1.
Counties of Norway
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Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties, until 1918, they were known as amter. The counties form the first-level subdivisions of Norway and are divided into 428 municipalities. Svalbard and Jan Mayen are outside the county division and ruled directly on national level, the capital Oslo is considered both a county and a municipality. In 2017 the government decided to abolish the current counties and to them with fewer, larger administrative regions. Below is a list of the Norwegian counties as they have been since 1919, note that the counties are administered both by appointees of the national government and to a lesser extent by their own elected bodies. The county numbers are from the numbering system ISO 3166-2, NO. The number 13 was dropped from the system when the city of Bergen was merged into Hordaland in 1972, from the consolidation to a single kingdom, Norway was divided into a number of geographic regions that had its own legislative assembly or Thing, such as Gulating and Frostating. The second-order subdivision of these regions was into fylker, such as Egdafylke and Hordafylke, in 1914, the historical term fylke was brought into use again to replace the term amt introduced during the union with Denmark. Current day counties often, but not necessarily, correspond to the historical areas. Finnmark, the Faroe Islands, the Orkney Islands, Shetland, the Hebrides, Isle of Man, Iceland and Greenland were Norwegian skattland, from the end of the 12th century, Norway was divided into several syssel. The head of the various syssel was the syslemann, who represented the king locally, the following shows a reconstruction of the different syssel in Norway c. 1300, including sub-syssel where these seem established, from 1308, the term len in Norway signified an administrative region roughly equivalent to todays counties. The historic len was an important administrative entity during the period of Dano-Norwegian unification after their amalgamation as one state, which lasted for the period 1536–1814. At the beginning of the 16th century the political divisions were variable, up to 1660 the four principal len were headquartered at the major fortresses Bohus Fortress, Akershus Fortress, Bergenhus Fortress and the fortified city of Trondheim. The sub-regions corresponded to the districts for the Lutheran church in Norway. Båhus len Akershus len Trondheim len Bergenhus len These four principal len were in the 1530s divided into approximately 30 smaller regions. From that point forward through the beginning of the 17th century the number of subsidiary len was reduced, from 1660 Norway had nine principal len comprising 17 subsidiary len, Len written as län continues to be used as the administrative equivalent of county in Sweden to this day. Each len was governed by a lenman, with the royal decree of February 19,1662, each len was designated an amt and the lenmann was titled amtmann, from German Amt, reflecting the bias of the Danish court of that period
2.
Norway
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The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
3.
Eastern Norway
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Eastern Norway is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Telemark, Vestfold, Østfold, Akershus, Oslo, Buskerud, Oppland, eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norway. It contains the capital, Oslo, which is Norways most populous city. In Norwegian, the region is called Østlandet and Austlandet in contrast to Vestlandet, as of 2010, the region had 2,454,700 inhabitants. In 2014, Norways population was 5,156,450, the region is bounded by mountains in the north and west, the Swedish border to the east and by Viken and Skagerrak to the south. The border towards Sørlandet is less obvious, the mountains reach a height of 2469 metres in the Jotunheimen mountain range, the highest point in the Nordic countries. Other prominent mountain ranges include part of the Dovrefjell in the far north of the region, the high plateau of Hardangervidda extends into Western Norway. Valleys cut deep into the mountains, from east to west the valleys are Østerdal, Gudbrandsdal, Valdres, Hallingdal, Numedal. Østerdalen is surrounded by mostly flat areas of forests. The population density in the flatlands is the highest in the nation, numerous islands shelter the coasts, creating a paradise for swimmers and boaters in the summer. The Norwegian dialects spoken in the south-east share a common intonation, the dialects of the interior mountainous areas are all distinct. The dialects of the areas are more similar to the written language. The eastern forests of Finnskogen were the home of an ethnic minority and their language and culture was preserved into the 20th century, but now only folk tunes and food specialities remain. The southernmost group of Norways Sami population is to be found in the north-eastern corner, the culture of mountain valleys is preserved to a greater degree than the more urbanized metropolitan areas. The area is distinguished with traditional architecture, like churches and lafting, folk music. Some are concerned for the loss of culture in the face of modernization. It is common to see moose warning signs missing from their posts and this is of course illegal, and can result in a fine. The coastal region is populated both by Norwegian and European standards
4.
Oslo
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Oslo is the capital and the most populous city in Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality, founded in the year 1040, and established as a kaupstad or trading place in 1048 by Harald Hardrada, the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V of Norway around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814, after being destroyed by a fire in 1624, the city was moved closer to Akershus Fortress during the reign of Christian IV of Denmark and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838, following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, at which time its original Norwegian name was restored. Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway, the city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the worlds largest shipping companies, shipbrokers. Oslo is a city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme. Oslo is considered a city and ranked Beta World City in studies carried out by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group. It was ranked one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report by fDi magazine. A survey conducted by ECA International in 2011 placed Oslo as the second most expensive city in the world for living expenses after Tokyo. In 2013 Oslo tied with the Australian city of Melbourne as the fourth most expensive city in the world, as of January 1,2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, while the population of the citys urban area was 942,084. The metropolitan area had an population of 1.71 million. The population was during the early 2000 increasing at record rates and this growth stems for the most part from international immigration and related high birth rates, but also from intra-national migration. The immigrant population in the city is growing faster than the Norwegian population. As of January 1,2016, the municipality of Oslo has a population of 658,390, the urban area extends beyond the boundaries of the municipality into the surrounding county of Akershus, the total population of this agglomeration is 942,084. To the north and east, wide forested hills rise above the city giving the location the shape of a giant amphitheatre. The urban municipality of Oslo and county of Oslo are two parts of the entity, making Oslo the only city in Norway where two administrative levels are integrated
5.
Conservative Party (Norway)
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The Conservative Party is a conservative and liberal-conservative political party in Norway. It is the party of the Norwegian centre-right, and the leading party in the governing Solberg cabinet. The current party leader is the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, in national elections in September 2013, voters ended eight years of Labour Party rule. After winning the elections, Solberg said her win was an election victory for the right-wing electoral bloc. The party advocates economic liberalism, reduction of taxes, and individual rights and it has historically been the most outspokenly pro-European Union party in Norway, supporting Norwegian membership during both the 1972 and 1994 referendums. The party generally supports semi-privatization through state-funded private services and tougher law, founded in 1884, the Conservative Party is the second oldest political party in Norway after the Liberal Party. In the interwar era, one of the goals for the party was to achieve a centre-right alliance against the growing labour movement. The Conservative Party of Norway was founded in 1884 after the implementation of parliamentarism in Norway, the jurist Emil Stang was elected the first chairman of the party. Stang underlined important principles for the work in Høyre, the party was to be a social party of reforms that worked within the constitutional frames set by a parliamentary democracy. In the 1981-election, Høyre got 31. 7% and it was the best election since 1924. The result in 1993 was 17% and this election was influenced by the EU membership issue which divided the Liberal Party. The 1997 parliamentary election resulted in the lowest support since 1945, Høyre has since then seen increased popular support, and got 21. 3% in the 1999 local elections and 21. 2% in the 2001 parliamentary election. Throughout the years Høyre has supported a policy that aims to stimulate growth in order to avoid unemployment, in the beginning of the 20th century Høyre took the initiative to construct a modern Norwegian communications network. After the devastating First World War it was important for Høyre to work for the reconstruction of sound, an example of this is the resolution Høyre passed in 1923 introducing old-age insurance. But because of the States finances it was not possible to continue this effort, Høyre was the leading party in opposition in the post-war years in Norway. Høyre fought against the Labour Partys regulating policy, Høyre wanted another future for Norway consisting of private initiative and creative forces. Høyre has been a protagonist in the construction of the system in this country. Additionally Høyre has advocated that the States activity must concentrate on its basic problems, during the post-war years Høyre has consolidated its position as a party with appeal to all parts of the nation
6.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
7.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
8.
Norwegian language
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Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is the official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as extinct languages. Faroese and Icelandic are hardly mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them, as established by law and governmental policy, the two official forms of written Norwegian are Bokmål and Nynorsk. The official Norwegian Language Council is responsible for regulating the two forms, and recommends the terms Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk in English. Two other written forms without official status also exist, one and it is regulated by the unofficial Norwegian Academy, which translates the name as Standard Norwegian. Nynorsk and Bokmål provide standards for how to write Norwegian, no standard of spoken Norwegian is officially sanctioned, and most Norwegians speak their own dialects in all circumstances. Thus, unlike in other countries, the use of any Norwegian dialect. Outside Eastern Norway, this variation is not used. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was the written language of Norway. As a result, the development of modern written Norwegian has been subject to strong controversy related to nationalism, rural versus urban discourse, historically, Bokmål is a Norwegianised variety of Danish, while Nynorsk is a language form based on Norwegian dialects and puristic opposition to Danish. The unofficial form known as Riksmål is considered more conservative than Bokmål, Norwegians are educated in both Bokmål and Nynorsk. A2005 poll indicates that 86. 3% use primarily Bokmål as their written language,5. 5% use both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and 7. 5% use primarily Nynorsk. Thus, 13% are frequently writing Nynorsk, though the majority speak dialects that resemble Nynorsk more closely than Bokmål. Broadly speaking, Nynorsk writing is widespread in western Norway, though not in major urban areas, examples are Setesdal, the western part of Telemark county and several municipalities in Hallingdal, Valdres, and Gudbrandsdalen. It is little used elsewhere, but 30–40 years ago, it also had strongholds in rural parts of Trøndelag. Today, not only is Nynorsk the official language of four of the 19 Norwegian counties, NRK, the Norwegian broadcasting corporation, broadcasts in both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and all governmental agencies are required to support both written languages. Bokmål is used in 92% of all publications, and Nynorsk in 8%
9.
Norwegian krone
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The krone, plural kroner, is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. It is subdivided into 100 øre, which exist only electronically since 2012, the name translates into English as crown. The krone was the thirteenth most traded currency in the world by value in April 2010, the krone was introduced in 1875, replacing the Norwegian speciedaler/spesidaler at a rate of 4 kroner =1 speciedaler. In doing so, Norway joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which had established in 1873. After its dissolution, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden all decided to keep the names of their respective, within the Scandinavian Monetary Union, the krone was on a gold standard of 2,480 kroner =1 kilogram of pure gold. This gold standard was restored between 1916 and 1920 and again in 1928 and it was suspended permanently in 1931, when a peg to the British pound of 19.9 kroner =1 pound was established. In 1939, Norway pegged the krone temporarily to the U. S. dollar at a rate of 4.4 kroner =1 dollar, nonetheless, Norway would continue to hold the Kingdoms gold reserves. During the German occupation in the Second World War, the krone was initially pegged to the Reichsmark at a rate of 1 krone =0.6 Reichsmark, after the war, a rate of 20 kroner =1 pound was established. The rate to the pound was maintained in 1949, when the pound devalued relative to the U. S. dollar, in 1875, coins were introduced in denominations of 10 and 50 øre and 1 and 10 kroner. These coins also bore the denomination in the currency, as 3,15. Between 1875 and 1878, the new coinage was introduced in full, in denominations of 1,2,5,10,25, and 50 øre and 1,2, and 10 kroner. The 1,2, and 5 øre were struck in bronze, the 10,25, and 50 øre and 1 and 2 kroner, in silver, the last gold coins were issued in 1910, silver was replaced by cupro-nickel from 1920. Between 1917 and 1921, iron replaced bronze. 1917 also saw the last issuance of 2 kroner coins, during the German occupation in the Second World War, zinc was used in place of cupro-nickel in 10,25, and 50 øre coins, and production of the 1 krone piece was suspended. In 1963,5 kroner coins were introduced, production of 1 and 2 øre coins ceased in 1972. The following year, the size of the 5 øre coin was reduced, production of the denomination ceased in 1982, ten-kroner coins were introduced in 1983. In 1992, the last 10 øre coins were minted, between 1994 and 1998, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of 50 øre,1,5,10, and 20 kroner. These are the coins which are currently legal tender, with the exception of the 50-øre coin which was withdrawn on 1 May 2012
10.
Gross domestic product
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Gross Domestic Product is a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services produced in a period. Nominal GDP estimates are used to determine the economic performance of a whole country or region. The OECD defines GDP as a measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident and institutional units engaged in production. ”An IMF publication states that GDP measures the monetary value of final goods and services - that is. Total GDP can also be broken down into the contribution of industry or sector of the economy. The ratio of GDP to the population of the region is the per capita GDP. William Petty came up with a concept of GDP to defend landlords against unfair taxation during warfare between the Dutch and the English between 1652 and 1674. Charles Davenant developed the method further in 1695, the modern concept of GDP was first developed by Simon Kuznets for a US Congress report in 1934. In this report, Kuznets warned against its use as a measure of welfare, after the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, GDP became the main tool for measuring a countrys economy. The switch from GNP to GDP in the US was in 1991, the history of the concept of GDP should be distinguished from the history of changes in ways of estimating it. The value added by firms is relatively easy to calculate from their accounts, but the value added by the sector, by financial industries. GDP can be determined in three ways, all of which should, in principle, give the same result and they are the production approach, the income approach, or the expenditure approach. The most direct of the three is the approach, which sums the outputs of every class of enterprise to arrive at the total. The income approach works on the principle that the incomes of the factors must be equal to the value of their product. This approach mirrors the OECD definition given above, deduct intermediate consumption from gross value to obtain the gross value added. Gross value added = gross value of output – value of intermediate consumption, value of output = value of the total sales of goods and services plus value of changes in the inventories. The sum of the value added in the various economic activities is known as GDP at factor cost. GDP at factor cost plus indirect taxes less subsidies on products = GDP at producer price, for measuring output of domestic product, economic activities are classified into various sectors. Subtracting each sectors intermediate consumption from gross output gives the GDP at factor cost, adding indirect tax minus subsidies in GDP at factor cost gives the GDP at producer prices
11.
Hedmark
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Hedmark is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west and Akershus to the south. The county administration is in Hamar, Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It has a border with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The largest lakes are Femunden and Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway, parts of Glomma, Norways longest river, flow through Hedmark. Geographically, Hedmark is traditionally divided into, Hedemarken, east of Mjøsa, Østerdalen, north of Elverum, Hedmark and Oppland are the only Norwegian counties with no coastline. Hedmark also hosted events of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games. Hamar, Kongsvinger, Elverum and Tynset are cities in the county, Hedmark is one of the less urbanized areas in Norway, about half of the inhabitants live on rural land. The population is concentrated in the rich agricultural district adjoining Mjøsa to the southeast. The countys extensive forests supply much of Norways timber, at one time, logs were floated down Glomma to the coast but are now transported by truck and train. The Hedmark municipality of Engerdal has the distinction of marking the current southernmost border in Norway of Sápmi, the county is divided into three traditional districts. These are Hedmarken, Østerdalen and Solør, Hedmark was originally a part of the large Akershus amt, but in 1757 Oplandenes amt was separated from it. Some years later, in 1781, this was divided into Kristians amt, until 1919, the county was called Hedemarkens amt. The Old Norse form of the name was Heiðmǫrk, the first element is heiðnir, the name of an old Germanic tribe and is related to the word heið, which means moorland. The last element is mǫrk woodland, borderland, march, the coat of arms is from modern times. Every four years the inhabitants of Hedmark elect 33 representatives to Hedmark Fylkesting, after the elections of September 2007 the majority of the seats of the assembly were held by a three-party coalition consisting of the Labour Party, the Centre Party and the Socialist Left Party. Eight parties are represented in the assembly, the remaining 5 being the Progress Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Christian Democratic Party, the assembly is headed by the county mayor. As of the 2007 elections the county mayor is Arnfinn Nergård, in 2003 a parliamentary system was established, which means that the county assembly elects a political administration or council to hold executive power. The council is led by Siv Tørudbakken, a member of the Labour Party, official homepage Media related to Hedmark at Wikimedia Commons Hedmark travel guide from Wikivoyage
12.
Oppland
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Oppland is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer, Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway. Innlandet is one of several names proposed for an administrative region consisting of Hedmark. The two counties are slated to be re-merged after having split in 1781. Historically, the region was known as Opplandene. Oppland extends from the lakes Mjøsa and Randsfjorden to the mountains Dovrefjell, Jotunheimen, the county is conventionally divided into traditional districts. These are the Gudbrandsdalen, Valdres, Toten, Hadeland and Land, Oppland includes the towns Lillehammer, Gjøvik, Otta, and Fagernes, and Norways two highest mountains, Glittertind and Galdhøpiggen, Valdres and the Gudbrand Valley being popular attractions. The Gudbrand Valley surrounds the river Gudbrandsdalslågen, and includes the udes the area extending from Jotunheimen down to Bagn at Begna River and it is a well known place for skiing and winter sports. The main population centres in this area are Beitostølen and Fagernes, eight of the ten highest mountains in Norway are located in the western part of Oppland. In Norse times the inner parts of Norway were called Upplǫnd the upper countries, the first element is upp upper. The last element is lǫnd, the form of land. In 1757 the inner parts of the great Akershus amt were separated and this was divided in 1781 into Christians Amt and Hedemarkens Amt. The name/form was changed to Kristians Amt in 1877, in 1919 the name Kristians Amt was changed to Opland fylke, and the form Oppland was settled in 1950. The coat of arms were granted in 1989, and it shows two Pulsatilla vernalis, Oppland County has a total of 26 municipalities, Media related to Oppland at Wikimedia Commons Oppland travel guide from Wikivoyage
13.
Buskerud
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Buskerud is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The county extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardangervidda mountain range in the northwest, the county administration is located in Drammen. The county is named after the old manor Buskerud located on the west side of the Drammen River in Åmot, the first element is the genitive case of biskup, bishop, the last element is ruð n clearing, farm. The farm was one of the largest in Buskerud, and the name of the farm was probably Modum. At the time of the Reformation the farm property of the Crown at which time the farm then served as the residence of the kings bailiffs until 1668. Buskerud extends from Hurum at the Oslofjord to the Halling mountains, the county is conventionally divided into traditional districts. These are Hallingdal, Numedal, Ringerike, Lower Buskerud, which was part of Vestfold. Hallingdal consists of Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål, Numedal consists of Flesberg, Rollag and Nore og Uvdal. Ringerike consists of Hole, Krødsherad, Modum, Ringerike and Sigdal, Western Vingulmark consists of Hurum and Røyken. Lower Buskerud consists of Drammen, Hurum, Kongsberg, Lier, Nedre Eiker, Røyken, the district is merged from parts that belonged to Vestfold and Vingulmark. Buskeruds western part is a plateau with forested valleys and high, grassy pastures, its eastern part contains a lowland basin with many lakes. Tyrifjorden and Krøderen are the biggest lakes, numedalslågen, the third longest river in Norway, starting in Hordaland, runs through Buskerud unto Vestfold where it reaches the sea, while river Begna sweeps into lake Sperillen. Buskerud was separated from Akershus as an amt of its own in 1685 and it then consisted of the present districts Eiker, Hallingdal, and Ringerike. The area of the present municipalities of Flesberg, Hurum, Kongsberg, Lier, Nore og Uvdal, Rollag, the name Buskeruds amt was changed to Buskerud fylke in 1919. The municipality of Skoger was transferred from Vestfold to Buskerud in 1964, the area Ringerike may once have been a small kingdom. During the 10th century, Norways kings Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf Haraldsson grew up at Bønsnes in Ringerike, in the valley of Numedal, silver has been mined in Kongsberg from the 17th century until discontinued in 1957. Weapons industry had developed in Kongsberg from 1814, and various high tech industry companies now represent the towns major employers. At Modum there was also Blaafarveværket, a cobalt pigment production works, today, agriculture, lumber, wood-pulp mills and other related industries are the countys main economic activities, ample hydroelectric power is produced by the rivers Begna and Rands
14.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
15.
Akershus Fortress
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Akershus Fortress or Akershus Castle is a medieval castle that was built to protect Oslo, the capital of Norway. It has also used as a prison. It was constructed in response to the Norwegian nobleman, Earl Alv Erlingsson of Sarpsborg’s earlier attack on Oslo that occurred in 1287, in the aftermath of the attack, it became clear that the city’s existing defences weren’t effective and therefore, a stronger defensive centre was needed. The castle is mentioned in sources for the first time in 1300 in a letter from king Haakon to a church in Oslo. However, the letter does not mention how far the construction of the castle has progressed by then, the fortress has successfully survived all sieges, primarily by Swedish forces, including those by forces led by Charles XII in 1716. In the early 17th century, the fortress was modernized and remodelled under the reign of the active King Christian IV, and got the appearance of a renaissance castle. The fortress was first used in battle in 1308, when it was besieged by the Swedish duke Eric of Södermanland, the siege was eventually broken by a local Norwegian army in a battle. In 1449-1450 the castle was besieged again, this time by the Swedish king Karl Knutsson Bonde, the castle wasn’t besieged again until 1502 when Scottish soldiers in service of the Danish king besieged the castle in order to regain it from the hands of the Norwegian nobleman Knut Alysson. Akershus was besieged yet again in 1523, this time by Swedish soldiers but Oslo’s inhabitants burned down their houses in an attempt to drive them out, the king Christian II besieged the castle from 1531 to 1532 but the siege was lifted by forces from Danmark and Lübeck. After this siege the castle was improved and strengthened, the immediate proximity of the sea was a key feature, for naval power was a vital military force as the majority of Norwegian commerce in that period was by sea. The fortress was important for the capital, and therefore. Whoever controlled Akershus fortress ruled Norway, the fortress has never successfully been besieged by a foreign enemy. However it surrendered without combat to Nazi Germany in 1940 when the Norwegian government evacuated the capital in the face of the unprovoked German assault on Denmark, during World War II, several people were executed here by the German occupiers, including members of the Pelle group. The fortress was liberated on 11 May 1945, when it was handed over to Terje Rollem on behalf of the Norwegian resistance movement, after the war, eight Norwegian traitors who had been tried for war crimes and sentenced to death were also executed at the fortress. Among those executed were Vidkun Quisling and Siegfried Fehmer, Akershus has also been a prison, with a section of it known as The Slavery because the prisoners could be rented out for work in the city. It has housed many rebels and criminals through Norwegian history, particularly well-known people to have been imprisoned there include author Gjest Baardsen, and the similarly idealized thief Ole Høiland. Also, many early Norwegian socialists also spent time in the cells of Akershus, the prison was also a plot element in the film Fante-Anne. Following the 1852 Laestadian Sámi revolt in Guovdageaidnu, all men except the two leaders Aslak Hætta and Mons Somby ended up in Akershus Fortress – the women were imprisoned in Trondheim, many of the rebels died after a few years in captivity
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Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
17.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
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Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
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Follo
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Follo is one of three traditional and judicional districts in the fylke of Akershus, Norway, the other two being Romerike and Asker og Bærum. Follo borders Oslo to the North-West, fellow Akershus district Romerike to the North-East and East, the municipalities of Frogn and Vestby have coastlines along the Oslofjord. Ås and Oppegård have coastlines along the Bunnefjord, and Nesodden has coastlines along both fjords, in the displayed map of Akershus, the municipalities are numbered. Follo consists of, Nesodden, Frogn, Vestby, Oppegård, Ås, Ski, Follo covers around 819 km², and had a population of 121368 on October 1,2007. It does, however, have judicional significance, as a local police and it also has practical significance, as the municipalities within the district tend to cooperate for practical and economical purposes. The largest town, and de facto capital, is Ski. This is where judicial functions such as Follo Tingrett and Follo Politikammer are located, all municipalities in Follo are within an hours drive from Oslo, and large parts of the workforce actually work in Oslo. Apart from the coastline, Follo has extensive woods and farmland. Most parts of Follo are well suited for outdoor activities, and many athletes have come from this district – such as Trine Hattestad, Jon Rønningen, the Norse form of the name was Folló. The first element is the old name of Oslofjord, the last element is ló f meadow, after the local elections in 2015 five of the municipalities have a mayor from the Labour Party, while two have a mayor from the Conservative Party Visit Follo
20.
Enclave and exclave
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An enclave is a territory, or a part of a territory, that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state. Territorial waters have the same attributes as land, and enclaves may therefore exist within territorial waters. An exclave is a portion of a state or territory geographically separated from the part by surrounding alien territory. Enclave is sometimes used improperly to denote a territory that is partly surrounded by another state. Vatican City and San Marino, enclaved by Italy, and Lesotho, unlike an enclave, an exclave can be surrounded by several states. The Azeri exclave of Naxçıvan is an example of an exclave. Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves are areas that, except for possessing an unsurrounded sea border, Enclaves and semi-enclaves can exist as independent states, while exclaves always constitute just a part of a sovereign state. A pene-enclave is a part of the territory of one country that can be approached conveniently — in particular by wheeled traffic — only through the territory of another country, pene-enclaves are also called functional enclaves or practical enclaves. Many pene-exclaves partially border their own territorial waters, a pene-enclave can also exist entirely on land, such as when intervening mountains render a territory inaccessible from other parts of a country except through alien territory. A commonly cited example is the Kleinwalsertal, a part of Vorarlberg, Austria. The word enclave is French and first appeared in the century as a derivative of the verb enclaver. In law, this created a servitude of passage for the benefit of the owner of the surrounded land, the first diplomatic document to contain the word enclave was the Treaty of Madrid, signed in 1526. Later, the term began to be used also to refer to parcels of countries, counties, fiefs, communes, towns, parishes. This French word eventually entered the English and other languages to denote the same concept although local terms have continued to be used, in India, the word pocket is often used as a synonym for enclave. In British administrative history, subnational enclaves were usually called detachments or detached parts, in English ecclesiastic history, subnational enclaves were known as peculiars. The word exclave, modeled on enclave, is a extension of the concept of enclave. Enclaves exist for a variety of historical, political and geographical reasons, in particular, this state of affairs persisted into the 19th century in the Holy Roman Empire, and these domains exhibited many of the characteristics of sovereign states. Prior to 1866 Prussia alone consisted of more than 270 discontiguous pieces of territory, thus, over time enclaves have tended to be eliminated. This exchange thus effectively de-enclaved another two dozen second-order enclaves and one third-order enclave, eliminating 197 of the Indo-Bangladesh enclaves in all, the residents in these enclaves had complained of being effectively stateless
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Asker
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Asker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Viken traditional region, the administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Asker. The municipality is a suburb of Oslo, the national capital, Asker was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The municipality is named after the old Asker farm, since the first church was built here, the name is the plural form of ask which means ash tree. The coat-of-arms is from modern times and they were granted on 7 October 1975. The arms show a background with three silver-colored tree trunks and are thus canting arms. The trees are ashes, which were cropped every year to provide food for the animals, the trees thus developed after many years a very typical shape, which was characteristic for the area. In 1998, just before the millennium, the Askerbøringer elected the area of Semsvannet including the mountain ridge Skaugumsåsen – to be their Place of the Millennium. Its main parts are Asker, Gullhella, Vollen, Vettre, Blakstad, Bleiker, Borgen, Drengsrud, Dikemark, Vardåsen, Engelsrud, Holmen, Høn, Hvalstad, Billingstad, Nesøya, Nesbru, and Heggedal. Asker is a place with many beaches, but also contains hills. The district is known for many important businesses and it is also known for gardening. The Skaugum estate, where Crown Prince Haakon of Norway lives with his family, is situated here, the first IKEA store outside of Sweden opened in Asker in 1963. Although Asker is principally a rural municipality, the expansion of Oslo has resulted in its becoming an affluent suburb, thus numerous celebrities now reside in the area. According to SSB, Asker ranks as the 2nd wealthiest municipality in Norway based on household income. Asker is also the home of the Frisk Tigers, who won the Norwegian Hockey championship in 1975,1979, Asker Skiklubb is the largest sports club in Norway. It has a history dating back to 1889. Many of Askers famous people have been successful individuals associated with the sports club, the city is the home of Asker svømmeklubb. Asker womens football club has been home to international players including four who played in the 2007 FIFA Womens World Cup in China
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Sandvika
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Sandvika is the administrative centre of the municipality of Bærum in Norway. It was declared a city by the council in Bærum on 4 June 2003. Sandvika is situated approximately 15 kilometers west of Oslo and it is the main transportation hub for Western Bærum, and has a combined bus and railway station. Sandvika is also one of the stops along the route of the Airport Express Train, Sandvika also has Scandinavias largest super mall, Sandvika Storsenter, with 190 stores and a total area of 60,000 square meters or 650,000 square feet. On 13 March 2013, the previously pedestrianized main street was opened for car traffic, Sandvika used to be home to the BI Norwegian Business School business school, which moved to new surroundings in Nydalen in August 2005. The building was, after refurbishing, converted into the home of Sandvika High School. The nearby island of Kalvøya is a place for recreation, the Boat Sport House is located on Kalvøya, and is used by Bærum KK and Bærum RK. It also hosted one of the best known Norwegian music festivals Kalvøyafestivalen, a small islet in Sandviksbukta, outside Sandvika, is called Danmark. Danes who live in the area join together every year on 5 June Denmarks national day to celebrate, claude Monet visited in early 1895. Perhaps the most well known of the paintings from this visit is Sandviken Village in Snow which features the Løkke bridge in the foreground with Kolsås in the background, the bridge still stands in Sandvika. Richard Wagners opera The Flying Dutchman takes place near Sandvika
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Glomma
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The Glomma, or Glåma, is the longest and largest river in Norway. The 621-kilometre-long river has a basin that covers a full 13% of Norways area. At its fullest length, the runs from the lake Aursund near Røros in Sør-Trøndelag. Major tributaries include the Vorma River, which drains Lake Mjøsa, the Lågen drains into Lake Mjøsa, collecting drainage from the large Gudbrandsdalen and significantly increasing the Glommas flow. Because it flows through some of the richest forest districts, it has historically been Norways leading log-floating river, the combination of raw materials, water power, and easy transport has over the centuries encouraged industry along the Glomma. Some of the countrys largest manufacturing and processing concerns are found around its mouth, the upper limit of the Glomma valley farms is variable, but typically runs about 500 metres in Østerdalen, slightly lower than in the Gudbrandsdalen, which reflects the colder climate. The treeline, with a birch forest, rises to about 900 metres in Østerdalen. Above Røros the forest is restricted to the valley floor, the upper river valleys of Norwegian rivers have distinctive names which are vestiges of earlier cultural distinctions such as building styles, traditional clothing or bunad and domestic crafts. The upper valley of the Glomma is the Østerdal, upon entering Lake Øyeren at Fetsund, the Glomma has formed Europes largest inland delta which reaches the opposite side of the lake, across its short axis. Some of the vast amount of silt that the Glomma deposits in Lake Øyeren is extracted to manufacture LECA building blocks used for in the construction of foundations in Norway. The form Glomma is used in Østfold and Akershus counties, while in Hedmark, the old form was Glaumr which comes from raumr, meaning a loud noise or thunder. Several places are named after the river, for instance Glåmdal, category, Populated places on the Glomma River Media related to Glomma at Wikimedia Commons
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Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
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Oslo Airport is the main international airport serving Oslo, the capital of and most populous city in Norway. Oslo is also served by the low-cost Torp airport, Oslo Airport is the main domestic hub and international airport for Norway, and is the second-busiest airport in the Nordic countries. A hub for Scandinavian Airlines, a base for Norwegian Air Shuttle. Almost 26 million passengers traveled through the airport in 2016, making it the nineteenth-busiest airport in Europe, the airport is located 19 nautical miles northeast of Oslo, at Gardermoen in the municipality of Ullensaker, in Akershus county. It has two parallel roughly north–south runways measuring 3,600 metres and 2,950 metres and 71 aircraft stands, the airport is connected to the city center by the high-speed railway Gardermoen Line served by mainline trains and Flytoget. The percentage of using public transport to get to and from the airport is one of the highest in the world at nearly 70%. The ground facilities are owned by Oslo Lufthavn AS, a subsidiary of the state-owned Avinor, also at the premises is Gardermoen Air Station, operated by the Royal Norwegian Air Force. An expansion with a new building and a third pier is scheduled to open in 2017. Oslo Airport is the largest and busiest of three international airports located around Oslo. The airport location was first used by the Norwegian Army from 1940, the Norwegian army started using Gardermoen as a camp in 1740, although it was called Fredericksfeldt until 1788. It was first used by the cavalry, then by the dragoons, the base was also taken into use by the infantry from 1834 and by the artillery from 1860. Tents were solely used until 1860, when the first barracks, insulated buildings were built around 1900, allowing the camp to be used year-round. By 1925, the base had eleven camps and groups of buildings, the first flight at Gardermoen happened in 1912, and Gardermoen became a station for military flights. However, only fields and dirt surfaces were used, during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, the Luftwaffe took over Gardermoen, and built the first proper airport facilities with hangars and two crossing runways, both 2,000 metres long. After World War II, the airport was taken over by the Norwegian Air Force, three fighter and one transport squadron were stationed at the Gardermoen. In 1946, Braathens SAFE established their base at the airport. Gardermoen also became the airport for Oslo Airport, Fornebu. From 1946 to 1952, when a runway was built at Fornebu
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Akershus University Hospital
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The Akershus University Hospital is a Norwegian public university hospital located in the Lørenskog municipality, in the county of Akershus, east of the Norwegian capital Oslo. It is a hospital and one of four university hospitals affiliated with the University of Oslo. Akershus University Hospital has 699 beds in somatic sector, and 254 beds in psychiatric sector, in November 2008 a new hospital building designed by Danish architecture practice Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller opened. Setting new standards for hospital architecture in Norway, at the time of its construction, Akershus University Hospital was officially opened on 15 May 1961 as the Akershus Central Hospital. In 1978, the hospital began its second phase, and it has since been built a series of individual buildings. The Norwegian Parliament decided in 1999 that the then Central Hospital of Akershus would be a teaching hospital, the first teaching programs started in 2001 and it was promptly escalated so as to give the medical students proper teaching for the entire duration of their study. Today the faculty division is one of the ten departments affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo, since 2002, the university hospital figured prominently in medical research and medical education. In 2003 the Storting gave the go-ahead for a new University Hospital in Oslo to be built, the executive board at the Southern and Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority determined on 18 December 2003 that construction work would start in March 2004. It was to be designed by the Danish architects from the firm C. F Møller and was estimated to cost around $1. 7bn, on 1 March 2004 the then Health Minister Dagfinn Høybråten undertook the first sod. The hospital was completed 1 October 2008, and boasted to be the most modern hospital in Europe, after Akershus University Hospital became a teaching hospital in 2000 a separate Center for Research was established. Since then, the center received an increasingly central place in the hospital. Both somatic and psychiatric departments have contributed to the positive development, the Hospital aims to ensure that both the research and teaching at the hospital maintains a high professional level, and that the basis of the activity must be the hospitals own patient population. The research aims to provide results that are useful for diagnosis and treatment. It should be progressive by adopting the opportunities that modern medicine and technology offers, Research takes place across organizational structure of the hospital, and in all departments. 250 scientific publications per year, in the leading journals. Recently an article published in Time magazine received international attention, like all large public construction projects in Norway, Akershus University Hospital was constructed along with a special art project. The budget for the art project was estimated at a total of around $7 million, with a hospital building of 137,000 square meters, one of the strategic choices was to focus on getting few and building-integrated masterpieces. The art collection includes twelve major works, which are intended and designed for their specific
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European route E6
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European route E6 is the main north-south road through Norway, and the west coast of Sweden. It is 1,295 mi long and runs from the tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to the Arctic Circle. The route ends in Kirkenes close to the Russian border, from south to north, E6 runs through Trelleborg, Malmö, Helsingborg, Halmstad, Gothenburg, Svinesund in Sweden, before crossing the border at the Svinesund Bridge into Norway. It then passes Halden, Sarpsborg, Moss to the capital Oslo, north of this, it passes by Gardermoen, Hamar, Lillehammer, Dombås, Oppdal, Melhus to Trondheim. Beyond Trondheim, the E6 meets Stjørdal, Verdal, Steinkjer, Grong, Mosjøen, Mo i Rana, Saltdal, Fauske and Hamarøy towards Bognes, where there is a ferry crossing over the Tysfjorden to Skarberget. It then runs through on via Narvik, Setermoen, Nordkjosbotn, Skibotn and Alta to Olderfjord, the E6, meanwhile, turns south towards Lakselv and Karasjok, then runs on the west bank of the Anarjohka, which forms the border with Finland. Beyond the border, it passes through Varangerbotn, and Kirkenes, between Trelleborg and Kirkenes, there is a more than 800 km shorter route using E4 and E75, among the longest detour any European route has. In Finnmark there are several alternative routes to the E6. The road is a 2+2 lane motorway from outside Trelleborg to Kolomoen south of Hamar, the Swedish E6 motorway and the Norwegian motorway up to Kolomoen were completed in 2015. This motorway is connected to central Europe by uninterrupted motorway. Some stretches further north also have four lanes or motorway standard, the rest of the road is ordinary road, usually 6–10 m wide. Some parts in the north of Norway are less than 6 m wide and it is also often very curvy, at least on the northern half, north of Trondheim. E6 passes over mountain passes in a few places in Norway. In the winter, bad weather and snow storms can mean the road is closed, though unlike many minor roads. Because the road is the main artery through the country, cyclics and leisure travellers avoid the southern sections owing to the excessive traffic and this road was called E6 in the old E road system before 1985 and previously continued to Rome. It was given the number E47 in the new system on most of the Scandinavian part, after a political negotiation all of the Scandinavian part was given the number E6 also in the new system which was introduced in Scandinavia 1992. The E6 became 4-lane motorway all the way Trelleborg–Oslo in 2015, the new Svinesund Bridge opened in 2005, replacing an earlier and narrower bridge that opened in 1946. Media related to European route E6 at Wikimedia Commons E6 through Sweden and Norway travel guide from Wikivoyage
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European route E18
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European route E18 runs from Craigavon in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom to Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. It is about 1,890 kilometres in length, the route starts in Northern Ireland and runs from Craigavon – Belfast – Larne, then to Scotland, Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway – Gretna – then England via the – Carlisle to Newcastle. Like all European routes, it is not signposted as such in the United Kingdom, the route continues as a motorway from Kristiansand in Norway. E18 is connected with the E39 Ferry to Denmark, the ferry runs from Kristansand to Hirtshals, takes about 3 hours and 15 minutes, and is operated by Color Line. In Norway and Sweden the E18 runs Kristiansand – Arendal – Porsgrunn – Larvik – Sandefjord – Tønsberg – Horten – Drammen – Oslo – Ås – Askim – Karlstad – Örebro – Västerås – Stockholm/Kapellskär, the length is 415 km in Norway and 510 km in Sweden. The E18 is motorway on 190 km in Norway and 245 km in Sweden, there are long term plans until around 2030-2040 to build motorways on all remaining parts of E18 in Norway and Sweden except between Ørje and Segmon. A flyover carrying the E18 Holmestrand bypass, opened in 2001, partially collapsed in February 2015 following a landslip, the connection over the Baltic Sea from Sweden to Turku/Naantali Finland is by cruiseferries operated by Silja Line and Viking Line. It is also possible to take a route to Helsinki. In Finland the E18 goes from Åland through southern Finland by way of Turku/Naantali – Salo – Vihti – Espoo – Porvoo – Loviisa – Kotka – Hamina – Vaalimaa till the border with Russia. Crossing the border to Russia used to often require queuing as the volume of traffic using it increased, the situation has since 2009 improved thanks to increased capacity, and a new parking lot constructed by 2016 is expected to solve the problem for good. In Russia, E18 goes along the M10 highway from Finnish border to Saint Petersburg, the stretch of M10 between Saint Petersburg and the Finnish border will be redesignated to A181 by 2018. The route runs through northwestern Leningrad Oblast and mostly through sparsely populated areas, since 2003, after opening of Vyborg bypass E18 does not go through Vyborg, though previously it did. Near Saint Petersburg the route runs through suburbs, such as Sestroretsk, E18 terminates at the western border of Saint Petersburg. There are plans to expand the road from one to three lanes in each direction because of the volume of traffic. In 2012 the highway will be connected with the Western Rapid Diameter near Beloostrov by expanded existing junction of M10 with the Zelenogorsk highway and it is likely to be a new terminus of E18. Media related to E18 at Wikimedia Commons Queue situation at the Finnish/Russian border
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Drammen
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Drammen is a city in Buskerud, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the eastern, Drammen is the capital of the county of Buskerud. There are more than 63000 inhabitants in the municipality, Drammen and the surrounding communities are growing more than ever before. The city makes good use of the river and inland waterway called Drammensfjord, no city in the country has received as many awards for environmental and urban development as Drammen,6 national and 2 international prizes since 2003. The Old Norse form of the name was Drafn. The fjord is, however, probably named after the river Drammenselva, the coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 17 November 1960, the arms are blue with a gray/silver column on top of a foundation of rocks. A key and a Viking sword are crossed in the forming a x. It is based upon the old seal dating from 1723 for Bragernes, the motto for Bragernes was In Fide Et Justitia Fortitudo, and the items in the seal are referring to this, key = faith, sword = justice, column on rocks = strength. The municipality of Drammen was established on 1 January 1838, the rural municipality of Skoger was merged with the municipality of Drammen on 1 January 1964 and was transferred from Vestfold county to Buskerud county at the same time. The city itself has 66000 inhabitants, making it Norways ninth largest, Drammen is currently divided into eight districts. The largest rock carving at Åskollen depicts a moose, Drammen originally consisted of three small seaports, Bragernes and Strømsø and Tangen. For trade purposes, small seaports were placed under market towns, despite their geographical proximity, Bragernes was placed under Christiania and Strømsø under Tønsberg. For this reason, cooperation between the adjacent seaport towns was almost impossible, in 1662, a merger was proposed to unite Strømsø and Bragernes to form a market town with the name Frederiksstrøm. The proposal was rejected by Frederick III of Denmark, Bragernes received limited market town rights in 1715, and merged with Strømsø to gain status as a single city on 19 June 1811. Its geographical location made the city favorable for seafaring, shipbuilding, log driving, during 19th century, paper and pulp industries were developed. Large parts of the city were ruined in the fire of 12–13 July 1866. The Drammen Line opened in 1872 providing rail service between Drammen and Oslo, in 1909, Drammen got the first trolleybus system in Scandinavia, the Drammen trolleybus
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European route E16
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In Sweden it passes Malung, Falun and ends in Gävle. In Northern Ireland, it follows the A6 from Derry to Randalstown, then the M22, in Scotland it follows the M8 from Glasgow to Edinburgh. E16 meets the E01 and E18 in Belfast, the E5 in Glasgow, European routes are not signposted in the UK. There is no ferry anymore between the United Kingdom and Norway, the E16 is the main road between Norways two largest cities Oslo and Bergen, and the only mountain pass between Oslo and Bergen that is rarely closed due to snowstorms and blizzards. Outside winter, route 7 is at least as popular between Oslo and Bergen, since it is shorter, there are some other options such as the road through Hemsedal. The E16 is narrow on many places in Norway, although upgrades are being built, E16 is 630 kilometres long in Norway. E16 meets the European route E39 in Bergen and the European route E6 at Gardermoen, E16 is 360 kilometres long in Sweden. E16 connected to the European route E45 between Torsby and Malung, and European route E4 in Gävle. There is no control at the Norway-Sweden border, meaning that transports needing to be declared for customs. The road number E16 was introduced in Norway in 1992, between Bergen and Oslo and it was called E68 before that. In 2011 it was decided to extend E16 from the Oslo region eastwards through Kongsvinger, Torsby, Malung, the signposting took place autumn 2012
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Drammen Line
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The Drammen Line is a 52. 86-kilometre railway line between Oslo and Drammen, Norway, which was opened on 7 October 1872. It serves all trains west of Oslo Central Station and is owned by Bane NOR, the line opened as a 1,067 mm narrow gauge railway, and rebuilt to standard gauge between 1913 and 1922. The line was electrified in 1922, as the first line on the network to be electrified. The Lieråsen Tunnel shortened the line in 1973, and in 1980 the Oslo Tunnel was built, the Asker Line that is under construction will run parallel to the Drammen Line. At Drammen, the Vestfold Line branches off to the south while the Bergen Line, the entire line has double track due to the heavy traffic on the line. The longest Norwegian railway bridge is just before Drammen where the crosses the Drammen river. That bridge is 454 metres long, both Drammen and Oslo were important ports serving Eastern Norway, and both had by the 1870s their own railway lines. Oslo was connected to Romerike by the Hoved Line and to Sweden by the Kongsvinger Line, the most important use of the lines were shipment of lumber to the respective ports for export, but the lines also saw an increasing passenger traffic. Radical forces eventually succeeded in changing the tide of opinion, the latter solution was chosen, and Oslo West Station was opened along with the new line. Built as a gauge railway, the Drammen Line was converted to a dual gauge railway between 1917–1920. On 13 November 1922 the dual gauge was removed, the line from Oslo V to Brakerøya was electrified on 26 November 1922 while the line from Brakerøya to Drammen was electrified on 6 May 1930. The Drammen Line was the railway line in Norway to be rebuilt to double track. Double track further to Brakerøya in Drammen opened with the Lieråsen Tunnel, the most significant shortening of the line came with the opening of the 10. 7-kilometre long Lieråsen Tunnel on 3 June 1973, part of a new 15. 2-kilometre line from Asker to Brakerøya. This concluded the double track to Brakerøya in Drammen, and shortened the railway by 12,438 metres, part of the old line, from Asker to Spikkestad, has been kept as the single-tracked Spikkestad Line, used by commuter trains. After decades of planning, the 3, 632-kilometre Oslo Tunnel opened in 1980, extending the Drammen Line from Skøyen to the new Oslo Central Station, the former terminus of Oslo West Station was closed, and has since been converted into the office of the Nobel Peace Prize. The railway from Skøyen to Oslo V has been reclassified to the Skøyen–Filipstad Line, the former Port Line that connected the east and west stations was removed. The Asker Line is a construction line that will supplement the Drammen Line between Skøyen and Asker. Construction started in 2001, with the first section from Asker to Sandvika opening in 2005, the section from Sandvika to Lysaker opened in 2011, while the last section from Lysaker to Skøyen is postponed until after 2020
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Trunk Line
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The Trunk Line is a railway line in Norway which runs between Oslo and Eidsvoll. The line is owned by Bane NOR, built by Robert Stephenson, the Trunk Line was opened on 1 September 1854 by the Norwegian Trunk Railway, making it the oldest public railway line in Norway. It connected to steamboats on Lake Mjøsa, allowing steam powered transport to places like Lillehammer,180 kilometers from Oslo. The name comes from the fact that during the planning, it was the railway project in Norway considered economically viable. The railway was successful and more railways started to be considered, the section between Kristiania East and Lillestrøm was rebuilt to double track in 1902, and the line was electrified in two portions, in 1927 and 1953. The Trunk Line was the line between Oslo and Eidsvoll until 8 October 1998, when the more direct, double-tracked high-speed Gardermoen Line opened. Today the old line between Oslo and Lillestrøm is used for traffic and for commuter trains serving the suburban stations in outer Oslo, Lørenskog. In addition overcrowded trains are not allowed through the Romerike Tunnel, passenger service on the old line past Jessheim is only provided to Dal. Media related to Hovedbanen at Wikimedia Commons Norwegian National Rail Administrations list of stations between Oslo and Lillestrøm Note, these usually start at Asker on the Drammen Line. Norwegian National Rail Administrations list of stations between Lillestrøm and Dal Note these trains start at Skøyen, and run on the Gardermo Line between Oslo and Lillestrøm
listen) is a county in Norway, bordering Hedmark, Oppland, Buskerud, Oslo, and Østfold; it also has a short border with Sweden (Värmland). Akershus, with more than half a million inhabitants, is the second-largest county by population after Oslo, the county is named after Akershus Fortress. The county administration is in Oslo, which is not part of the county per se.
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Media related to Akershus at Wikimedia Commons
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