowledge the risk. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Corsair fighters and Barracuda bombers ranged on the flight deck of HMS Formidable during operations off Norway in July 1944

  Corsair fighters and Barracuda bombers ranged on the flight deck of HMS Formidable during operations off Norway in July 1944

  
  Operation Mascot was an unsuccessful British carrier air raid conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway, on 17 July 1944. The attack was one of a series of strikes against the battleship launched from aircraft carriers between April and August 1944, and was initiated after Allied intelligence determined that the damage inflicted during the Operation Tungsten raid on 3 April had been repaired.
  
  A force of 44 British dive bombers and 40 fighters took off from three aircraft carriers in the early hours of 17 July. German radar stations detected these aircraft while they were en route to Kaafjord, and Tirpitz was protected by a smoke screen by the time the strike force arrived. Few of the British airmen were able to spot the battleship, and their attacks did not inflict any significant damage. German losses were limited to a patrol craft, and three British aircraft were destroyed or damaged beyond repair by Kaafjord's defenders. A group of German submarines attempted to intercept the carrier force as it returned to base, without success. Two U-boats were sunk near the carriers by British patrol aircraft and several others were damaged. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Hull at RAF Wick in Scotland in early 1940

  
  Caesar Barrand Hull, DFC (26 February 1914 – 7 September 1940) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) flying ace during the Second World War, noted especially for his part in the fighting for Narvik during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, and for being one of "The Few"—the Allied pilots of the Battle of Britain, in which he was shot down and killed. From a farming family, Hull's early years were spent in Southern Rhodesia, South Africa and Swaziland. He boxed for South Africa at the 1934 Empire Games. After being turned down by the South African Air Force because he did not speak Afrikaans, he joined the RAF and, on becoming a pilot officer in August 1936, mustered into No. 43 Squadron at RAF Tangmere in Sussex.
  
  A skilful pilot, Hull dedicated much of his pre-war service to aerobatics, flying Hawker Audaxes, Furies and Hurricanes. He reacted to the outbreak of war with enthusiasm and achieved No. 43 Squadron's first victory of the conflict in late January 1940. Reassigned to Norway in May 1940 to command a flight of Gloster Gladiator biplanes belonging to No. 263 Squadron, he downed four German aircraft in an hour over the Bodø area south-west of Narvik on 26 May, a feat that earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was shot down the next day, and invalided back to England. Hull returned to action at the end of August, when he was made commander of No. 43 Squadron with the rank of squadron leader. A week later, he died in a dogfight over south London. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Amundsen's Norwegian party stand at the South Pole, 17 December 1911. They had reached 90°S two days earlier.

  
  
  Farthest South refers to the most southerly latitude reached by explorers before the first successful expedition to the South Pole in 1911.
  
  Significant steps on the road to the pole were the discovery of lands south of Cape Horn in 1619, Captain James Cook's crossing of the Antarctic Circle in 1773, and the earliest confirmed sightings of the Antarctic mainland in 1820. From the late 19th century onward, the quest for Farthest South latitudes became a race to reach the pole, which culminated in Roald Amundsen's success in December 1911. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  The black-throated loon (Gavia arctica), also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winters along sheltered, ice-free coasts of the north-east Atlantic Ocean and the eastern and western Pacific Ocean. This loon was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and has two subspecies. It was previously considered to be the same species as the Pacific loon, of which it is traditionally considered to be a sister species, although this is debated. In a study that used mitochondrial and nuclear intron DNA, the black-throated loon was found to be sister to a clade consisting of the Pacific loon and two sister species, the common loon and the yellow-billed loon.
  
  The black-throated loon measures about 70 cm (28 in) in length and can weigh anywhere from 1.3 to 3.4 kilograms (2.9 to 7.5 lb). In breeding plumage, the adult of the nominate subspecies has mostly black upperparts, with the exception of some of the mantle and scapulars, which have white squares. The head and hindneck are grey, and the sides white and striped black. Most of the throat is also black, giving this bird the name "black-throated loon". The colour of the throat patch can be used to distinguish the two subspecies; the throat patch of the other subspecies, G. a. viridigularis, is green. The underparts are mostly white, including the bottom of the throat. The flanks are also white, a feature which can be used to separate this bird from the Pacific loon. When it is not breeding, the black patch on the throat is absent, replaced with white; most of the black lines on the throat are also missing, except those on the bottom sides, and the upperparts are unpatterned with the exception of a few white spots on the upperwing. The juvenile is similar to the non-breeding adult, except more brown overall. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Nansen in 1890

  
  Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (Norwegian: [ˈfrɪ̂tːjɔf ˈnɑ̀nsn̩]; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the Fatherland League.
  
  He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on cross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his Fram expedition of 1893–1896. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. He was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1897. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Female near Kaktovik, Barter Island, Alaska, United States

  
  The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white- or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water.
  
  Polar bears are both terrestrial and pagophilic (ice-living) and are considered to be marine mammals due to their dependence on marine ecosystems. They prefer the annual sea ice but live on land when the ice melts in the summer. They are mostly carnivorous and specialized for preying on seals, particularly ringed seals. Such prey is typically taken by ambush; the bear may stalk its prey on the ice or in the water, but also will stay at a breathing hole or ice edge to wait for prey to swim by. The bear primarily feeds on the seal's energy-rich blubber. Other prey include walruses, beluga whales and some terrestrial animals. Polar bears are usually solitary but can be found in groups when on land. During the breeding season, male bears guard females and defend them from rivals. Mothers give birth to cubs in maternity dens during the winter. Young stay with their mother for up to two and a half years. (Full article...)

{{/box-footer|

Selected article –

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. (Full article...)

More selected articles

Selected picture –

Vista of Lillehammer from the west

Lillehammer

Credit: Maksim

Lillehammer is a town and municipality in the county of Oppland, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics.

In this month

• Harald Tom Nesvik (born 4 May 1966 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian politician. He is a member of the Progress Party (FrP) and is perhaps most famous outside Norway for nominating Tony Blair and George W. Bush for the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.
• Einar Henry Gerhardsen (10 May 1897 – 19 September 1987) was a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party of Norway. He was Prime Minister for three periods, 1945 - 1951, 1955 - 1963 and 1963 - 1965.
• The Norwegian Constitution Day (parade pictured) is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai (meaning May Seventeenth), Nasjonaldagen (The National Day) or Grunnlovsdagen (The Constitution Day), although the latter is less frequent. The day marks the signing of the Norwegian Constitution in Eidsvoll, 17 May 1814.

More anniversaries

General images –

The following are images from various Norway-related articles on Wikipedia.

• 
  Roald Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Oscar Wisting (l–r) at Polheim, the tent erected at the South Pole on 16 December 1911 as the first expedition (from History of Norway)
• 
  The Kingdom of Norway about 1265, at its greatest extent (from History of Norway)
• 
  Trondheim in 1965 (from History of Norway)
• 
  The Constituent Assembly which approved the Constitution of Norway (from History of Norway)
• 
  Smørbrød, Norwegian open sandwiches (from Culture of Norway)
• 
  Rock carvings at Alta (from History of Norway)
• 
  Map of Denmark–Norway (from History of Norway)
• 
  Røros, a major copper mining town, in 1869 (from History of Norway)
• 
  Historical quarter of Bryggen in Bergen (from Culture of Norway)
• 
  Harvesting oats at Fossum in Jølster during the 1880s (from History of Norway)
• 
  The Røros Line through Holtålen in 1877 (from History of Norway)
• 
  Henrik Ibsen, c. 1890 (from Culture of Norway)
• 
  Edvard Munch's The Scream (1893) (from Culture of Norway)
• 
  Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik met with U.S. President George W. Bush at the Oval Office in White House, on 27 May 2003. (from History of Norway)
• 
  Map of Sweden–Norway (from History of Norway)
• 
  Traditional Norwegian St. Hansbål (midsummer) bonfire in Laksevåg, Bergen (from Culture of Norway)
• 
  The Kalmar Union, c. 1400 (from History of Norway)
• 
  Bryggen in Bergen, once the centre of trade in Norway under the Hanseatic League trade network, now preserved as a World Heritage Site (from History of Norway)
• 
  Alta Power Station, built despite massive protests (from History of Norway)
• 
  Homann's map of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Fennoscandia with their surrounding territories: northern Germany, northern Poland, the Baltic region, Livonia, Belarus, and parts of Northwest Russia. Johann Baptist Homann (1664–1724) was a German geographer and cartographer; map dated around 1730. (from History of Norway)
• 
  Industry along Akerselva in Oslo in 1912 (from History of Norway)
• 
  Battle of Alvøen between the frigate HMS Tartar and Norwegian gunboats near Bergen in 1808 (from History of Norway)
• 
  Scenes from the Norwegian Campaign in 1940 (from History of Norway)
• 
  Norwegian Hardanger fiddle (from Culture of Norway)
• 
  Reconstruction of a longhouse at Lofoten (from History of Norway)
• 
  Petty kingdoms of Norway c. 872 (from History of Norway)
• 
  Brudeferden i Hardanger (from Culture of Norway)
• 
  Statfjord oil platform (from History of Norway)
• 
  Bridal Journey in Hardanger (1848) by Adolph Tidemand and Hans Gude, an example of romantic nationalism (from History of Norway)

Good article –

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

---

• 

  

  
  Bergen Air Transport AS was an airline based at Bergen Airport, Flesland in Norway. In addition to charter aviation and an aviation workshop, it offered until 2017 a scheduled service between Bergen and Notodden Airport, Tuven. The airline operated two Beechcraft B200 King Air aircraft and one Cessna Citation CJ2. The airline was established in 1998, offering seaplane charter flights using Cessna 421 aircraft. The service to Notodden started in 2000; a Cessna 441 was acquired in 2003, and from 2006 the company used two Beechcraft. The company is owned by Geir Hellsten and Håkon Lie-Nielsen.
  
  This airline is not to be confused with Bergen Air Transport (1961), which operated from approximately 1961 to 1977 with Douglas DC-3, DC-4 und DHC-2 Beaver aircraft. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  Forskningsparken is a rapid transit station on the Sognsvann Line of the Oslo Metro. It also serves as a light rail station for the Ullevål Hageby Line of the Oslo Tramway. It is located at the north of the Blindern campus of the University of Oslo in the Nordre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. The decision to build the station was made in 1998, and it opened in 1999, replacing the former station Vestgrensa, and allowed interchange between the metro and the tramway. The Ullevål Hageby Line was at the same time extended to serve the new Rikshospitalet. Forskningsparken is served by lines 4 and 5 of the metro, each operating every 15 minutes and providing services along both the Sognsvann Line and the Ring Line. Lines 17 and 18 of the tramway serve Forskningsparken, operating to Rikshospitalet and the city center. (Full article...)
• 
  Vildanden AS ("The Wild Duck") was a virtual, regional airline based at Skien Airport, Geiteryggen in Norway, where it was the only airline. With operations starting in 2005, it flew to Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger using a Jetstream 32 and an ATR 42, which is wet leased from Danish Air Transport (DAT) and Helitrans. Previously, the airline has also served Stockholm and Molde, and has also operated Saab 340 aircraft, operated by Coast Air, Air Aurora and Avitrans. The airline had been in conflict with Coast Air about terminating the wet lease agreement. The company has had to be bailed out several times, including by the municipality, until it managed to make its first profit in 2009. It ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in January 2011. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Bjørnebye in 2017

  
  Stig Inge Bjørnebye (born 11 December 1969) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played in Norway, England, and Denmark, most notably for Liverpool, and is currently the sports director of the Danish football club AGF Aarhus. His preferred position was left back, which he occupied for domestic clubs and the national team. Bjørnebye was appointed assistant manager of Norway in 2003, relinquishing the role three years later to succeed Tom Nordlie as manager of IK Start. He was the sports director of Rosenborg Ballklub from March 2015 until November 2019.
  
  For club and country, Bjørnebye was noted for his precise deliveries from the flanks. Described as a "solid, no-nonsense full-back", Bjørnebye played competitive football for 16 years, and appeared in 194 Premier League matches, until injury compelled retirement in March 2003. He played for the Norwegian national team in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup and the Euro 2000 and was capped 75 times, scoring once. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  Birkebeineren Ski Stadium (Norwegian: Birkebeineren skistadion) is a cross-country skiing and biathlon venue located in Lillehammer, Norway. Situated 3 kilometers (2 mi) from the town center and at 485 meters (1,591 ft) above mean sea level, it has two stadium areas, one for cross-country and one for biathlon. The former has a capacity for 31,000 spectators, and the latter for 13,500. The venue was built for the 1994 Winter Olympics, costing 83.6 million Norwegian krone (NOK). It was subsequently used by the 1994 Winter Paralympics for Paralympic Nordic skiing and Paralympic biathlon. After the games, ownership was transferred to the municipal Lillehammer Olympiapark. The venue has since been used for one Biathlon World Cup, three FIS Cross-Country World Cup and nine FIS Nordic Combined World Cup tournaments, the latter with the ski jumping competition taking place at the nearby Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena. Birkebeineren hosted the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Blücher while on trials

  
  Blücher was the second of five Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruisers of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine (lit. 'War Navy'), built after the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the Prussian victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in June 1937. She was completed in September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II. After completing a series of sea trials and training exercises, the ship was pronounced ready for service with the fleet on 5 April 1940. She was armed with a main battery of eight 20.3 cm (8 in) guns and, although nominally under the 10,000-long-ton (10,160 t) limit set by the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, actually displaced over 16,000 long tons (16,260 t).
  
  Immediately upon entering service, Blücher was assigned to the task force that supported the invasion of Norway in April 1940. Blücher served as the flagship of Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral) Oskar Kummetz, the commander of Group 5. The ship led the flotilla of warships into the Oslofjord on the night of 8 April, to seize Oslo, the capital of Norway. Two old 28 cm (11 in) coastal guns in the Oscarsborg Fortress engaged the ship at very close range, scoring two hits, as did several smaller guns in other batteries. Two torpedoes fired by a torpedo battery in the fortress struck the ship, causing serious damage. A major fire broke out aboard Blücher, which could not be contained. The fire spread to one of her anti-aircraft gun magazines, causing a large explosion, and then spread further to the ship's fuel bunkers. Blücher then capsized and sank with major loss of life. (Full article...)
• 
  Stargate is a record producing and songwriting team composed of Tor E. Hermansen (born 14 October 1972) and Mikkel S. Eriksen (born 10 December 1972), based in Los Angeles, USA. The team's genres include R&B, pop and hip hop. Stargate was established in Trondheim, Norway.
  
  Stargate broke into the US recording industry in 2001, with the release of "One Night Stand", by British multi-platinum girl group Mis-Teeq, which peaked within the Top 5 of the Billboard Dance Charts. Stargate and Mis-Teeq had further US chart success together, with the release of "Scandalous". It charted at number 2 on the Billboard Dance Charts, No.11 on the Mainstream Top 40 and number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Tromsø Satellite Station (2013)

  
  Tromsø Satellite Station (Norwegian: Tromsø Satellittstasjon, TSS), until 1988 known as Tromsø Telemetry Station (Norwegian: Tromsø telemetristasjon), is a satellite earth station located in Tromsø, Norway. The facility is owned by Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), a joint venture between the Kongsberg Group and the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC). In addition to hosting its own antennas serving thirty satellites, TSS acts as the center-point of KSAT's operations and provides backbone services for the high Arctic Svalbard Satellite Station (SvalSat) and the Antarctic Troll Satellite Station (TrollSat).
  
  Originally proposed in 1965, the station was established by the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (NTNF) in 1967 in close cooperation with the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (NDRE) and located adjacent to Tromsø Geophysical Observatory. From its inception until 1974, it served low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites operated by the European Space Research Organization (ESRO). To a lesser extent it was also used by Canadian Space Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) LEO satellites. Norway's non-membership in ESRO and later the European Space Agency (ESA) caused Tromsø to not become a ground station for Landsat. A gradual increase in operations occurred from 1982, such as for the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme and the European Remote-Sensing Satellite. TSS became part of NSC in 1990, although it was partially sold to the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) in 1995. SvalSat merged with TSS in 2002 to form KSAT. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  King playing for AFC Bournemouth in 2015

  
  Joshua Christian Kojo King (born 15 January 1992) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Norway national team.
  
  King was signed by Manchester United from Vålerenga in 2008. After loan spells with Preston North End, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hull City and Blackburn Rovers, he signed permanently with Blackburn in January 2013, before switching to AFC Bournemouth in May 2015. In February 2021, in a deadline day deal, he returned to the top flight with a move to Everton. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  NSB 66.02 at Skien Station in 1973

  
  NSB Class 66 (Norwegian: NSB type 66) was a three-car electric train used by the Norwegian State Railways for express trains on the Østfold Line to Halden and Gothenburg, and the Sørlandet Line to Kristiansand and Stavanger. The four multiple units were built by Skabo Jernbanevognfabrikk, with motors from Norsk Elektrisk & Brown Boveri, and delivered in 1945–46. They were originally named Class 106, but this was changed in 1956. The trains received the numbering BFM 66.01–04, B 66.31–34 and BS 66.61–64.
  
  The class was the electric counterpart of diesel Class 88. With a power output of 474 kW (636 hp), it was the first train capable of 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph) in Norway. One of the Class 66 trains was involved in the Hjuksebø train disaster in 1950. Since 1967, the trains served on the Vestfold Line. The Class 66 was retired from service in 1977. BFM 66.01 has been preserved by the Norwegian Railway Museum. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Amber blotched tabby and white female

  
  The Norwegian Forest cat (Norwegian: Norsk skogkatt and Norsk skaukatt) is a breed of domestic cat originating in Northern Europe. This landrace breed is adapted to a very cold climate, with a top coat of long, glossy hair and a woolly undercoat for insulation. The breed's ancestors may have been a landrace breed of short-haired cats brought to Norway about A.D. 1000 by the Vikings, who may also have brought with them long-haired cats, like those ancestral to the modern Siberian and Turkish Angora.
  
  During World War II, the Norwegian Forest cat was nearly extinct; then the Norwegian Forest Cat Club's breeding program increased the cat's number. It was registered as a breed with the European Fédération Internationale Féline in the 1970s, when a cat fancier, Carl-Fredrik Nordane, took notice of the breed and made efforts to register it. The breed is very popular in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and France. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  The Bjorøy Tunnel (Norwegian: Bjorøytunnelen) is a 2,012-metre-long (6,601 ft) subsea road tunnel in Vestland county, Norway. The tunnel is part of the Norwegian County Road 5236 which connects the island of Bjorøy in the municipality of Øygarden to the mainland near Håkonshella and Hilleren in the city-municipality of Bergen. It crosses underneath the Vatlestraumen strait, reaching 88 metres (289 ft) below mean sea level. It serves as a fixed link for the 900 residents of the islands of Bjorøy and Tyssøy as well as a large number of cottage owners who vacation on the islands. The first proposal was launched in 1980, and construction started on 29 September 1993. There were severe problems because the tunneling encountered an area of sandstone, causing a year's delay. The total construction cost was 59 million kr. It opened on 7 May 1996 and remained a toll road until 29 January 2005. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  The line through Jevnaker along Randsfjorden

  
  The Roa–Hønefoss Line (Norwegian: Roa–Hønefossbanen, formerly Roa–Hønefosslinjen) is a 32-kilometer (20 mi) long, single track railway line between Roa and Hønefoss in Norway. At Roa Station, the line connects to the Gjøvik Line, while at Hønefoss Station, it connects to the Randsfjorden Line and the Bergen Line. The line runs through Akershus and Buskerud counties and allowed the Bergen Line access to Oslo at Oslo East Station.
  
  The Line was built by the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) and opened on 1 December 1909, along with the last part of the Bergen Line. The line was electrified in 1961. Until 1989, nearly all Oslo–Bergen trains used the line to terminate at Oslo East Station. It was also possible to reach Oslo from Hønefoss via the Randsfjord Line, albeit terminating at Oslo West Station. NSB also ran a local service between Hønefoss and Oslo along the Roa–Hønefoss Line. Oslo–Bergen trains ran via the Randsfjord Line after 1989 and local train services have been terminated. However, the line remains in use for freight trains along the Oslo–Bergen route. (Full article...)
• 
  Lillehammer Olympiapark AS, trading as Olympiaparken, is a company established following the 1994 Winter Olympics to operate the Olympic venues in Lillehammer, Norway. Owned by Lillehammer Municipality, it operates five sports venues: Birkebeineren Ski Stadium, Håkons Hall, Lillehammer Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track, Kanthaugen Freestyle Arena and the ski jumping hill of Lysgårdsbakken. In addition to serving sports events, the company provides tourist and group activities at the venues as well as catering to larger events.
  
  In the Lillehammer bid for the 1994 Winter Olympics, the agreement between Lillehammer Municipality and the state specified that the municipality was responsible for financing all necessary sports venues. However, after the games were awarded the responsibility was taken over by Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee (LOOC) and the town's five venues were ultimately funded through state grants. To allow for post-Olympic use, a fund was created by the state, of which Lillehammer Olympiapark received 146 million Norwegian krone (NOK). Unlike the Hamar venues, which survive on their fund's yield, the Lillehammer venues have used up their capital. From 2014 the post-Olympic use fund will be depleted and alternative organization and funding is being looked into. A leading proposal is that the bobsleigh and luge track be taken over by the state, while the remaining venues be retained by the company and jointly funded by the municipality and Oppland County Municipality. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  Oslo Airport, Fornebu (IATA: FBU, ICAO: ENFB) was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, 8 km (5.0 mi) from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one 2,370 m (7,780 ft) 06/24 and one 1,800 m (5,900 ft) 01/19, and a capacity of 20 aircraft. In 1996, the airport had 170,823 aircraft movements and 10,072,054 passengers. The airport served as a hub for Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), Braathens SAFE and Widerøe. In 1996, they and 21 other airlines served 28 international destinations. Due to limited terminal and runway capacity, intercontinental and charter airlines used Gardermoen. The Royal Norwegian Air Force retained offices at Fornebu.
  
  The airport opened as a combined sea and land airport, serving both domestic and international destinations. It replaced the land airport at Kjeller and the sea airport at Gressholmen. In 1940, it was taken over by the German Luftwaffe, but civilian air services began again in 1946 and it was then taken over by the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration. The airport at first had three runways, each at 800 m (2,600 ft), but these were gradually expanded, first the north–south runway and finally the east–west one to the current length in 1962. The same year the terminal moved south to the final location. A large-scale expansion to the terminal was made during the 1980s. (Full article...)
• 

  

  
  The Stord Bridge (Norwegian: Stordabrua) is a suspension bridge which crosses Digernessundet between the islands of Stord and Føyno in Stord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The bridge is 1,077 meters (3,533 ft) long, has a main span of 677 meters (2,221 ft) and a clearance below of 18 meters (59 ft). It carries two lanes of European Route E39 and a combined pedestrian and bicycle pathway. It is part of the Triangle Link, a fixed link which connects Stord to Bømlo, and both to the mainland. In 2010, the bridge had an average 5,021 vehicles per day. The bridge and the link was a toll road from the opening until 30 May 2013.
  
  Plans for a crossing arose in the 1960s; and until the 1990s proposals were for a pontoon bridge further north. The Stord Bridge was conceived after the decision to combine the crossing with the Bømlafjord Tunnel. The project was resisted both by local environmental groups and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, the latter because the new plans would delay completion. Construction was undertaken by a joint venue between NCC and HBG Steel Structures. Construction started in 1999 and was the first bridge in Norway to have the cables spun on-site. The bridge cost 442 million Norwegian krone (NOK) and was taken into use on 27 December 2000. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  UEFA

  
  The Lerkendal Stadion (Urban East Norwegian: [ˈlæ̂rkn̩dɑːɫ ˈstɑ̀ːdɪɔn]) is an all-seater association football stadium located at Lerkendal in Trondheim, Norway. The home ground of the Eliteserien (2017) side Rosenborg BK, it has a capacity for 21,405 spectators, making it the second-largest football stadium in the country.
  
  Lerkendal opened as a multi-purpose stadium on 10 August 1947, as the main football and athletics stadium in Trondheim. Originally the venue was mostly used by the football teams SK Freidig and FK Kvik, and Rosenborg did not become a tenant until 1957. A new grandstand with roof was completed in 1962, and floodlights were installed in 1968. The oldest of the current stands were built in 1996, along with new lighting. Three more grandstands were built between 2000 and 2002, which also saw the removal of the athletics facilities and the sale of the stadium from Trondheim Municipality to Rosenborg. Further expansions plans have been launched, to increase capacity by filling in the corners and possibly by building a retractable roof. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Astri Aasen in 1932

  
  Astri Aasen (3 September 1875 – 10 October 1935) was a Norwegian painter. She spent most of her life in the city of Trondheim, and in the early 20th century, was taught to paint by Harriet Backer in Oslo. She created a series of portraits of those who attended the first Sámi assembly in 1917. The portraits were acquired by the Sámediggi (Sámi parliament) in the late 20th century, where they remain as of 2021. Following her death, a scholarship for young artists was created by her family. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Troll Station

  
  Troll is a Norwegian research station located at Jutulsessen, 235 kilometres (146 mi) from the coast in the eastern part of Princess Martha Coast in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. It is Norway's only all-year research station in Antarctica, and is supplemented by the summer-only station Tor. Troll is operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute and also features facilities for the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research.
  
  Unlike most other research stations on the continent, Troll is constructed on the snow-free slope of solid rock breaking through the ice sheet at Jutulsessen, located 1,275 metres (4,183 ft) above mean sea level. The station opened as a summer-only station in 1990 and was taken into use as an all-year station in 2005. It has an overwintering capacity of six people and a summer capacity of 70. It is served by Troll Airfield, which is the base for the Dronning Maud Land Air Network (DROMLAN). (Full article...)
• 
  The Norway Debate, sometimes called the Narvik Debate, was a momentous debate in the British House of Commons from 7 to 9 May 1940, during the Second World War. The official title of the debate, as held in the Hansard parliamentary archive, is Conduct of the War. The debate was initiated by an adjournment motion enabling the Commons to freely discuss the progress of the Norwegian campaign. The debate quickly brought to a head widespread dissatisfaction with the conduct of the war by Neville Chamberlain's government.
  
  At the end of the second day, there was a division of the House for the members to hold a no confidence motion. The vote was won by the government but by a drastically reduced majority. That led on 10 May to Chamberlain resigning as prime minister and the replacement of his war ministry by a broadly based coalition government, which, under Winston Churchill governed the United Kingdom until after the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. (Full article...)
• 

  

  SL95 tram and MX3000 Metro train meet at Forskningsparken

  
  The history of the Oslo Tramway and Oslo Metro in Oslo (Kristiania until 1925), Norway, starts in 1875, when Kristiania Sporveisselskab (KSS) opened two horsecar lines through the city centre. In 1894, Kristiania Elektriske Sporvei (KES) built the first electric street tramways, which ran west from the city centre. Within six years, all tramways were electric. The city council established Kristiania Kommunale Sporveie (KKS) in 1899, which built three lines before it was sold to KSS six years later. Both KSS and KES were taken over by the municipality in 1924, becoming Oslo Sporveier. The company gradually expanded the city tram network, which reached its peak length in 1939.
  
  The Holmenkollen Line was the first light rail line, which opened in 1898 and ran west of the city. Later light rail lines in the west were the Røa Line (opened in 1912), the Lilleaker Line (1919), the Sognsvann Line (1934) and the Kolsås Line (1942). From 1928, they ran to the city centre via the Common Tunnel. East of the city, the Ekeberg Line opened in 1917, followed by the Østensjø Line (opened in 1926) and the Lambertseter Line (1957). The light rail lines were built by three private companies, Holmenkolbanen, Ekebergbanen and Bærumsbanen. By 1975, all had been bought by Oslo Sporveier. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Route taken by the ice block expedition

  
  The ice block expedition of 1959 (Norwegian: isblokkekspedisjonen) was a publicity stunt carried out by the Norwegian insulation material producer Glassvatt. Responding to a challenge from the radio station Radio Luxembourg, Glassvatt decided to equip a truck to bring a three-ton block of ice from Mo i Rana by the Arctic Circle, to Libreville by the Equator. There was no form of refrigeration applied, and the expedition was intended to display the efficiency of the insulating glass wool used. The truck also brought 300 kg of medicines to the hospital of Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné.
  
  The expedition then was followed by a worldwide press corps, and crowds of spectators gathered in various European cities along the route. Crossing the Sahara, where the truck repeatedly got stuck in the sand, proved both a dangerous and laborious task. Once the truck had made it through the desert, however, and reached its final destination, it was revealed that the ice block had lost only about 11% of its original weight. When the expedition reached its goal it generated much media attention for the company. It was called "the world's greatest publicity stunt". To mark the 50th anniversary of the event in 2009, the company made the original documentary of the expedition available online. They also released a new interview with the expedition's leader Sivert Klevan, who was 84 years old at the time of the interview. (Full article...)
• 
  The Danish Poet (Norwegian: Den danske dikteren) is a 2006 animated short film written, directed, and animated by Torill Kove and narrated by Liv Ullmann. A co-production of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and Mikrofilm AS of Norway, it has won both the Academy Award and Genie Award for best animated short film. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China."

  
  The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017) "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China". The laureate, once an eminent scholar, was reportedly little-known inside the People's Republic of China (PRC) at the time of the award due to official censorship; he partook in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and was a co-author of the Charter 08 manifesto, for which he was sentenced to 11 years in prison on 25 December 2009. Liu, who was backed by former Czech president Václav Havel and anti-apartheid activist and cleric Desmond Tutu, also a Nobel Peace Prize winner, received the award among a record field of more than 200 nominees.
  
  The decision, while widely praised by foreign intellectuals and politicians, was quickly condemned by the Chinese government and the state media. A number of countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, also denounced the award and what they regarded as interference in China's domestic affairs. Following the announcement, official censorship was applied within China—on the Internet, television and in print media. The government strongly denounced the award and summoned the Norwegian ambassador in Beijing to make a formal protest. The Chinese authorities arrested citizens who attempted to celebrate. Liu's wife was put under house arrest before the decision of the Nobel Committee was announced. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  Carlsen in 2024

  
  Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. He is a five-time World Chess Champion, the reigning five-time World Rapid Chess Champion, the reigning seven-time World Blitz Chess Champion, and the reigning Chess World Cup Champion. He has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since 1 July 2011 and trails only Garry Kasparov in time spent as the highest-rated player in the world, while holding the record for longest consecutive reign. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest in history. He also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at an elite level in classical chess at 125 games.
  
  A chess prodigy, Carlsen finished first in the C group of the Corus chess tournament shortly after he turned 13 and earned the title of grandmaster a few months later. At 15, he won the Norwegian Chess Championship, and later became the youngest ever player to qualify for the Candidates Tournament in 2005. At 17, he finished joint first in the top group of Corus. He surpassed a rating of 2800 at 18, the youngest at the time to do so. In 2010, at 19, he reached No. 1 in the FIDE world rankings, the youngest person ever to do so. (Full article...)

Selected biography –

Anne of Denmark (12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was queen consort of James VI of Scots, I of England. The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I of England. She demonstrated an independent streak and a willingness to use factional Scottish politics in her conflicts with James over the custody of Prince Henry and his treatment of her friend Beatrix Ruthven. Anne appears to have loved James at first, but the couple gradually drifted and eventually lived apart, though mutual respect and a degree of affection survived. In England, Anne shifted her energies from factional politics to patronage of the arts and constructed a magnificent court of her own, hosting one of the richest cultural salons in Europe. After 1612, she suffered sustained bouts of ill health and gradually withdrew from the centre of court life. Though she was reported to have died a Protestant, evidence suggests that she may have converted to Catholicism at some stage in her life. Historians have traditionally dismissed Anne as a lightweight queen, frivolous and self-indulgent. However, recent reappraisals acknowledge Anne's assertive independence and, in particular, her dynamic significance as a patron of the arts during the famous Jacobean age. (Full article...)

Did you know –

• ...that development of the Namsos Line (pictured) was halted both in 1908, when final plans for the Nordland Line used another route via Snåsa, and in 1927, when the Norwegian Minister of Labour stopped construction?
• ...that from 1904 to 1927, passengers travelling by rail from Stavanger to Oslo, Norway, needed to change to steam ship at Flekkefjord Station?
• ...that Norwegian historian Tore Linné Eriksen has published several books about Namibia, including one on what was described as the first genocide in the twentieth century?

Selected quote –

Categories

Category puzzle

Select [►] to view subcategories

Norway

Norway-related lists

Buildings and structures in Norway

Culture of Norway

Economy of Norway

Education in Norway

Environment of Norway

Geography of Norway

Government of Norway

Health in Norway

History of Norway

Organisations based in Norway

Norwegian people

Politics of Norway

Society of Norway

Images of Norway

Norway stubs

Selected panorama

The "Lille Lungegaardsvann" in the city of Bergen, Norway

Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway, a municipality, and a former county, in the county of Hordaland. The city is located on the south-western coast of Norway, in the county of Hordaland, with its centre situated between a group of mountains known collectively as de syv fjell ("the seven mountains"), although the number of mountains is a matter of definition. (Full article...)

Main topics

Norway

Counties: • Agder • Innlandet • Møre og Romsdal • Nordland • Oslo • Rogaland • Troms og Finnmark • Trøndelag • Vestfold og Telemark • Vestland • Viken (county)

Culture: Bunad • Constitution Day • Cuisine • Farm culture • Jul • Literature • Music • Cinema

History: Ancient Norwegian property laws • Nordic Stone Age • Nordic Bronze Age • Komsa • Fosna-Hensbacka culture • Funnelbeaker culture • Hamburg culture • Nøstvet and Lihult cultures • Maglemosian culture • Viking Age • Harald I of Norway • Olav IV of Norway • Haakon I of Norway • Olaf I of Norway • Olaf II of Norway • Battle of Stiklestad • Canute the Great • Magnus I of Norway • Harald III of Norway • Battle of Stamford Bridge • Magnus III of Norway • Sigurd I of Norway • Magnus V of Norway • Sverre of Norway • Haakon IV of Norway • Magnus VI of Norway • Eric II of Norway • Kalmar Union • Denmark–Norway • Union between Sweden and Norway • Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 • Haakon VII of Norway • Olav V of Norway • Harald V of Norway • Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany • Norwegian Campaign • Norwegian resistance movement • Legal purge in Norway after World War II • Foreign relations of Norway • Military of Norway • Norway and the European Union

Language: Å • Æ • Ø • Bokmål • Det Norske Akademi for Sprog og Litteratur • Differences between Norwegian Bokmål and Standard Danish • Høgnorsk • Nordic Council • Nordic Language Convention • Noregs Mållag • Norsk Ordbok • North Germanic languages • Norwegian alphabet • Norwegian dialects • Norwegian Language Council • Norwegian language conflict • Norwegian phonology • Nynorsk • Old Norse • Riksmålsforbundet • Russenorsk

Politics: Constitution • Counties (Fylker) • Elections • European Union relations • Foreign relations • Government • Monarchy • Municipalities (Kommuner) • Political parties • Prime Minister • Norwegian nationalism • Romantic nationalism • Sámi Parliament • Storting

Featured and Good content

Related portals

---

Northern Europe

---

Other countries

WikiProjects

Parent projects

WikiProject Countries • WikiProject Europe

Main project

WikiProject Norway

Similar projects

WikiProject Denmark • WikiProject Finland • WikiProject Iceland • WikiProject Sweden • WikiProject Russia

What are WikiProjects?

Things you can do

• Add {{Portal|Norway}} to existing See also sections of Norway-related articles.
• Tag the talk pages of Norway-related articles with the {{WikiProject Norway}} banner.
• Rate the Unassessed Norway articles in the Norway WikiProject.
• Requested articles: Requested Norway-related articles
• Expand stubs: Building and structure stubs, Company stubs, Nordic football club stubs, Geography stubs, History stubs, Musical group stubs, People stubs, All Norway stub articles
• Note: For additional tasks, see - Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Norway/to do

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

• 

  Commons
  Free media repository

• 

  Wikibooks
  Free textbooks and manuals

• 

  Wikidata
  Free knowledge base

• 

  Wikinews
  Free-content news

• 

  Wikiquote
  Collection of quotations

• 

  Wikisource
  Free-content library

• 

  Wikiversity
  Free learning tools

• 

  Wikivoyage
  Free travel guide

• 

  Wiktionary
  Dictionary and thesaurus

Discover Wikipedia using portals

• 

  List of all portals

• 

  The arts portal

• 

  Biography portal

• 

  Current events portal

• 

  Geography portal

• 

  History portal

• 

  Mathematics portal

• 

  Science portal

• 

  Society portal

• 

  Technology portal

• 

  Random portal

• 

  WikiProject Portals