1.
Bergen
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Bergen, historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Hordaland on the west coast of Norway. At the end of the first quarter of 2016, the population was 278,121. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway, the municipality covers 465 square kilometres and is on the peninsula of Bergenshalvøyen. The city centre and northern neighbourhoods are on Byfjorden, the city fjord, many of the extra-municipal suburbs are on islands. Bergen is the centre of Hordaland and consists of eight boroughs—Arna, Bergenhus, Fana, Fyllingsdalen, Laksevåg, Ytrebygda, Årstad. Trading in Bergen may have started as early as the 1020s, according to tradition, the city was founded in 1070 by king Olav Kyrre, its name was Bjørgvin, the green meadow among the mountains. It served as Norways capital in the 13th century, and from the end of the 13th century became a city of the Hanseatic League. Until 1789, Bergen enjoyed exclusive rights to trade between Northern Norway and abroad and it was the largest city in Norway until the 1830s when it was surpassed by the capital. What remains of the quays, Bryggen, is a World Heritage Site, the city was hit by numerous fires over the years. The Bergen School of Meteorology was developed at the Geophysical Institute beginning in 1917, the Norwegian School of Economics was founded in 1936, from 1831 to 1972, Bergen was its own county. In 1972 the municipality absorbed four surrounding municipalities and became a part of Hordaland county, the city is an international centre for aquaculture, shipping, offshore petroleum industry and subsea technology, and a national centre for higher education, media, tourism and finance. Bergen Port is Norways busiest in both freight and passengers with over 300 cruise ship calls a year bringing nearly a half a million passengers to Bergen, almost half of the passengers are German or British. The citys main team is SK Brann and the citys unique tradition is the buekorps. Natives speak the distinct Bergensk dialect, the city features Bergen Airport, Flesland, Bergen Light Rail, and is the terminus of the Bergen Line. Four large bridges connect Bergen to its suburban municipalities, Bergen is well known for having a mild winter climate, though with a lot of precipitation. In December - March, the difference between Bergen and Oslo can be up to 30 degrees Celsius, despite the fact that both cities are at approximately 60 degrees North. The Gulf Stream keeps the sea relatively warm, considering the latitude, the city of Bergen was traditionally thought to have been founded by king Olav Kyrre, son of Harald Hardråde in 1070 AD, four years after the Viking Age ended with the Battle of Hastings. Modern research has, however, discovered that a settlement was established already during the 1020s or 1030s
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.
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%
4.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
5.
Dominican Order
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Members of the order, who are referred to as Dominicans, generally carry the letters O. P. after their names, standing for Ordinis Praedicatorum, meaning of the Order of Preachers. Membership in the order includes friars, nuns, active sisters, the order is famed for its intellectual tradition, having produced many leading theologians and philosophers. The Dominican Order is headed by the Master of the Order, in the year 2000, there were 5,171 Dominican friars in solemn vows,917 student brothers, and 237 novices. By the year 2013 there were 6,058 Dominican friars, a number of other names have been used to refer to both the order and its members. In England and other countries the Dominican friars are referred to as Black Friars because of the black cappa or cloak they wear over their white habits, Dominicans were Blackfriars, as opposed to Whitefriars or Greyfriars. They are also distinct from the Augustinian Friars who wear a similar habit and their identification as Dominicans gave rise to the pun that they were the Domini canes, or Hounds of the Lord. The Dominican Order came into being in the Middle Ages at a time when religion began to be contemplated in a new way, men of God were no longer expected to stay behind the walls of a cloister. Instead, they travelled among the people, taking as their examples the apostles of the primitive Church. Out of this emerged two orders of mendicant friars, one, the Friars Minor, was led by Francis of Assisi, the other. Dominics new order was to be an order, trained to preach in the vernacular languages. Rather than earning their living on vast farms as the monasteries had done, at the same time, Dominic inspired the members of his order to develop a mixed spirituality. They were both active in preaching, and contemplative in study, prayer and meditation, the brethren of the Dominican Order were urban and learned, as well as contemplative and mystical in their spirituality. While these traits affected the women of the order, the nuns especially absorbed the latter characteristics, in England, the Dominican nuns blended these elements with the defining characteristics of English Dominican spirituality and created a spirituality and collective personality that set them apart. The orders origins in battling heterodoxy influenced its development and reputation. Many later Dominicans battled heresy as part of their apostolate, indeed, many years after St. Dominic reacted to the Cathars, the first Grand Inquistor of Spain, Tomás de Torquemada, would be drawn from the Dominican Order. As an adolescent, he had a love of theology. During his studies in Palencia, Spain, he experienced a famine, prompting Dominic to sell all of his beloved books. At the age of twenty-four or twenty-five, he was ordained to the priesthood, at that time the south of France was the stronghold of the Cathar or Albigensian heresy, named after the Duke of Albi, a Cathar sympathiser and opponent to the subsequent Albigensian Crusade
6.
Monastery
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A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone. A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church or temple, a monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary. These may include a hospice, a school and a range of agricultural and manufacturing such as a barn. In English usage, the monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics, historically, a convent denoted a house of friars, now more commonly called a friary. Various religions may apply these terms in specific ways. The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, in England the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular, however, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster. Westminster Abbey was for a time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation. They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St Georges Chapel, in most of this article, the term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism, there is a more specific definition of the term. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara, viharas may be occupied by males or females, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple, in Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa. In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, a monastery is called a wat, in Burma, a monastery is called a kyaung. A Christian monastery may be an abbey, or a priory and it may be a community of men or of women. A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order, in Eastern Christianity, a very small monastic community can be called a skete, and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra. The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic, as opposed to the life of an anchorite. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha, mandir, koil, or most commonly an ashram, jains use the Buddhist term vihara
7.
Olaf III of Norway
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It can also refer to Olaf Guthfrithson of Dublin and to Olof Skötkonung of Sweden. Also, sometimes Olaf II of Denmark is numbered as III when counting a previous anti-king, for other people of the same name, see Olaf Haraldsson. Olaf Haraldsson, known as Olaf Kyrre, ruled Norway as from 1067 until his death in 1093. He was present at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England in 1066 where his father, King Harald Hardrada, saw defeat and was killed in action, an event that directly preceded his kingship. During his rule, Olaf made peace with regards to earlier conflicts with the church, strengthened the power of the monarchy. Around 1225, Snorri Sturluson wrote Olav Kyrres saga about King Olaf in the Heimskringla, Olaf was a son of King Harald Hardrada and Tora Torbergsdatter. Olaf joined his father during the invasion of England during 1066, however, he was only 16 years old during the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September 1066. He stayed on a ship and did not participate in the fighting, after the Norwegian defeat, he sailed with the remains of the Norwegian strike force back to Orkney, where they wintered. The return journey to Norway took place in summer 1067, after the death of his father, Olaf shared the kingdom with his brother Magnus II who had become king the previous year. When King Magnus died during 1069, Olaf became the ruler of Norway. During his reign, the nation of Norway experienced an extended period of peace. He renounced any offensive foreign policy, rather he protected Norway as a kingdom through agreements, domestically he laid emphasis on the churchs organization and modernizing the kingdom. The latter resulted in, among other things, the reorganization of the body-guard and of measures under which key cities, especially Bergen, according to the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, Olaf is said to have founded the city of Bergen. The death of Harald Hardrada and the defeat suffered by the Norwegians in 1066 tempted the Danish king, Svend Estridsen. King Svend no longer bound by the ceasefire agreement signed with Harald Hardrada in 1064. However Olaf made peace with King Svend and married the kings daughter Ingerid, later, Olavs half sister Ingegerd of Norway married King Svends son and heir Olaf I of Denmark, who would later become the Danish king. Although there were attacks on England by Danish forces, peace persisted between Denmark and Norway. Olaf also made peace with William the Conqueror of England, King Olaf broke with his fathers line in his relationship to the church
8.
Magnus VI of Norway
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Magnus Haakonsson was King of Norway from 1263 to 1280. One of his greatest achievements was his modernisation and nationalisation of the Norwegian law-code and he was the first Norwegian monarch known to personally have used an ordinal number, although originally counting himself as IV. He was the youngest son of King Håkon Håkonsson and his wife Margaret Skuladotter and he was born in Tunsberg and was baptised in May 1238. He spent most of his upbringing in Bergen, in 1257 his older brother Håkon died, leaving Magnus the heir-apparent to the kingdom. His father gave him the title of king the same year, the struggle to claim Ingeborgs inheritance from her murdered father later involved Norway in intermittent conflicts with Denmark for decades to come. Magnus and Ingeborg were crowned directly after their marriage, and Magnus was given Ryfylke for his personal upkeep, on 16 December 1263 King Håkon died while fighting the Scottish king over the Hebrides, and Magnus became the ruler of Norway. Magnus rule brought about a change from the aggressive foreign policy of his father. In 1269 the Treaty of Winchester cemented good relations with the English king Henry III, Magnus also seems to have had good relations with the Swedish King Valdemar Birgersson, and in the 1260s, the border with Sweden was officially defined for the first time. When Valdemar was deposed by his two brothers and fled to Norway in 1275, this stirred Magnus into gathering a leidang-fleet for the first, in internal politics, Magnus carried out a great effort to modernise the law-code, which gave him his epithet law-mender. These were adopted at the Things in the years 1274 and 1276, in 1274 he promulgated the new national law, a unified code of laws to apply for the whole country, including the Faroe Islands and Shetland. This replaced the different regional laws which had existed before and it was supplemented by a new municipal law in 1276, and a slightly modified version was also drawn up for Iceland. A unified code of laws for a country was at this time something quite new. His code introduced the concept that crime is an offense against the rather than against the individual. It increased the power of the king, making the throne the source of justice. The municipal law gave the cities increased freedom from rural control, a specific section fixed the law of succession to the throne, in accordance with the arrangements laid down by King Håkon Håkonsson in 1260. The royal succession was an important and prickly matter, the last of the wars, fought for decades over disputed successions to the throne. In 1273 Magnus gave his eldest son, five-year-old Eirik, the name of king, the Tønsberg Concord signed in 1277 between King Magnus and Jon Raude, Archbishop of Nidaros, confirmed certain privileges of the clergy, the freedom of episcopal elections and similar matters. The church preserved considerable independence in matters, but gave up its old claim that the Norwegian kingdom was a fief under the ultimate authority of the Catholic Church
9.
Rosenkrantz Tower
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Bergenhus fortress is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Bergenhus fortress is located in the entrance to the harbour in Bergen and it is one of the oldest and best preserved castles in Norway. The fortress contains buildings dating as far back as the 1240s, the extent of the enclosed area of today dates from the early 19th century. Excavations have revealed foundations of buildings believed to back to before 1100. In the 13th century, until 1299, Bergen was the capital of Norway and it was first enclosed by stone walls in the 1240s. Of the medieval buildings, a hall and a defensive tower remain. The royal hall, today known as Haakons Hall, built around 1260, is the largest medieval building in Norway. The defensive tower, known in the Middle Ages as the keep by the sea, was built around 1270 by King Magnus VI Lagabøte, and contained a royal apartment on the top floor. In the 1560s it was incorporated by the commander of the castle, Erik Rosenkrantz, into a larger structure, in the Middle Ages, several churches, including Christ Church, Bergens cathedral, were situated on the premises. These, however, were torn down between 1526 and 1531, as the area of Holmen was converted into a military fortification under Danish rule. From around this time, the name Bergenhus came into use, building work on Christ Church probably started around 1100. It contained the shrine of Saint Sunniva, the saint of Bergen. In the 12th and 13th centuries it was the site of royal coronations. It was also the site of at least six kings. The site of its altar is marked by a memorial stone. In the 19th century, the fortress lost its function as a defensive fortification, after restoration in the 1890s, and again after destruction sustained during World War II, Bergenhus is today again used as a concert venue and as a feast hall for public events. During World War II, the German navy used several of its buildings for their headquarters, Bergenhus is currently under the command of the Royal Norwegian Navy, which has about 150 military personnel stationed there. The fortifications Sverresborg fortress and Fredriksberg fortress also lie in the centre of Bergen, Haakons Hall and Rosenkrantz Tower are open for visits by the public
10.
Christ Church, Bergen
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Christ Church or the Old Cathedral on Holmen was the main church and cathedral of Bergen. Its site was at present day Bergenhus Fortress, the church was built by King Olav Kyrre during the period 1066-1093. The church was situated north of Haakons hall, the Kings hall and it was dedicated to the Holy Trinity but was always known as Christ Church. In 1170 the relics of Saint Sunniva were moved here from Selja, during Bergens period as the capital of Norway in the 13th century, Holmen and Christ Church was the political centre of the country. The church itself was used for negotiations and the churchyard was used for hailing of kings and meetings of the realm, the first coronation in Scandinavia was held in Bergen in 1163 and several royal coronations were held in the church when it was finished. The kings were also married and buried in the church, in 1531 the church was levelled to the ground by order of Eske Bille, the Danish governor of Bergenhus Fortress. Today the outline of the church is marked by a hedge, a memorial to Saint Sunniva and the royals buried there is placed on the site of the high altar
11.
Sunniva
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Saint Sunniva is the patron saint of the Norwegian Diocese of Bjørgvin, as well as all of Western Norway. Sunniva was venerated alongside her brother Alban, who in Norwegian tradition was identified with Saint Alban, Acta sanctorum in Selio is a Latin hagiography of saints Alban and Sunniva and their companions. It is believed to have been composed shortly after 1170, the legend was also included in the later Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta. The tale is based on that in Acta sanctorum in Selio. According to the legend, Sunniva was the heir of an Irish kingdom and she and her brother Alban and their followers settle the previously uninhabited islands of Selja and Kinn in Norway during the rule of the pagan Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. Their Norwegian neighbors on the suspect the Christians of stealing sheep. Hákon arrives on Selja with a group of armed men, intending to kill the inhabitants, when the Christians realize what is happening they hide in caves on the island and pray to God to collapse the caves to spare them from being ravaged by Hákon and his men. The caves collapse and kill all the Irishmen, arriving in Trondheim, the two men tell their experience to Olaf Tryggvason and bishop Sigurd. After another account of events by a different witness, the king and bishop travelled to Selja. They excavated the cave and recovered the body of Saint Sunniva incorrupt, the bones were collected and placed in a casket, and the body of Sunniva was placed in timber shrine. But was at first subordinate to that of her brother, however, the original dedication to Alban at Selje may not have been to the British saint, but a German saint of the same name. Sunnivas relics were moved to the new cathedral in Bergen in 1170, during the fires in Bergen of 1170/71 and of 1198 the relics of Sunniva were taken from the cathedral and set down at Sandbru. This reportedly halted the advance of the fire and was hailed as a miracle, the shrine with her relics remained in Bergens Christ Church until 1531, when the church was demolished in the turmoils of the Reformation, and the shrine was transferred to Munkeliv monastery. The shrine was lost when that monastery was destroyed in its turn in 1536, the feast day of Alban and Sunniva and their companions, known Seljumannamesse, is 8 July. Sunniva also has a separate feast day commemorating her translation to Bergen in 1170, the book was first published in German in 1932. An edition of Undsets original Norwegian text appeared only in 2000, Selje introduced a municipal coat of arms depicting Sunniva in 1991. For the purposes of a dedicated to Sunniva in Bergen Museum under the title of St. The saints name is in use as a given name in Scandinavia
12.
ST Voorbode
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The Dutch steam trawler Voorbode was a fishing vessel, until it was confiscated by the Germans during World War II and used for military transport. In April 1944, it was on its way from Oslo to Kirkenes when it faced problems, forcing it to seek repair in Bergen. On April 20 at 8,39, the ship exploded at the quay in the center of Bergen, the force of the explosion caused a water column that was hundreds of metres high, spreading heavy debris. Several ships were thrown on land and Voorbodes anchor was found on the 417-metre-high mountain Sandviksfjellet at 60. 41756°N5. 34043°E /60.41756,5.34043. The Nykirken was among the buildings which were severely damaged, the Germans initially tried to conceal the extent of the catastrophe, probably because it exposed their failure to maintain security regulations. Because the explosion occurred on Adolf Hitlers birthday, there was suspicion of sabotage. Rescue efforts after the event were extensive and have well documented. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30, archived from the original on 2011-08-11
13.
Royal Norwegian Navy
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The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of the state of Norway. The navy also includes the Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Navy has a history dating back to 955. From 1509 to 1814, it formed part of the navy of Denmark-Norway, since 1814, the Royal Norwegian Navy has again existed as a separate navy. In Norwegian, Royal Norwegian Navy vessels have since 1946 been given the ship prefix KNM, in English, they are given the prefix HNoMS, short for His/Her Norwegian Majestys Ship. Coast Guard vessels are given the prefix KV for KystVakt in Norwegian, during the last part of the Middle Ages the system of levying of ships, equipment and manpower for the leidang was mainly used to levying tax and existed as such into the 1700th Century. During most of the union between Norway and Denmark the two countries had a common fleet and this fleet was established by King Hans in 1509 in Denmark. A large proportion of the crew and officers in this new Navy organisation were Norwegian, in 1709 there were about 15,000 personnel enrolled in the common fleet, of these 10,000 were Norwegian. When Tordenskjold carried out his famous raid at Dynekil in 1716 more than 80 percent of the sailors and 90 percent of the soldiers in his force were Norwegian, because of this the Royal Norwegian Navy shares its history from 1509 to 1814 with the Royal Danish Navy. The modern, separate Royal Norwegian Navy was founded on April 12,1814 by Prince Christian Fredrik on the remnants of the Dano-Norwegian Navy, at the time of separation, the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy was in a poor state and Norway was left with the lesser share. All officers of Danish birth were ordered to return to Denmark and it then consisted of 39 officers, seven brigs, one schooner-brig, eight gun schooners,46 gun chalups and 51 gun barges. April 1,1815 the RNoNs leadership was reorganized into a navy ministry, Norway retained its independent armed forces, including the navy, during the union with Sweden. During most of the union the navy was subjected to low funding, in the late 19th century, the fleet was increased to defend a possible independent Norway from her Swedish neighbours. These were operated by 116 active duty officers and 700 petty officers, Norway was neutral during World War I, but the armed forces were mobilised to protect Norways neutrality. The neutrality was sorely tested – the nations merchant fleet suffered casualties to German U-Boats. World War II began for the Royal Norwegian Navy on April 8,1940, the artillery pieces inflicted heavy damage on the German heavy cruiser Blücher, which was subsequently sunk by torpedoes fired from Oscarsborgs land based torpedo battery. Blücher sank with over 1,000 casualties among its crew, the German invasion fleet – believing Blücher had struck a mine – retreated south and called for air strikes on the fortress. This delay allowed King Haakon VII of Norway and the Royal family, as well as the government, to escape captivity. On June 7,1940, thirteen vessels, five aircraft and 500 men from the Royal Norwegian Navy followed the King to the United Kingdom, the number of men was steadily increased as Norwegians living abroad, civilian sailors and men escaping from Norway joined the RNoN
14.
Sverresborg (Bergen)
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Sverresborg is a fortress and former castle situated in the Norwegian city of Bergen. It was built by king Sverre Sigurdsson in the mid 1180s,250 meters northeast of Bergenhus fortress, King Sverre Sigurdsson also had a Sverresborg built in Trondheim. It is thought that the fortress had a wall of stone. A saga mentions that 600 men and 40 noble women lived in the fortress ca, Sverresborg was the site of several battles during the Civil war era in Norway. The castle fell to the baglers and was destroyed, but was rebuilt by Håkon Jarl, the baglers destroyed it a second time and it has been rebuilt several times. The site was reinforced by King Håkon Håkonsson after the fire of 1248. The medieval fort remained until the mid-16th century, directly underneath Sverresborg lies the residence of the master of the ramparts, the oldest of which go back to the 18th century. The master of the ramparts was in charge of the maintenance and upkeep of the fortifications, much of the present day fortifications are from the 17th century. In August 1665, the participated in the Battle of Vågen. The last known expansions took place during the Napoleonic wars, in the 1830s a park was laid out in the area and in 1911 a petty officers school was established for Bergen Brigade. During World War II the German occupants established two anti aircraft batteries in the fortress, after the war, Sverresborg used as the execution site in connection with treason settlement. Seven German and one Norwegian war criminals were executed in Sverresborg in 1946, the fortress has not fulfilled an operative capacity since World War II, but is still used by the military of Norway for office facilities. The facilities include a garage and an outbuilding of more recent date, the area is today under the command of the commandant of Bergenhus and is a military area, but open to the public. Krag, Claus Sverre – Norges største middelalderkonge Litleskare, Ola Bergenhus på kryss og tvers Bergen history site
15.
Fredriksberg Fortress
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Fredriksberg fort is a Norwegian fortification located at the highest point of Nordnes in Bergen. The Norwegian fortress Fredriskberg lay strategically placed on Nordnes’ highest point with a cliff face to the sea on the west side. Dutch Engineer Major General Henrik Ruse initiated the construction, planned with three bastions and a half bastion on the land side and a wall on the side adjacent to the cliff. The fort was built between 1666 and 1667 and it was built after and in many respects because of the Battle of Vågen. It is named after King Fredrik III of Norway, the construction stalled and the fortifications decayed. A1695 inspection of Bergen by Christian V of Denmark’s son, by 1706 construction had been completed, albeit in a less complicated layout than originally planned. Fredriksberg served among other things as a place of execution, katten, the bastion, was also built in 1666 in what today is the Nordnes Park. The Lavette houses were built in 1810 and 1843 as military storages, after the city fire in 1916 they were used as temporary housing. The grounds in front of the Lavette houses were used as a place of execution until the Swedish counterfeiter Jacob Wallin was executed in 1876, the Nordnes Park was built 1888-1898 partly on some of the old fortifications. The fortress has also been part of the Bergen Fire Fighting Service and it was a fire watch station from 1667 and a fire station from 1905 to 1926. Today part of the fort is rented by Nordnæs Bataillon—a social club/buekorps, map of Bergen Bergenske brønner Bergen municipality, Nordnes Norwegian fortresses 1536-1814 pdf The Delmenhorstiske Regiment Bergen Fire history
16.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
17.
Haakon IV of Norway
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Haakon Haakonsson, sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his son with the same name, and known in modern regnal lists as Haakon IV, was the King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald I, Haakon was born into the troubled civil war era in Norway, but his reign eventually managed to put an end to the internal conflicts. At the start of his reign, during his minority, his later rival Earl Skule Bårdsson served as regent, as a king of the birkebeiner faction, Haakon defeated the uprising of the final bagler royal pretender, Sigurd Ribbung, in 1227. He put an end to the civil war era when he had Skule Bårdsson killed in 1240. Haakon thereafter formally appointed his own son as his co-regent, under Haakons rule, medieval Norway is considered to have reached its zenith or golden age. His reputation and formidable naval fleet allowed him to maintain friendships with both the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, despite their conflict. He was at different points offered the Imperial Crown by the Pope, the Irish High Kingship by a delegation of Irish kings, and the command of the French crusader fleet by the French king. He amplified the influence of European culture in Norway by importing and translating contemporary European literature into Old Norse, the main source of information concerning Haakon is the Saga of Haakon Haakonsson which was written in the immediate years following his death. Commissioned by his son Magnus, it was written by the Icelandic writer, having come into conflict with the royal representative in Iceland, Sturla came to Norway in 1263 in an attempt to reconcile with Haakon. When he arrived, he learned that Haakon was in Scotland, while Magnus initially took an unfriendly attitude towards Sturla, his talents as a story-teller and skald eventually won him the favour of Magnus and his men. It is nonetheless written openly in support of the program of the House of Sverre. Haakon was born in Folkenborg to Inga of Varteig in the summer of 1204, Haakon Sverresson was dead by the time his son Haakon was born, but Ingas claim was supported by several of Haakon Sverressons followers. Haakon was born in bagler-controlled territory, and his mothers claim placed them in a dangerous position. While the bagler started hunting Haakon, a group of birkebeiner warriors fled with the child in the winter of 1205/06, heading for King Inge Bårdson, the new birkebeiner king in Nidaros. As the party was struck by a blizzard, two of the best birkebeiner skiers, Torstein Skevla and Skjervald Skrukka, carried on with the child over the mountain from Lillehammer to Østerdalen. They eventually managed to bring Haakon to safety with King Inge, in the saga, Haakon is described as bright and witty, and as being small for his age. When he was three years old, Haakon was captured by the bagler but refused to call the bagler king Philip Simonsson his lord and he subsequently identified his attorney as God and Saint Olaf. Haakon was notably the first Norwegian king to receive education at a school
18.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
19.
Gothic architecture
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Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture and its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the cathedrals, abbeys. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent, private dwellings, for this reason a study of Gothic architecture is largely a study of cathedrals and churches. A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th-century England, spread through 19th-century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, the term Gothic architecture originated as a pejorative description. Hence, François Rabelais, also of the 16th century, imagines an inscription over the door of his utopian Abbey of Thélème, Here enter no hypocrites, slipping in a slighting reference to Gotz and Ostrogotz. Authorities such as Christopher Wren lent their aid in deprecating the old medieval style, the Company disapproved of several of these new manners, which are defective and which belong for the most part to the Gothic. Gothic architecture is the architecture of the medieval period, characterised by use of the pointed arch. As an architectural style, Gothic developed primarily in ecclesiastical architecture, the greatest number of surviving Gothic buildings are churches. The Gothic style is most particularly associated with the cathedrals of Northern France. At the end of the 12th century, Europe was divided into a multitude of city states, norway came under the influence of England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by trading contacts with the Hanseatic League. Angevin kings brought the Gothic tradition from France to Southern Italy, throughout Europe at this time there was a rapid growth in trade and an associated growth in towns. Germany and the Lowlands had large flourishing towns that grew in comparative peace, in trade and competition with other, or united for mutual weal. Civic building was of importance to these towns as a sign of wealth. England and France remained largely feudal and produced grand domestic architecture for their kings, dukes and bishops, the Catholic Church prevailed across Europe at this time, influencing not only faith but also wealth and power. Bishops were appointed by the lords and they often ruled as virtual princes over large estates. The early Medieval periods had seen a growth in monasticism, with several different orders being prevalent. Foremost were the Benedictines whose great abbey churches vastly outnumbered any others in France, a part of their influence was that towns developed around them and they became centers of culture, learning and commerce
20.
Henry III of England
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Henry III, also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry assumed the throne when he was nine in the middle of the First Barons War. Cardinal Guala declared the war against the barons to be a religious crusade and Henrys forces, led by William Marshal, defeated the rebels at the battles of Lincoln. Henry promised to abide by the Great Charter of 1225, which limited royal power and his early rule was dominated first by Hubert de Burgh and then Peter des Roches, who re-established royal authority after the war. In 1230 the King attempted to reconquer the provinces of France that had belonged to his father. A revolt led by William Marshals son, Richard, broke out in 1232, following the revolt, Henry ruled England personally, rather than governing through senior ministers. He travelled less than previous monarchs, investing heavily in a handful of his palaces and castles. He married Eleanor of Provence, with whom he had five children, in a fresh attempt to reclaim his familys lands in France, he invaded Poitou in 1242, leading to the disastrous Battle of Taillebourg. After this, Henry relied on diplomacy, cultivating an alliance with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Henry supported his brother Richard in his bid to become King of the Romans in 1256 and he planned to go on crusade to the Levant, but was prevented from doing so by rebellions in Gascony. The baronial regime collapsed but Henry was unable to reform a stable government, in 1263 one of the more radical barons, Simon de Montfort, seized power, resulting in the Second Barons War. Henry persuaded Louis to support his cause and mobilised an army, the Battle of Lewes occurred in 1264, where Henry was defeated and taken prisoner. Henrys eldest son, Edward, escaped captivity to defeat de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham the following year. Henry initially enacted a harsh revenge on the rebels, but was persuaded by the Church to mollify his policies through the Dictum of Kenilworth. Reconstruction was slow and Henry had to acquiesce to various measures, including suppression of the Jews, to maintain baronial. Henry died in 1272, leaving Edward as his successor and he was buried in Westminster Abbey, which he had rebuilt in the second half of his reign, and was moved to his current tomb in 1290. Some miracles were declared after his death but he was not canonised, Henry was born in Winchester Castle on 1 October 1207. He was the eldest son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, little is known of Henrys early life
21.
Eric II of Norway
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Eric Magnusson was the King of Norway from 1280 until 1299. Eirik was the eldest surviving son of King Magnus the Lawmender of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg Eriksdatter, daughter of King Eric IV of Denmark. In 1273, when he was 5 years old, he was given the title of king, alongside his father, however, King Magnus died before this could be arranged, and Eirik became sole king and was crowned as such in Bergen in the summer of 1280. During his minority, the kingdom was ruled by a council consisting of prominent barons and probably also his mother. After Eirik came of age in 1282, this council is still thought to have had a major influence over his reign. His brother, Haakon, was in 1273 given the title Duke of Norway, the kings main residence was in Bergen in Western Norway. Eirik married princess Margaret of Scotland, daughter of King Alexander III of Scotland in Bergen in 1281, Margaret died two years later in childbirth, giving birth to Margaret, Maid of Norway, who became queen of Scotland in 1286 until her death in 1290. Her death sparked the disputed succession led to the Wars of Scottish Independence. Eirik briefly and unsuccessfully laid claim to the Scottish crown as inheritance from his daughter, Eirik later married Isabel Bruce, sister of King Robert I of Scotland. Their marriage did not produce a male heir, though it did produce a daughter, Ingeborg Eriksdottir of Norway. Ingeborg Eriksdotter was styled Duchess of Öland, a prominent feature of Eiriks reign was war with Denmark, which was waged on and off from 1287 until 1295. A major motivation for this warfare was Eiriks claim on his mothers Danish inheritance, Eirik gave the outlaws sanctuary in Norway in 1287. King Eirik himself led a large Norwegian fleet which, along with the Danish outlaws, attacked Denmark in 1289, burning Elsinore, renewed naval attacks on Denmark were made in 1290 and 1293, before peace was made in 1295. Eirik received the nickname Priest Hater from his relations with the church. As Eirik died without sons, he was succeeded by his brother and he was buried in the old cathedral of Bergen, which was demolished in 1531. Its site is marked by a memorial, in present-day Bergenhus Fortress
22.
Victual Brothers
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The Victual Brothers were a loosely organized guild of privateers who later turned to piracy. They affected maritime trade during the 14th century in both the North and Baltic Seas, during 14th century, Queen Margaret I of Denmark was battling Albert of Mecklenburg for Scandinavian supremacy. Albert had been King of Sweden since 1364 and Duke of Mecklenburg since 1383, while Queen Margarets forces were besieging Stockholm, the blockade runners who came to be known as the Victual Brotherhood, engaged in war at sea and shipped provisions to keep the city supplied. The name Victual Brothers is derived from the Latin word victualia — meaning provisions — and refers to their first mission, the Victual Brothers were organised as a brotherhood or guild. Their main naval enemy in 1392 was the powerful Hanseatic town of Lübeck, apart from Lübeck, the Hanseatic League initially supported the Victual Brothers. Most of the Hanseatic towns had no desire for a victory for Denmark, for several years from 1392, the Victual Brothers were a strong power in the Baltic Sea. They had safe harbours in the cities of Rostock, Ribnitz, Wismar and they soon turned to open piracy and coastal plunder. In 1393 they sacked the town of Bergen for the first time and they occupied parts of Frisia and Schleswig. They also plundered Turku, Vyborg, Styresholm, Korsholm and Faxeholm castle at Söderhamn in Hälsingland, at the climax of their power, the Victual Brothers occupied Gotland in 1394 and set up their headquarters in Visby. Maritime trade in the Baltic Sea virtually collapsed, and the industry suffered from their depredations. Queen Margaret even turned to King Richard II of England and sought to charter English ships to combat the pirates, from 1395 onwards, Queen Margaret gained the upper hand politically. She united Denmark, Sweden and Norway and formed the Kalmar Union, the Hanseatic League was forced to cooperate with her, foreshadowing its eventual decline. King Albert of Sweden conceded Gotland to the allied Teutonic Order as a pledge, an invasion army under Konrad von Jungingen, the Grand Master of the Order, conquered the island in 1398, destroying Visby and driving the Victual Brothers out of Gotland. After the Victual Brothers defeat and expulsion from Gotland in 1398, many Victual Brothers still remained at sea. When they lost their influence in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and Gotland, they operated from the Schlei, the successors to the Victual Brothers gave themselves the name Likedeelers, they shared with the poor coastal population. They expanded their activities into the North Sea and along the Atlantic coastline, raiding Brabant and France and their most famous leader was Captain Klaus Störtebeker, who first appears in the record as a Victual Brother around 1394. The Low German word Störtebeker means Down the beakerful and he allegedly got his name because he could swallow four litres of beer without taking the beaker from his mouth. However, it might simply be a name from Wismar
23.
Henrik Ibsen
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Henrik Johan Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as the father of realism and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre and he is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare, and A Dolls House became the worlds most performed play by the early 20th century. Several of his dramas were considered scandalous to many of his era. Ibsens later work examined the realities that lay behind many façades and it utilized a critical eye and free inquiry into the conditions of life and issues of morality. The poetic and cinematic early play Peer Gynt, however, has strong surreal elements, Ibsen is often ranked as one of the most distinguished playwrights in the European tradition. Richard Hornby describes him as a profound poetic dramatist—the best since Shakespeare and he is widely regarded as the most important playwright since Shakespeare. He influenced other playwrights and novelists such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller, James Joyce, Eugene ONeill, Ibsen was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1902,1903, and 1904. Ibsen wrote his plays in Danish and they were published by the Danish publisher Gyldendal, born into a merchant family connected to the patriciate of Skien, Ibsen shaped his dramas according to his family background. He was the father of Prime Minister Sigurd Ibsen, Ibsens dramas continue in their influence upon contemporary culture and film with notable film productions including A Dolls House featuring Jane Fonda and A Master Builder featuring Wallace Shawn. Ibsen was born to Knud Ibsen and Marichen Altenburg, in a merchant family, in the small port town of Skien in Telemark county. Ibsens grandfather, ship captain Henrich Ibsen, had died at sea in 1797, Knud Ibsens paternal ancestors were ship captains of Danish origin, but he decided to become a merchant, having initial success. His marriage to Marichen Altenburg, a daughter of ship-owner Johan Andreas Altenburg, theodore Jorgenson points out that Henriks ancestry reached back into the important Telemark family of Paus both on the fathers and on the mothers side. Hedvig Paus must have well known to the young dramatist. Henrik Ibsen was fascinated by his parents strange, almost incestuous marriage, Henriks sister Hedvig would write about their mother, She was a quiet, lovable woman, the soul of the house, everything to her husband and children. She sacrificed herself time and time again, There was no bitterness or reproach in her. The Ibsen family eventually moved to a city house, Snipetorp, owned by Knud Ibsens half-brother, Ibsen would both model and name characters in his plays after his own family. At fifteen, Ibsen was forced to leave school and he moved to the small town of Grimstad to become an apprentice pharmacist and began writing plays. In 1846, when Ibsen was age 18, a liaison with a servant produced a child, whose upbringing Ibsen had to pay for until the boy was in his teens
24.
Henrik Wergeland
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Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland was a Norwegian writer, most celebrated for his poetry but also a prolific playwright, polemicist, historian, and linguist. He is often described as a pioneer in the development of a distinctly Norwegian literary heritage. Though Wergeland only lived to be 37, his range of pursuits covered literature, theology, history, contemporary politics, social issues and his views were controversial in his time, and his literary style was variously denounced as subversive. He was the oldest son of Nicolai Wergeland, who had been a member of the constituent assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814, the father was himself pastor of Eidsvold and the poet was thus brought up in the very holy of holies of Norwegian patriotism. Wergelands younger sister was Camilla Collett and younger brother major general Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland, Henrik Wergeland entered The Royal Frederick University in 1825 to study for the church and graduated in 1829. That year, he became a symbol of the fight for celebration of the constitution at 17 May and he became a public hero after the infamous battle of the Square in Christiania, which came to pass because any celebration of the national day was forbidden by royal decree. Wergeland was, of course, present and became renowned for standing up against the local governors, later, he became the first to give a public address on behalf of the day and thus he was given credit as the one who initiated the day. His grave and statues are decorated by students and school children every year, notably, the Jewish community of Oslo pays their respects at his grave on 17 May, in appreciation of his efforts to allow Jews into Norway. In 1829 he published a volume of lyrical and patriotic poems, Digte, første Ring, in this book we find his ideal love, the heavenly Stella, which can be described as a Wergeland equivalent to Beatrice in Dantes poem Divina Commedia. Stella is in fact based on four girls, whom Wergeland fell in love with, the character of Stella also inspired him to endeavour on the great epic Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias. It was remodeled in 1845 as Mennesket, in these works, Wergeland shows the history of Man and Gods plan for humanity. The works are clearly platonic-romantic, and is based on ideals from the enlightenment. Thus, he criticizes abuse of power, and notably evil priests, in the end, his credo goes like this, Heaven shall no more be split after the quadrants of altars, the earth no more be sundered and plundered by tyrants sceptres. Bloodstained crowns, executioners steel torches of thralldom and pyres of sacrifice no more shall gleam over earth, the spirits of the earth now glow in freshened hearts. Freedom is the heart of the spirit, Truth the spirits desire, earthly spirits all to the soil will fall to the eternal call, Each in own brow wears his heavenly throne. Each in own heart wears his altar and sacrificial vessel, lords are all on earth, priests are all for God. At the age of twenty-one he became a power in literature, meanwhile, he was tireless in his efforts to advance the national cause. He established popular libraries, and tried to alleviate the poverty of the Norwegian peasantry
25.
Fresco
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Fresco is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly-laid, or wet lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the fresco technique has been employed since antiquity and is closely associated with Italian Renaissance painting. Buon fresco pigment mixed with water of temperature on a thin layer of wet, fresh plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster. Because of the makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required, as the pigment mixed solely with the water will sink into the intonaco. The pigment is absorbed by the wet plaster, after a number of hours, many artists sketched their compositions on this underlayer, which would never be seen, in a red pigment called sinopia, a name also used to refer to these under-paintings. Later, new techniques for transferring paper drawings to the wall were developed. The main lines of a drawing made on paper were pricked over with a point, the paper held against the wall, if the painting was to be done over an existing fresco, the surface would be roughened to provide better adhesion. This area is called the giornata, and the different day stages can usually be seen in a large fresco, buon frescoes are difficult to create because of the deadline associated with the drying plaster. Once a giornata is dried, no more buon fresco can be done, if mistakes have been made, it may also be necessary to remove the whole intonaco for that area—or to change them later, a secco. An indispensable component of this process is the carbonatation of the lime, the eyes of the people of the School of Athens are sunken-in using this technique which causes the eyes to seem deeper and more pensive. Michelangelo used this technique as part of his trademark outlining of his central figures within his frescoes, in a wall-sized fresco, there may be ten to twenty or even more giornate, or separate areas of plaster. After five centuries, the giornate, which were nearly invisible, have sometimes become visible, and in many large-scale frescoes. Additionally, the border between giornate was often covered by an a secco painting, which has fallen off. One of the first painters in the period to use this technique was the Isaac Master in the Upper Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. A person who creates fresco is called a frescoist, a secco or fresco-secco painting is done on dry plaster. The pigments thus require a medium, such as egg. Blue was a problem, and skies and blue robes were often added a secco, because neither azurite blue nor lapis lazuli. By the end of the century this had largely displaced buon fresco
26.
Stained glass
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The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches, mosques, although traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensional structures and sculpture. Modern vernacular usage has extended the term stained glass to include domestic leadlight. As a material stained glass is glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The coloured glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together by strips of lead. Painted details and yellow stain are used to enhance the design. The term stained glass is applied to windows in which the colours have been painted onto the glass. Stained glass, as an art and a craft, requires the artistic skill to conceive an appropriate and workable design, and the engineering skills to assemble the piece. A window must fit snugly into the space for which it is made, must resist wind and rain, Many large windows have withstood the test of time and remained substantially intact since the late Middle Ages. In Western Europe they constitute the form of pictorial art to have survived. In this context, the purpose of a glass window is not to allow those within a building to see the world outside or even primarily to admit light. For this reason stained glass windows have been described as illuminated wall decorations, Stained glass is still popular today, but often referred to as art glass. It is prevalent in luxury homes, commercial buildings, and places of worship, artists and companies are contracted to create beautiful art glass ranging from domes, windows, backsplashes, etc. During the late Medieval period, glass factories were set up there was a ready supply of silica. Silica requires very high heat to become molten, something not all glass factories were able to achieve, such materials as potash, soda, and lead can be added to lower the melting temperature. Other substances, such as lime, are added to rebuild the weakened network, Glass is coloured by adding metallic oxide powders or finely divided metals while it is in a molten state. Copper oxides produce green or bluish green, cobalt makes deep blue, much modern red glass is produced using copper, which is less expensive than gold and gives a brighter, more vermilion shade of red. Glass coloured while in the pot in the furnace is known as pot metal glass
27.
Dynamite
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Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht and it rapidly gained wide-scale use as a safer alternative to gun powder and nitroglycerin. Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel and was the first safely manageable explosive stronger than black powder, Nobel obtained patents for his invention in England on 7 May 1867, in Sweden on 19 October 1867. After its introduction, dynamite rapidly gained wide-scale use as an alternative to black powder. Nobel tightly controlled the patents, and unlicensed duplicating companies were shut down. However, a few American businessmen got around the patent by using a different formula. Nobel originally sold dynamite as Nobels Blasting Powder but decided to change the name to dynamite, from the Ancient Greek word δύναμις dýnamis, an industrialist, engineer, and inventor, Alfred Nobels father, Immanuel Nobel, built bridges and buildings in Stockholm. His construction work inspired him to new methods of blasting rock. Immanuels work with later on inspired Alfred to make explosives safer. Today dynamite is used in the mining, quarrying, construction. Dynamite is still the product of choice for trenching applications, Dynamite is occasionally used as an initiator or booster for AN and ANFO explosive charges. Nitroglycerin by itself is a strong explosive, but is extremely shock-sensitive, and degrades over time to even more unstable forms. Dynamite combines nitroglycerin with absorbents and stabilizers, rendering it safe to use, the original composition of dynamite consisted of three parts Explosive Oil, one part diatomaceous earth as the absorbent, and a small admixture of sodium carbonate antacid as the stabilizer. Diatomaceous earth is not usually used today as an absorbent medium and it has replaced by cheaper media like sawdust, wood pulp, flour. Other stabilizers like calcium carbonate or zinc oxide can be used in the place of sodium carbonate, sodium nitrate is added to the medium as an oxidizer that improves the dynamites brisance. Dynamite is usually sold in the form of cardboard cylinders about 20 cm long and about 3.2 cm in diameter, a stick of dynamite thus produced contains roughly 1 MJ of energy. Other sizes also exist, rated by either portion or by weight, Dynamite is usually rated by weight strength, usually from 20% to 60%. For example, 40% dynamite is composed of 40% nitroglycerin and 60% dope, the maximum shelf life of nitroglycerin-based dynamite is recommended as one year from the date of manufacture under good storage conditions
28.
Tapestry
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Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work. In tapestry weaving, weft yarns are typically discontinuous, the artisan interlaces each coloured weft back and it is a plain weft-faced weave having weft threads of different colours worked over portions of the warp to form the design. Most weavers use a warp thread, such as linen or cotton. The weft threads are usually wool or cotton, but may include silk, gold, silver, the earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek
29.
Chamber music
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Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a number of performers. However, by convention, it usually does not include solo instrument performances, because of its intimate nature, chamber music has been described as the music of friends. Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, that differ from the skills required for playing solo or symphonic works, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described chamber music as four rational people conversing. The analogy to conversation recurs in descriptions and analyses of chamber music compositions, from its earliest beginnings in the Medieval period to the present, chamber music has been a reflection of the changes in the technology and the society that produced it. During the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, instruments were used primarily as accompaniment for singers, String players would play along with the melody line sung by the singer. There were also purely instrumental ensembles, often of stringed precursors of the violin family, some analysts consider the origin of classical instrumental ensembles to be the sonata da camera and the sonata da chiesa. These were compositions for one to five or more instruments, the sonata da camera was a suite of slow and fast movements, interspersed with dance tunes, the sonata da chiesa was the same, but the dances were omitted. These forms gradually developed into the trio sonata of the Baroque – two treble instruments and an instrument, often with a keyboard or other chording instrument filling in the harmony. Both the bass instrument and the instrument would play the basso continuo part. During the Baroque period, chamber music as a genre was not clearly defined, often, works could be played on any variety of instruments, in orchestral or chamber ensembles. The Art of Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach, for example, sometimes composers mixed movements for chamber ensembles with orchestral movements. Telemanns Tafelmusik, for example, has five sets of movements for various combinations of instruments, Baroque chamber music was often contrapuntal, that is, each instrument played the same melodic materials at different times, creating a complex, interwoven fabric of sound. Because each instrument was playing essentially the same melodies, all the instruments were equal, in the trio sonata, there is often no ascendent or solo instrument, but all three instruments share equal importance. In the second half of the 18th century, tastes began to change, many preferred a new, lighter Galant style. And clearly defined melody and bass to the complexities of counterpoint, now a new custom arose that gave birth to a new form of chamber music, the serenade. Patrons invited street musicians to play evening concerts below the balconies of their homes, their friends, patrons and musicians commissioned composers to write suitable suites of dances and tunes, for groups of two to five or six players. These works were called serenades, nocturnes, divertimenti, or cassations, the young Joseph Haydn was commissioned to write several of these
30.
Tower
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A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, Towers are specifically distinguished from buildings in that they are not built to be habitable but to serve other functions. Towers can be stand alone structures or be supported by adjacent buildings or can be a feature on top of a structure or building. Old English torr is from Latin turris via Old French tor, the Latin term together with Greek τύρσις was loaned from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language, connected with the Illyrian toponym Βου-δοργίς. The oldest known may be the stone tower in walls of Neolithic Jericho. Some of the earliest towers were ziggurats, which existed in Sumerian architecture since the 4th millennium BC, the most famous ziggurats include the Sumerian Ziggurat of Ur, built the 3rd millennium BC, and the Etemenanki, one of the most famous examples of Babylonian architecture. The latter was built in Babylon during the 2nd millennium BC and was considered the tallest tower of the ancient world, some of the earliest surviving examples are the broch structures in northern Scotland, which are conical towerhouses. These and other examples from Phoenician and Roman cultures emphasised the use of a tower in fortification, for example, the name of the Moroccan city of Mogador, founded in the first millennium BC, is derived from the Phoenician word for watchtower. The Romans utilised octagonal towers as elements of Diocletians Palace in Croatia, which monument dates to approximately 300 AD, while the Servian Walls, the Chinese used towers as integrated elements of the Great Wall of China in 210 BC during the Qin Dynasty. Towers were also an important element of castles, other well known towers include the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy built from 1173 until 1372 and the Two Towers in Bologna, Italy built from 1109 until 1119. The Himalayan Towers are stone towers located chiefly in Tibet built approximately 14th to 15th century, up to a certain height, a tower can be made with the supporting structure with parallel sides. However, above a height, the compressive load of the material is exceeded. This can be avoided if the support structure tapers up the building. A second limit is that of buckling—the structure requires sufficient stiffness to avoid breaking under the loads it faces, many very tall towers have their support structures at the periphery of the building, which greatly increases the overall stiffness. A third limit is dynamic, a tower is subject to varying winds, vortex shedding and these are often dealt with through a combination of simple strength and stiffness, as well as in some cases tuned mass dampers to damp out movements. Varying or tapering the outer aspect of the tower with height avoids vibrations due to vortex shedding occurring along the building simultaneously. Although not correctly called towers many modern skyscraper are often called towers, in the United Kingdom, tall domestic buildings are referred to as tower blocks. In the United States, the original World Trade Center had the nickname the Twin Towers, the tower throughout history has provided its users with an advantage in surveying defensive positions and obtaining a better view of the surrounding areas, including battlefields
31.
Dungeon
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A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period, an oubliette or bottle dungeon is a form of dungeon which is accessible only from a hatch or hole in a high ceiling. The word dungeon comes from French donjon, which means keep, the first recorded instance of the word in English was near the beginning of the 14th century when it held the same meaning as donjon. The proper original meaning of keep is still in use for academics, although in popular culture it has been largely misused, though it is uncertain, both dungeon and donjon are thought to derive from the Middle Latin word dominio, meaning lord or master. In French, the term still refers to a keep. Donjon is therefore a false friend to dungeon, an oubliette was a form of prison cell which was accessible only from a hatch or a hole in a high ceiling. Few Norman keeps in English castles originally contained prisons, though they were common in Scotland. Imprisonment was not a punishment in the Middle Ages, so most prisoners were awaiting trial. Noble prisoners were not generally held in dungeons, but lived in comfort in castle apartments. Purpose-built prison chambers in castles became more common after the 12th century, some castles had larger provision for prisoners, such as the prison tower at Caernarvon Castle. Dungeons, in the plural, have come to be associated with underground complexes of cells, as a result, the number of true dungeons in castles is often exaggerated to interest tourists. Many chambers described as dungeons or oubliettes were in fact storerooms, an example of what might be popularly termed an oubliette is the particularly claustrophobic cell in the dungeon of Warwick Castles Caesars Tower, in central England. The access hatch consists of an iron grille, even turning around would be nearly impossible in this tiny chamber. A bottle dungeon is sometimes another term for an oubliette. It has an entrance at the top and sometimes the room below is even so narrow that it is impossible to lie down. The identification of dungeons and rooms used to hold prisoners is not always a straightforward task, Alnwick Castle and Cockermouth Castle, both near Englands border with Scotland, had chambers in their gatehouses which have often been interpreted as oubliettes. These underground rooms were built without latrines, and since the gatehouses at Alnwick, an alternative explanation was proposed, suggesting that these were strong-rooms where valuables were stored. Oubliettes and dungeons were a topic of nineteenth century gothic novels or historical novels
32.
Magazine
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A magazine is a publication, usually a periodical publication, which is printed or electronically published. Magazines are generally published on a schedule and contain a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, by a price, by prepaid subscriptions. At its root, the magazine refers to a collection or storage location. In the case of written publication, it is a collection of written articles and this explains why magazine publications share the word root with gunpowder magazines, artillery magazines, firearms magazines, and, in French, retail stores such as department stores. By definition, a magazine paginates with each issue starting at three, with the standard sizing being 8 3/8 ×10 7/8 inches. However, in the sense a journal has continuous pagination throughout a volume. Some professional or trade publications are also peer-reviewed, an example being the Journal of Accountancy, academic or professional publications that are not peer-reviewed are generally professional magazines. That a publication calls itself a journal does not make it a journal in the technical sense, magazines can be distributed through the mail, through sales by newsstands, bookstores, or other vendors, or through free distribution at selected pick-up locations. The subscription business models for distribution fall into three main categories. In this model, the magazine is sold to readers for a price, either on a basis or by subscription. Paid circulation allows for defined readership statistics and this means that there is no cover price and issues are given away, for example in street dispensers, airline, or included with other products or publications. Because this model involves giving issues away to unspecific populations, the statistics only entail the number of issues distributed and this is the model used by many trade magazines distributed only to qualifying readers, often for free and determined by some form of survey. This allows a level of certainty that advertisements will be received by the advertisers target audience. This latter model was used before the rise of the World Wide Web and is still employed by some titles. For example, in the United Kingdom, a number of computer-industry magazines use this model, including Computer Weekly and Computing, for the global media industry, an example would be VideoAge International. The earliest example of magazines was Erbauliche Monaths Unterredungen, a literary and philosophy magazine, the Gentlemans Magazine, first published in 1731, in London was the first general-interest magazine. Edward Cave, who edited The Gentlemans Magazine under the pen name Sylvanus Urban, was the first to use the term magazine, founded by Herbert Ingram in 1842, The Illustrated London News was the first illustrated magazine
33.
Tourist attraction
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Factory tours, industrial heritage, creative art and crafts workshops are the object of cultural niches like industrial tourism and creative tourism. Many tourist attractions are also landmarks, tourist attractions are also created to capitalise on legends such as a supposed UFO crash site near Roswell, New Mexico and the alleged Loch Ness monster sightings in Scotland. Ghost sightings also make tourist attractions, ethnic communities may become tourist attractions, such as Chinatowns in the United States and the black British neighbourhood of Brixton in London, England. In the US, owners and marketers of attractions advertise tourist attractions on billboards along the side of highways and roadways, tourist attractions often provide free promotional brochures and flyers in information centres, fast food restaurants, hotel and motel rooms or lobbies, and rest area. Such places are known as tourist traps. Within cities such transport tourist attractions as rides by boats and buses are very popular, novelty attractions are not limited to the American Midwest, but are part of Midwestern culture. It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some tourist traps, siem Reap town for example is a popular tourist destination in Cambodia, mainly owed to its proximity to Angkor temples. A tropical island resort is an island or archipelago that also depends on tourism as its source of revenue, according to the World Tourism Organization, •698 million people travelled to a foreign country in 2000, spending more US$478 billion. Lists of tourist attractions Attractions at DMOZ
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Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
35.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
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National Fortifications Heritage
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The National Fortifications Heritage is a division with the Norwegian Defence Estates Agency responsible for sixteen military fortifications in Norway designated as heritage sites. The agency is responsible for conserving the character and history of the sites, while facilitating their use for culture, business, the list consists of ten fortresses, four smaller forts and two networks of border fortifications. Three fortresses, Akershus, Bergenshus and Vardøhus, date from the Middle Ages, five installations date from the union with Denmark and five were built either union with Sweden or following the dissolution, as a defense against a Swedish invasion. Three forts, Austrått, Møvik and Trondenes, were built by the German Wehrmacht during World War II as part of Festung Norwegen, the agency has carried out work to improve public access and cultural use of the venues. Most of the facilities represent recreational areas for locals and museums have been established at most of the facilities, oscarsborg has received an opera stage, while Kongsvinger has been partially converted to conference center. The fortifications had a two million visitors in 2008. Some of the installations are used for concerts and other cultural events. Costs of maintenance is split between rental income from events and tenants, and government grants, a government report in 1992 proposed that fourteen selected fortresses be made more accessible to the public, and in part be made tourist attractions, through a military and civilian cooperation. Responsibility for the sites was transferred to the National Fortifications Heritage, the same year the ministry proposed that disused installations from the Cold War also be added to the list. A conservation plan for each fortification was created the following year
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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
38.
Fredrikstad Fortress
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Fredrikstad fortress was a fortification in Fredrikstad, Norway. It was the base of the Østfold Regiment, with defence related responsibilities for the east side of Oslofjord, Fredrikstad Fortress was constructed between 1663 and 1666 by the officer Willem Coucheron and his son Anthony Coucheron following the order of the Dano-Norwegian King Frederick II. A temporary fortification had previously built on the site during the Torstenson War between Sweden and Denmark-Norway. The first commander was appointed 6 January 1662, he was Lieutenant Colonel Johan Eberhard Speckhan, besides the fortress the prison works was also under the supervision of the commander of Fredrikstad fortress. In 1716 the fortress was used by the naval hero Peder Tordenskjold when he attacked the Swedish fleet during the Battle of Dynekilen, the only time the fortress were attacked was during the Swedish-Norwegian War. The fortress, under the command of Nils Christian Frederik Hals, the fortress was closed in 1903, but continued to serve as a garrison. Fredrikstad fortress is unique in Norway by being the fortress that is preserved as it was. The remaining military installations in Fredrikstad were closed in 2002 and today the fortress with its mix of old buildings and art exhibitions is very popular for visitors
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Fredriksten
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Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. The fortress was named after King Fredrik III of Denmark and Norway, at the close of the Northern War Charles X, having negotiated the Treaty of Roskilde in bad faith, invested Copenhagen in August 1658. Under his orders, in September the new Swedish governor of Bohuslän invaded Norway with 1,500 men, the inhabitants put up a vigorous defense and the Swedish forces retreated back to Bohuslän. Five months later in February 1659 the Swedes again attacked, since their first attack, the garrison had been strengthened. Under the leadership of Tønne Huitfeldt the Norwegian forces again repulsed the Swedish forces, concurrently, Huitfeldt began construction of fortifications. Cretzenstein, later to be renamed Fredriksten, was the citadel of the new fortification system, in early January 1660, the Swedish forces attacked Halden for the third time, it was to serve as the base for their advance on Akershus fortress in Christiania. Huitfeldt responded to their demand that they surrender, that the 2,100 man garrison would defend Halden to the last man, after the attempt to storm the fortifications was unsuccessful, the Swedes prepared a regular siege. Under heavy bombardment the inhabitants requested the commandant to surrender, but putting his faith in his garrison, on 22 February 1660 the Swedes again were forced to retreat to Bohuslän. There they learned that Charles X had died, Sweden demanded that Norway vacate all land east of the river Glomma, which was to serve as the new border. With the intercession of Hannibal Sehested, a separate Scandinavian treaty was negotiated which improved on the terms of the Treaty of Roskilde, the existing star shaped fortress complex was upgraded during the period of peace between 1661–1675. In 1673 Denmark dispatched Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve as statholder to Norway to organize the military forces, after a tour of facilities, he recommended further upgrades to both the fortress and the military forces. In the summer of 1675,1800 men were kept at work on the fortresses at Akershus, Fredrikstad, at the outbreak of the Gyldenløve War in 1675 a large contingent were concentrated at Fredrikshald under General Russenstein. In 1676 Norwegian troops reoccupied Bohuslän, a Norwegian force also retook Jämtland, but withdrew again as ordered by the King. No major defensive activities were needed at Fredriksten as no Swedish forces crossed the frontier and it now included three outer fortifications, Gyldenløve, Overberget and Stortårnet. At the close of the Great Northern War, the Norwegian Army had been weakened in early 1716 by withdrawal of 5000 of the best troops to Denmark. When rumors reached Christiania that Charles XII was preparing to invade, all remaining troops in Østerdal and Gudbrandsdal were ordered to the border at Halden, the Norwegians expected the Swedes to invade at Kongsvinger, Basmo and/or Halden. It was at Basmo where Charles XII struck, crossing the border on 8 March 1716, Charles took Christiania, but without heavy siege artillery, was unable to take Akershus. After a brief occupation, Charles retraced his steps to the Norwegian fortresses in southeastern Norway with the objective of capturing Frederiksten and this would remove the threat at his back, and the fortifications could serve as the base for a renewed offensive later that year
