Norway Country Profile, History, Music, Lifestyle
Norway Country Profile, History, Music, Lifestyle
Overall History of Norway
The Kingdom of Norway is located on the west part of the Scandinavian peninsula. Geographically, it extends northward from the North Sea over 1,000 miles along the Norwegian Sea into the Arctic Circle, farther north than any other European land. Sweden, Finland, and the U.S.S.R. all share borders with Norway on the east and the northeast. With an area of over 125,000 square miles, Norway is slightly larger than New Mexico. The Kingdom of Norway is located on the west part of the Scandinavian peninsula. Over 70% of Norway has very little vegetation, is covered by mountains, glaciers, and rivers, and is uninhabitable. Its numerous and deep fjords give Norway over 12,000 miles of oceanfront and tens of thousands of islands off the cost from a sheltered coastal shipping channel. Norway also has sovereignty over five islands, the largest being Spitsbergen in the Arctic Ocean. Norway north of Bodo experiences the midnight sun for a few weeks on either side of the summer solstice (June 21). Norse Vikings raided the northwestern coast of Europe repeatedly from the 8th to the 11th century. More than just pillagers, the Vikings explored Iceland, Greenland, and the New World extensively. This time period and its myths are chronicled in the Icelandic Sagas. There are various open-air and Viking museums throughout Scandinavia to see how people used to live in this rugged land. In 872 the first ruler of a united Norway, Harold the Fairhaired, came to power. Norway was part of the Danish kingdom for almost 500 years until Sweden won control in 1814. The country became officially independent in 1905 with a Danish prince on the Norwegian throne (King Olav V). Norway was committed to neutrality in World War I. The country was occupied by the Germans for five years during World War II. Abandoning its neutrality, Norway joined the N.A.T.O. alliance in 1949. However Norway does have good relations with its neighbor, the Old Soviet Union. After a referendum in 1972, which divided the country, Norway decided not to join the European Common Market (EC). This was again a major debate in 1995, but Norway surprised the world by again voting not to join the EC. Norway's government is a constitutional monarchy, with King Harald as its head. The monarch shares executive power with a Cabinet composed of a Prime Minister and seven other...