1.
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
2.
Trollheimen
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Trollheimen is a mountain range in Møre og Romsdal and Sør-Trøndelag counties in central Norway. The mountain range is part of the Scandinavian Mountains, the name was proposed by Håkon Løken and used by Trondhjems Turistforening in the 1880s, and is considered a tourist name. Trollheimen is now the name in Norway for this mountain range. Trollheimen is often considered the most varied of all ranges in Norway for several reasons. The mountains in the part are alpine in form, with pointed peaks. The mountains in the east are less steep with more rounded shapes predominating, the climate differs from the more oceanic climate in the west to a considerably drier, continental climate in the eastern valleys, due to their being sheltered by mountains. The valleys in Trollheimen are at an altitude of only about 500 –800 m and are usually forested, there are also several large lakes, like Gjevilvatnet in the east, near Oppdal, and Gråsjøen and Foldsjøen in the northern part. The highest peaks are in the part, Trolla, Dronningkrona, Kongskrona, Såtbakkollen. In the northern and eastern part, the highest are Snota, Trollhetta, in the southeast there is Kråkvasstind. Trollheimen is known by botanists for the alpine flora, due to nutritient-rich soil. One of the alpine plants in Trollheimen is Artemisia norvegica. Approximately 1,160 km² of this area is declared a nature reserve, in the midst of the area is the Svartåmoen forest reserve, with undisturbed pine forest, mixed with birch. Innerdalen, in the part, was Norways first nature reserve. The Triangle is a route between the three mountain lodges each a long hike of some 7 –9 hours. It is possible to choose a route covering the three peaks of Trollhetta, a spectacular hike comparable to the Besseggen route in Jotunheimen, the hike to the peak of Snota is often considered one of the most beautiful in Norway. There are trout in most of the lakes, except in winter, Gjevilvasshytta can be reached by car, while Jøldalshytta is an easy 4 km hike from the nearest road. Trollheimshytta is a hike from any road, in the summer one can park by Gråsjøen. There are several smaller lodges as well, and many more marked routes
3.
Tynset
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Tynset is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tynset, the municipality is named after the old Tynset farm, since the first church was built here. The first element is the case of the river name Tunna. Prior to 1918, the name was written Tønset, the coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 18 October 1985, the arms show the silver/gray head of a moose on a blue background. It was chosen to symbolize the abundance of moose in the area, the parish of Tønsæt was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. Although the municipality of Alvdal was originally a part of Tynset, the former municipality of Kvikne was merged with Tynset in 1966. Tynset is the centre of the Nord-Østerdalen area of Hedmark county. Well positioned in the area of mainland Norway, Tynset lies in the upper quadrant of Norways longest valley. To the northeast lies the municipality of Tolga, south of Tynset are Rendalen and Alvdal, in the neighboring county of Sør-Trøndelag, Tynset is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Rennebu and Midtre Gauldal, and to the west by Oppdal. Tynset is known for its vast areas of forest and mountain, which are ideal for skiing, walking, cycling, hunting, in many areas are signposted paths and ski tracks are ploughed in winter. Tynset municipality also rents chalets, which used to belong to mountain farms, sheltered by mountains, the average annual precipitation in Tynset is only 400 millimetres and the mean annual temperature is 0 °C. The temperature in January averages −13 °C and the temperature falls below freezing from November until about mid-April, in July, the 24-hr average temperature is about 12 °C. July is also generally the wettest month, with a precipitation of about 70 millimetres. This corresponds to a subarctic climate. The village can be reached easily by railroad, road, the trunk road Rv3, the shortest route between Oslo and Trondheim, runs through Tynset, and the Rondevegen connects Tynset to Lillehammer, Røros and continues further into Sweden. Rv30, which passes through Rendalen, also continues into Sweden, the Rørosbanen railway line connects Tynset with the major cities of Oslo and Trondheim
4.
Trondheim Fjord
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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
5.
Gudbrandsdalen
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Gudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Oppland. The valley is oriented in a direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa. The river of Gudbrandsdalslågen flows through the valley, starting from Lesjaskogsvatnet, the Otta river flowing through Otta valley is a major tributary to Lågen. The valleys of the rivers such as Otta and Gausa are usuall regarded as part of the Gudbrand Valley. The total area of the valley is calculated from the areas of the related municipalities, together with Glomma river and Østerdalen, Lågen and the Gudbrand Valley forms Norways largest drainage system covering major parts of East Norway. The Gudbrand Valley is home to Dovre Line and the E6 road, the valley is divided into three parts, Norddalen, Midtdalen, and Sørdalen. The valley has two courts, north and south. Until 2016 the valley was also a police district, the main character in Henrik Ibsens play Peer Gynt was inspired by a real or legendary person living in the valley in the 18th or 17th century. Ibsen travelled through the valley in 1862 and collected stories, legends. The name Gudbrandsdalen means the valley/dale of Gudbrand, Gudbrand is an old male name compounded of guð, god and brandr, sword. Dale-Gudbrand was the name of the first ruler of the valley, Gudbrand Valley includes the most arid area in Norway. At Skjåk the average precipitation is only 278 mm. Gudbrand Valley sits in the rain shadow of the mountains West, North. In July 1789 the Storofsen flood disaster occurred and Gudbrandsdalslågen overflooded and this is the largest flood recorded in Norway and the valley was particularly affected. About 3000 houses were damaged and some thousand livestock drowned. Lågen rose up to 7 meters above its level and covered most of the valley floor. A number of farmers abandoned their farms and settled in Målselv. The second largest flood occurred in the summer of 1995 and again the valley floor was covered by water. After Storofsen the valley upstream from Sel church changed into bogs and shallow lakes because stone
6.
Oppdal
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Oppdal is a village and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Dovre region, and the traditional district Orkdalen, the administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Oppdal. Other villages in the municipality include Lønset, Vognillan, Fagerhaug, the Oppdal Airport, Fagerhaug is located in the northeastern part of the municipality. The village of Oppdal is located at the intersection of the European route E6, the Oppdal Station on the Dovre Line also is in the village. Oppdal Church is located just west of the village, the 3. 43-square-kilometre village has a population of 4,088. The population density of the village is 1,192 inhabitants per square kilometre, Oppdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. The municipal boundaries have not changed since then, the municipality is named after the old Oppdal farm, since that is where the church was located. The Old Norse form of the name was Uppdalr, the first element is upp which means upper and the last element is dalr which means valley or dale. Historically, the name was also spelled Opdal, the coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted on 19 February 1982, the arms represent a junction, since Oppdal is a major centre of commerce and transportation. Three important roads going to Trondheim, Dombås, and Sunndalsøra cross here, the Church of Norway has three parishes within the municipality of Oppdal. It is part of the Deanery of Gauldal and the Diocese of Nidaros, Oppdal is an alpine community which dates back to the Norwegian Iron Age. It is located at a crossroads for traffic from Trondheim, the Dovrefjell mountain range and this is reflected in the three rays in the coat-of-arms. Oppdal was first settled sometime before 600 CE, by then there were about 50 farms in the area, and this number grew by about 20 more in the Viking Era. There are remnants of over 700 Pagan grave mounds from the time at Vang, in which jewelry and this indicates that the area was relatively affluent and participated in the Viking trade. Much of the affluence was likely derived from the availability of game, several game traps can still be seen in mountains around Oppdal, particularly ditches for reindeer. There have been more than 80 finds of at least two different types of arrowheads in the area, archeological finds in Oppdal indicate that there were less pronounced economic disparities than elsewhere in Norway. Communal efforts to hold off famine and share burdens appear to have been common throughout several centuries, during the Christian era, Pagan shrines and grave mounds were replaced by churches and chapels
7.
Trondheim
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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
8.
Church of Norway
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The Church of Norway, from 2017 called the Peoples Church, is a Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity that serves as the peoples church and the largest church in Norway. The church was established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark–Norway in 1536–1537 broke ties with the Holy See, the church professes the Lutheran Christian faith, with its foundation on the Bible, the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, Luthers Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession. The church is a member of the Porvoo Communion with 12 other churches and it has also signed some other ecumenical texts, including the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification with the Roman Catholic Church. Until 1969, the name for administrative purposes was simply the State Church or sometimes just the Church. While the church remains state-funded and integrated in the administration with a special constitutional role, it is largely self-governing in doctrinal matters. On 27 May,2016, Stortinget passed a new bill that establishes the Church of Norway as an independent legal entity rather than a branch of the civil service, the Church of Norway officially ceased to be the state church on January 1,2017. Until 1845 the Church of Norway was the only religious organization in Norway. Dissenterloven was a passed by the Storting on 16 July 1845 that allowed the establishment of alternative religious bodies. This bill was in 1969 replaced by Lov om trudomssamfunn og ymist anna, until 2012 the constitutional head of the church was the King of Norway, who is obliged to profess himself a Lutheran. After the constitutional amendment of May 21,2012, the church is self-governed with regard to doctrinal issues, bishops and priests are civil servants also after the 2012 constitutional reform. Each parish has an autonomous administration, the state itself does not administer church buildings, buildings and adjacent land instead belong to the parish as an independent public institution. The Minister of Church Affairs, Trond Giske, was responsible for proposing the 2012 amendments, the church itself explained that, In 2012 the Parliament changed the constitution such that Norway no longer has a public religion. The Church of Norway can accordingly no longer be labeled as state church, a bill passed in 2016 created the Church of Norway as an independent legal entity, effective from 1 January 2017. The church has a structure, with 1,284 parishes,106 deaneries,11 dioceses and since 2 October 2011. The dioceses are – according to the rank of the five historic sees and then according to age, Nidaros, seated in Trondheim, bishops, Presiding Bishop of Nidaros and Bishop of Nidaros Cathedral Deanery Helga Haugland Byfuglien, Bishop of Nidaros Tor Singsaas. Bjørgvin, seated in Bergen, covering the counties of Hordaland, Oslo, seated in Oslo, covering Oslo and parts of the county of Akershus. Stavanger, seated in Stavanger, covering the county of Rogaland, Hamar, seated in Hamar, covering the counties of Hedmark and Oppland. Nord-Hålogaland, seated in Tromsø, covering the counties of Troms and Finnmark, agder og Telemark, seated in Kristiansand, covering the counties of Vest-Agder, Aust-Agder and Telemark
9.
Coat of arms
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A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
10.
Labour Party (Norway)
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The Labour Party, formerly the Norwegian Labour Party, is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It was formerly the senior partner of the governing Red-Green Coalition, the party is currently led by Jonas Gahr Støre. The Labour Party is officially committed to social-democratic ideals and its slogan since the 1930s has been everyone shall take part, and the party traditionally seeks a strong welfare state, funded through taxes and duties. During the first Stoltenberg government, the policies were inspired by Tony Blairs New Labour. The party has frequently described as increasingly neoliberal since the 1980s. The Labour Party profiles itself as a party that subscribes to cooperation on a national as well as international level. Its youth wing is the Workers Youth League, the party is a full member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance, and is an observer member of the Socialist International. The Labour Party has always been a supporter of Norways NATO membership and has supported Norwegian membership in the European Union during two referendums. Founded in 1887, the party increased in support until it became the largest party in Norway in 1927. This year also saw the consolidation of surrounding the party during the 1920s following its membership in the Comintern from 1919 to 1923. It formed its first government in 1928, and has led the government for all but 16 years since 1935, from 1945 to 1961, the party had an absolute majority in the Norwegian parliament, the only time this has ever happened in Norwegian history. The domination by the Labour Party, during the 1960s and early 1970s, was broken by competition from the left. From the end of the 1970s however, the party started to lose voters to the right, in 2001 the party achieved its worst electoral results since 1924. Between 2005 and 2013, Labour returned to power after committing to an agreement with other parties in order to form a majority government. Since losing 9 seats in the 2013 election, Labour has been in opposition, the party was founded in 1887 in Arendal and first ran in elections to the Parliament of Norway in 1894. It entered Parliament in 1904 after the 1903 election, and steadily increased its vote until 1927, the party were members of Comintern, a Communist organisation, between 1918 and 1923. From the establishment of Vort Arbeide in 1884, the party had a growing and notable organisation of newspapers, the party press system eventually resulted in Norsk Arbeiderpresse. In January 1913 the party had 24 newspapers, and 6 more newspapers were founded in 1913, the party also had the periodical Det 20de Aarhundre
Trøndelag travel guide from Wikivoyage
