1.
Norway
–
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
2.
Trondheim
–
Trondheim, historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It has a population of 187,353, and is the third most populous municipality in Norway and it is the third largest city in the country, with a population of 169,972 inhabitants within the city borders. The city functions as the centre of Sør-Trøndelag county. Trondheim lies on the shore of Trondheim Fjord at the mouth of the river Nidelva. The settlement was founded in 997 as a trading post, from 1152 to 1537, the city was the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros, since then, it has remained the seat of the Lutheran Diocese of Nidaros and the Nidaros Cathedral. The current municipality dates from 1964, when Trondheim merged with Byneset, Leinstrand, Strinda, for the ecclesiastical history, see Archiepiscopate of Nidaros Trondheim was named Kaupangen by Viking King Olav Tryggvason in 997. Shortly thereafter it came to be called Nidaros, in the beginning it was frequently used as a military retainer of King Olav I. It was frequently used as the seat of the king, and was the capital of Norway until 1217, people have been living in the region for thousands of years as evidenced by the rock carvings in central Norway, the Nøstvet and Lihult cultures and the Corded Ware culture. In ancient times, the Kings of Norway were hailed at Øretinget in Trondheim, Harald Fairhair was hailed as the king here, as was his son, Haakon I, called the Good. The battle of Kalvskinnet took place in Trondheim in 1179, King Sverre Sigurdsson, some scholars believe that the famous Lewis chessmen, 12th-century chess pieces carved from walrus ivory found in the Hebrides and now at the British Museum, may have been made in Trondheim. Trondheim was the seat of the Archdiocese of Nidaros for Norway from 1152, due to the introduction of Lutheran Protestantism in 1537, the last Archbishop, Olav Engelbrektsson, had to flee from the city to the Netherlands, where he died in present-day Lier, Belgium. The city has experienced major fires. Since much of the city was made of wooden buildings, many of the fires caused severe damage. Great fires ravaged the city in 1598,1651,1681,1708, twice in 1717,1742,1788,1841 and 1842, however, the 1651 fire destroyed 90% of all buildings within the city limits. The fire in 1681 led to an almost total reconstruction of the city, overseen by General Johan Caspar von Cicignon, broad avenues like Munkegaten were created, with no regard for property rights, in order to stop the next fire. At the time, the city had a population of roughly 8000 inhabitants, after the Treaty of Roskilde on 26 February 1658, Trondheim and the rest of Trøndelag, became Swedish territory for a brief period, but the area was reconquered 10 months later. The conflict was settled by the Treaty of Copenhagen on 27 May 1660. During World War II, Trondheim was occupied by Nazi Germany from 9 April 1940, the home of the most notorious Norwegian Gestapo agent, Henry Rinnan, was in Trondheim
3.
Trondheim Fjord
–
Trondheim Fjord, an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norways third-longest fjord at 130 kilometres long. It is located in the part of the country, and it stretches from Ørland in the west to Steinkjer in the north. Its maximum depth is 617 metres, just inside of Agdenes, the largest islands in the fjord are Ytterøy and Tautra, the small island of Munkholmen is located near the harbor of Trondheim, and there are several islands at the entrance of the fjord. The narrow Skarnsundet is crossed by the Skarnsund Bridge, the part of the fjord to the north of the strait is referred to as Beitstadfjorden. The main part of Trondheim Fjord is ice-free all year, only Verrasundet, the Beitstadfjorden might also freeze over in winter, but only for a few weeks. The towns of Stjørdal, Levanger, and Steinkjer are found on the eastern and northeastern shore of the fjord, aker Verdal in Verdal produces large offshore installations for the petroleum sector. A yard in Rissa completed the luxurious apartment ship MS The World, fiborgtangen is a peninsula along the eastern shore of the fjord where a large paper mill owned by Norske Skog is located. In recent years, deep water corals were discovered in the fjord, several of the best salmon rivers in Norway empty into Trondheim Fjord. Among these are the Gaula, the Orklaelva, Stjørdalselva, the lowland east and south of the fjord represents one of Norways best agricultural areas. The more rugged and mountainous Fosen peninsula lies to the west and northwest, Trondheim Fjord was an important waterway in the Viking Age, as it is still today. In 1888, a mudslide caused a tsunami that killed one person in Trondheim. Four giant squid have been found in the fjord, which is among the highest concentrations in the world, the fjord is named after Trondheim, but originally the name of the fjord might have been just *Þrónd or *Þróund in Old Norse. A name like that would be related to the verb þróast, which means to thrive or flourish and the name Þrór, if this is the case, then the people living around the fjord named themselves after the fjord
4.
Bymarka
–
Bymarka is the recreation ground of the city of Trondheim, Norway. Bymarka is situated to the west of the city center and has an area of 80 km², Bymarka is very popular for cross-country skiing in the winter, and for walks, hiking or jogging in the summer. There is a course on the fringe near the city. Bymarka borders the Byåsen district, and can be reached by the Gråkall Line tram line or by car, the elevation in Bymarka is from 200 m to 565 m above sea level, except in the hilly northern part, which reaches down to the Trondheimsfjord. There are more than 10 lakes, and many bogs, however, Bymarka is largely covered with forest, much of it planted from 1870 -1940. Some non-native trees were planted, such as European Larch and Douglas fir, the most common tree species are the native Norway spruce, Scots pine and Downy birch. Storheia, Bosbergheia and Gråkallen reaches above the treeline and have some alpine vegetation, as there are no higher mountains nearby, there is a nice view over Trondheim, the fjord and mountain ranges—Trollheimen to the south and Sylane to the east. Part of the area of Bymarka is protected and preserved as a nature reserve, stretching from an elevation of around 450 meter near Herbernheia. This reserve therefore includes several vegetation zones, North boreal, middle boreal and southern boreal, the lowland on the southern and western fringes of Bymarka contains areas of more southern hemiboreal vegetation. One of these locations has a rich understory, and has traditionally been used by the locals for collecting plants believed to have medical properties. Moose, red fox, hare and squirrel are the most common animals, as of spring 2006, even one wolverine has been verified as living in Bymarka, which is rare, as this elusive predator usually stays in the higher mountains, far from any cities. There are trout in lakes, and a rich bird life
5.
Byneset Church
–
Byneset Church is a medieval church in the Byneset area of the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. The church is part of the Byneset parish in the Heimdal deanery in the Diocese of Nidaros, the church was consecrated as St. Michaelskirken and dedicated to the Archangel Michael. The year of consecration is not exactly known, but it is assumed that it was about 1180, the same mason signatures are also found at the Nidaros Cathedral, indicating that the same masons were used in the construction of both churches. The church is built of stone in a Romanesque style and is a long church, the tower was built around 1650. In 1656, a Church porch was constructed in front of the west gate, the church was renovated in 1811 and again in the 1970s. Media related to Byneset Church at Wikimedia Commons
