Norway - education
The education system in Norway has developed according to roughly the same
guidelines as the other Scandinavian countries: from the religiously oriented
teaching in the Catholic court and monastery schools over the Latin schools and
up to today's school with teaching in humanities, science and practice. music
subjects. Only after the Reformation was emphasis placed on teaching the general
population. The introduction of the confirmation in 1736 and the Ordinance of
1739 on the schools in the countryside and on the introduction of compulsory
schooling laid the foundation for a Norwegian peasant school. Slowly, this
school was reformed through a series of landmark school laws in 1827, 1860,
1889, 1896, 1920, 1969, and most recently in 1997. 98.5% of elementary school
students and 96% in secondary education attend public school (1998).

From the school year 1997-98, a ten-year primary school was introduced,
beginning at the age of six. The structure is decentralized with many small and
medium-sized schools, so that the pupils in primary school are distributed with
approximately 14% in schools with up to 100 students, approximately 74% in schools with
100-400 students and approximately 12% in schools with more than 400 students (1997).
With the introduction of Reform 94, all 16-19-year-olds were entitled to up
to three years of general or vocational higher education, followed by 94% of all
16-year-olds (1995). The vocational study lines all have a one-year basic course
with a one- or two-year superstructure.
The higher educations include university and college educations and are
offered at the four universities in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsø, at
the Norwegian School of Architecture, the Norwegian Sports Academy, the
Norwegian Academy of Music, the Norwegian Veterinary College, the Norwegian
Academy of Fine Arts, all in Oslo, as well as the Norwegian School of Management
in Bergen and the Norwegian Agricultural College in Ås.
In addition, there are a number of state folk high schools, which in the
1990's were gathered in larger centers for short and medium-term higher
education, such as teacher, pedagogue, engineering, social and health
educations.

ETYMOLOGY: The name Norway: approximately 840 Nortuagia, approximately 980 Nuruiak, from Old Norse norðr
'north' and vegr 'road', originally 'the land which lies to the north'.
OFFICIAL NAME: Kingdom of Norway, Norway (Nynorsk)
CAPITAL CITY: Oslo
POPULATION: 5,258,317 (Source: COUNTRYaah)
AREA: 306,253 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): Norwegian, Sami
RELIGION: Lutherans 88%, other Christians 3%, Muslims 1%, others 2%, no el. unknown 6%
COIN: Norwegian kroner
CURRENCY CODE: ENOUGH
ENGLISH NAME: Norway
INDEPENDENCE: 1814
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Norwegian citizens 96%, others (especially Pakistanis, British, Danes, Swedes
and Vietnamese) 4%
GDP PER residents: $ 39,666 (2007)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 78 years, women 82 years (2007)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.965
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 1
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .no
According to
DIGOPAUL, Norway, Nynorsk Norway, is a Kingdom of Northern Western Europe. The old
kingdom was in union with Denmark from 1380 (royal community from 1397) to 1814
and with Sweden 1814-1905.
- AbbreviationFinder.org: Find two-letter abbreviation for each
independent country and territory, such as NO which stands for Norway.
Norway was a piece up in the 1900's. despite an incipient industrialization
characterized by agriculture and fisheries. The country is still characterized
by scattered settlement, large distances and difficult transport conditions, but
since the early 1970's, rapidly growing oil and gas production in the North Sea
has enabled rapid welfare development and modernization, and in the early
2000's. Norway is one of the richest countries in the world.
Norwegian voters have twice voted against EU membership, but in practice
Norway is an integral part of both Nordic and European co-operation.
Norway - geography
Norway consists of the northwestern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula and
the many coastal islands off it. The country also includes the Svalbard
archipelago with Bjørnøya to the north and Jan Mayen NE of Iceland. Norway also
claims sovereignty over the uninhabited Antarctic areas of Bouvet Island, Queen
Maud Land and Peter I's Island. This article deals only with the actual Norway.
Norway - national coat of arms
From the beginning of 1200-t. Norway's coat of arms consisted of a golden
lion in red. Since 1280 the lion has been crowned and has held an ax with golden
shaft and leaf of silver. The ax is an attribute of Norway's
national saint, Olav 2. Haraldsson the Holy. From approximately 1400 and until 1844
the ax was reproduced as a curved hellebard. To distance itself from the periods
when Norway was in union with Denmark and Sweden, the weapon was drawn in 1937
in 1200-ts style.
Norway - constitution
Norway's constitution is from 17 May 1814 with many later amendments, which,
however, have not changed its fundamental features
(see Eidsvoll Constitution). Norway is a constitutional and hereditary
monarchy; the political system is parliamentary. The legislature has 169 members
of the Storting, who are elected every 4 years by general election. Everyone
over the age of 18 who has lived in the country for the previous ten years has
the right to vote. Norway is divided into 19 districts, from which 4-17
representatives are elected to the Storting by population; sparsely populated
areas, however, are overrepresented. The thing can not be dissolved by the
executive in an election period.
Stortinget choose 1/4 of its members to sit in
Løgting. The remaining members make up the Odelsting. Each department appoints
its own chairmen. Most issues are decided in the Storting; the most important
are the state budget and issues of constitutional amendments. However, issues
relating to legislation must be dealt with separately in the two sections after
preparation in the standing or special committees. Only if Odels- and Lagting
disagree, bills must be considered in plenary in the entire Storting. A new law
can then be adopted only with 2/3 majority. Constitutional
changes required 2/3 majority in two consecutive
Storting with intermediate selection.
The executive power formally lies with the king; he presides at the so-called
cabinet meetings with the entire government, which are held once a week. In
addition, the government holds a few meetings a week. In reality, the executive
power lies with the government, which is headed by a prime minister appointed by
the king on the advice of the leading politicians in the Storting. Government
members may not sit in the Storting. The King has the right to veto, but if the
same bill is passed in two Stortings, which are elected by separate subsequent
elections, the bill becomes law without the King's consent.
The government proposes the state budget that the Storting must adopt. In
practice, the Storting usually makes very small changes to the proposal, perhaps
just concerning a few per cent. of the total budget.
According to Norwegian parliamentary practice, the government can get a
majority against it in a proposal that it presents to the Storting, but the
political situation can still be such that the government does not take the
defeat as an expression of mistrust and therefore does not resign.
Norway - constitution (political parties)
The Norwegian party system emerged with the introduction of parliamentarism
and the establishment of the parties Left and Right in 1884. The Left has been
split several times, the first time in 1889; among the most important breakaway
parties were the Peasants' Party in 1920 (from 1959 the Center Party) and
the Christian People's Party in 1933.
The Social Democratic Norwegian Labor Party was founded in 1887, was first
represented in the Storting in 1903 and has been Norway's largest party since
1927. It had a majority in the Storting 1945-61 and after 1935 has had total
government power for approximately 50 years. The party split in 1923, when
the Norwegian Communist Party was formed.
Prime Ministers and Governments after the
introduction of parliamentarism in 1884 |
1884-89 |
Johan Sverdrup (F) |
1889-91 |
Emil Stang (H) |
1891-93 |
Johannes Steen (F) |
1893-95 |
Emil Stang (H) |
1895-98 |
Francis Hagerup (H, bourgeois coalition) |
1898-1902 |
Johannes Steen (F) |
1902-03 |
Otto Blehr (F) |
1903-05 |
Francis Hagerup (H, bourgeois coalition) |
1905-07 |
Christian Michelsen (Samlingspartiet, bourgeois coalition) |
1907-08 |
Jørgen Løvland (V) |
1908-10 |
Gunnar Knudsen (F) |
1910-12 |
Wollert Konow (FV, H) |
1912-13 |
Jens Bratlie (H, FV) |
1913-20 |
Gunnar Knudsen (F) |
1920-21 |
Otto B. Halvorsen (H) |
1921-23 |
Otto Blehr (F) |
1923 |
Otto B. Halvorsen (H, FV) |
1923-24 |
Abraham Berge (FV, H) |
1924-26 |
JL Mowinckel (F) |
1926-28 |
Ivar Lykke (H, FV) |
1928 |
Christopher Hornsrud (A) |
1928-31 |
JL Mowinckel (F) |
1931-32 |
Peder Kolstad (B) |
1932-33 |
Jens Hundseid (B) |
1933-35 |
JL Mowinckel (F) |
1935-45 * |
Johan Nygaardsvold (A) |
1945 |
Einar Gerhardsen (coalition government) |
1945-51 |
Einar Gerhardsen (A) |
1951-55 |
Oscar Torp (A) |
1955-63 |
Einar Gerhardsen (A) |
1963 |
John Lyng (H, Sp, KrF, V) |
1963-65 |
Einar Gerhardsen (A) |
1965-71 |
Per Borten (Sp, H, V, KrF) |
1971-72 |
Trygve Bratteli (A) |
1972-73 |
Lars Korvald (KrF, Sp, V) |
1973-76 |
Trygve Bratteli (A) |
1976-81 |
Odvar Nordli (A) |
1981 |
Gro Harlem Brundtland (A) |
1981-83 |
Kåre Willoch (H) |
1983-86 |
Kåre Willoch (H, KrF, Sp) |
1986-89 |
Gro Harlem Brundtland (A) |
1989-90 |
Jan P. Syse (H, KrF, Sp) |
1990-96 |
Gro Harlem Brundtland (A) |
1996-97 |
Thorbjørn Jagland (A) |
1997-2000 |
Kjell Magne Bondevik (KrF, Sp, V) |
2000-01 |
Jens Stoltenberg (A) |
2001-05 |
Kjell Magne Bondevik (KrF, H, V) |
2005-13 |
Jens Stoltenberg (A, SV, Sp) |
2013- |
Erna Solberg (H, FrP) |
parties: A: Det Norske Arbeiderparti, B: Bondepartiet,
FrP: Fremskrittspartiet, FV: Frisinnede Venstre, H: Høyre, KrF:
Kristelig Folkeparti, Sp: Senterpartiet, SV: Sosialistisk Venstreparti,
V: Venstre |
the first party designation corresponds to the party to
which the Prime Minister belongs |
* government in exile in London 1940-45 |
In 1961, a left-wing socialist opposition broke out of the Labor Party and
founded the Socialist People's Party (from 1975 the Socialist Left Party). In
1973, the Progress Party was formed on the Danish model; it has had fluctuating
connectivity but has in the early 2000-t. established itself as Norway's second
largest party.
The Labor Party has had support from SV in the Storting, but the two parties
have not been able to muster a majority together since 1981, which is why the
Labor Party has also supported one or more of the center parties. The bourgeois
parties consist of a conservative group, the Conservatives and the Progress
Party, and a center group, the Center Party, the Christian People's Party and
the Liberals. In 1983 and 1989, the Conservatives formed a government with the
Center Party and the Christian People's Party. In 1997, the center parties
formed a minority government.
In 2001-05, the Conservatives were in government with the Liberal Party and
the Christian People's Party. From 2005, there is a red-green coalition
government consisting of the Labor Party, the Socialist Left Party and the
Center Party.
Norway - administration
Norway is divided into 19 counties (counties) and 434 municipalities. The
smallest municipality, Utsira, has just over 200 residents, the largest, Oslo,
526,900 (2005). Oslo is both a municipality and a county municipality.
Norway - economy
Norway has an open economy, where total foreign trade accounts for about 70%
of GDP. The country is a member of EFTA and economically closely linked to
the EU, although the people in referendums in 1972 and 1994 chose to stay out
of the Community. The connection is instead ensured through the EEA agreement
from 1994, which means that the internal market also applies to Norway, with the
exception of the fisheries and agricultural area, which is subject to special
agreements.
Norway's economy has undergone significant structural changes since the early
1970's and is now dominated by the oil and services sector, which together
account for over 65% of GDP, while traditional mainland industries and fisheries
have become less significant. Offshore activities also account for more than
half of exports; Norway is the world's third largest exporter of oil and fourth
largest of gas, and the significant oil revenues have led to Norway gaining a
position as the world's second richest country (2005; after Luxembourg). On the
other hand, economic developments have become very sensitive to fluctuations in
oil prices and the dollar exchange rate, as oil revenues are settled in dollars.
After a solid economic recovery in the mid-1980's as a result of rising oil
revenues and falling international interest rates, Norway experienced a severe
economic crisis in the late 1980's and early 1990's. The recession was exacerbated
by structural problems in the financial sector, which in recent years underwent
extensive liberalization. Previously, tight lending had been abolished, which in
combination with the fall in interest rates led to significant lending
growth. As interest rates began to rise again and economic policies tightened to
meet inflationary pressures, banks were hit by huge losses and provisions for
loans to both businesses and individuals. The real estate market in particular
was hit hard by changes in interest rates, as financing is predominantly based
on short-term loans. which must be frequently refinanced. Around 1990, the
financial sector was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the state had to make
capital available to the sector and take over the majority of shares in the
largest banks. Although the economy rebounded in the mid-1990's and the financial
sector has recovered, the state has retained a significant shareholding in the
banks, and the state also plays a significant role in other key sectors, notably
the oil sector (Statoil, Norsk Hydro).
Since the 1990's, the changing governments have generally strived to secure
surpluses in public budgets for e.g. to be able to meet the rising pension costs
that Norway is facing in the coming decades. For this purpose, the so-called
Petroleum Fund was established by law in 1990, which is to invest parts of the
state's oil revenues in long-term investments abroad. At the turn of the year
2005/06, the fund is estimated to hold DKK 1,335 billion. ENOUGH; it has been
decided on an ongoing basis to only use the return, e.g. so as not to overheat
the economy.
The main monetary policy objective has been to ensure a stable exchange rate,
and until 1991 the Norwegian krone was pegged to a trade-weighted exchange rate
basket. However, after Norway applied for EU membership, the government decided
in 1991 to bind the krone to the ECU, but without participating in an exchange
rate policy arrangement with the EU countries. However, after currency turmoil
and tension in the EMS system, the bond had to be abandoned in December 1992,
and the krone floated freely until the spring of 1994, when it was pegged back
to the ECU, but at a slightly weaker level than before the fixed exchange rate
policy was abandoned in 1992.
Monetary policy really came into focus in 1997, when Norwegian kroner
followed the strengthening of the dollar against European currencies. Norges
Bank sought to counter the strengthening of the krone through intervention in
the foreign exchange market and a reduction in monetary policy key interest
rates, which was, however, extremely problematic because Norway was currently in
a boom with a shortage of labor and rising inflation. The relaxed monetary
policy tightened the demand for a marked fiscal tightening, which the
politicians, however, refused. The problems of economic policy coordination led
to a dramatic reaction in the financial markets, as external balances towards
the end of 1997 showed a marked deterioration after record-breaking surpluses of
around 7% of GDP in previous years. The deterioration in the trade and balance
of payments was not least due to declining export earnings as a result of
falling oil prices, weakened competitiveness and cyclically conditioned, strong
import growth. During 1998, the development led to speculation against the
Norwegian krone and a significant tightening of monetary policy before the
central bank again had to abandon the fixed exchange rate policy. In 2002, a
rising krone exchange rate led to bankruptcy, and Norske Bank had to intervene.
Economic growth was rather weak from 1999 to 2003, reaching 3-4% in 2004 and 2005, but
rising oil prices have improved the balance of payments since 2000 and increased
central government revenue. Wage increases above EU level have hampered
competitiveness for a number of years, and unemployment has risen to 4.5%
(2005).
Norway's most important trading partners are among the EU countries, which
account for three quarters of total exports and account for two thirds of
imports. The United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Denmark in particular are
important trading partners. Denmark's exports to Norway in 2005 were
approximately 26.8 billion DKK, while imports from there were 20.3 billion. The most
important Danish export goods were machines for the business community as well
as clothing and furniture. The most important Danish imports from Norway were
oil products and fish.
Norway - social conditions
Norway has an expanded welfare system, based on public services. Pensions,
unemployment benefits and other insurance benefits are mediated through regional
branches of the state National Insurance Administration, while the services are
provided in the counties or municipalities. Independent social insurance, as it
is known in Europe outside the Nordic region, is not used in Norway.
The municipalities are responsible for ensuring that everyone has access to
medical treatment by a general practitioner. The care of the elderly and
disabled in the form of different types of institutions and different forms of
open care is also a municipal responsibility. The institutions are increasingly
administered together with service housing, home help, housewife substitute
schemes and home nursing care as one common care and nursing service. In Norway,
there are relatively more older people living in institutions than in the other
Nordic countries.
Unemployment benefits are provided during illness with 100% of the earned
income, however with a ceiling. The employer pays for the first two weeks, while
the National Insurance then provides up to 50 weeks. There are no
waiting days. Self-employed persons are also covered.
Unemployment insurance is compulsory in Norway and independent of the trade
union movement. It is administered by the Directorate of Labor and disseminated
through its local bodies. The benefit amounts to 2 ‰ of the annual income
per. day, corresponding to a little under 2/3 of the
income up to a limit. There are three waiting days, and support can be granted
for a maximum of 80 weeks.
National pension and supplementary pension from the 67th year are
granted. For the 67-69-year-olds, a deduction is made if you have earned income
next door; when you are over 70, the basic amount is uncut.
Supplementary pension covers everyone, but is in proportion to the number of
years of service. At full seniority, which is 40 years, it accounts for just
under 40% of earnings in the top 20 years.
There is no early retirement scheme. Pension before the age of 67 is granted
as an early retirement pension and presupposes that the ability to work has been
reduced by at least 50% due to illness, injury or disability.
The social benefits are paid partly through the ordinary taxes and partly
through contributions paid by the employers.
Norway - health conditions
At the beginning of the 1900's, Norway had the highest life expectancy in the
Nordic countries for both sexes. In 1996, it was 75.4 years for men and 81.1
years for women, about three years higher than that of Danes. The mortality rate
in the first year of life in 1996 was 4.0 per. 1,000 live births, which is
almost a halving from the latter half of the 1980's. The population growth was
1990-95 approximately 0.4% pr. year.
As everywhere in Europe, the leading causes of death are cardiovascular
disease and cancer. Cardiovascular diseases caused in 1995 per. 100,000
residents 374 deaths among men and 336 among women, which corresponded to the
average in the Nordic countries. Cancer mortality has been fairly constant in
the 1980's and 1990's and is approximately 20% below the Danish. The frequency of
suicides has been slightly declining and is together with the Swedish lowest in
the Nordic countries. By the end of 1997, Norway had reported around 620 cases
of AIDS, which was significantly less than half of the Danish figures.
For many decades, Norwegian society has ensured the dispersed population's
coverage with services from the health care system with an expanded network of
publicly employed doctors, who in addition to their function as general
practitioners also had tasks with generally preventive measures at the local
level. This system is partly continued through a municipal medical scheme, which
covers the vast majority of the population's need for medical care. There is
also an increased possibility that general practitioners can provide the primary
care service.
On 1 January 2002, Norway implemented a total reorganization of the hospital
system upon the entry into force of the Specialist Health Services Act,
as the state took over the hospitals and specialist services from the counties
(counties). The hospital system has been organized into five
geographical regions that can be considered as independent companies (regional
health companies) with the state at the Ministry of Health as
the sole owner. In Region South (South) also includes the former state
Rigshospital in Oslo. The management of the regional companies is placed in the
hands of boards of directors, which are appointed by the general meeting (ie the
state), however, so that one third must be representatives of the employees. The
day-to-day management is a director who is employed by the board.
The five regional health companies each establish a number of underlying
health companies, which are also independent companies, organized in a similar
way as the parent companies. In the spring of 2002, 46 health companies were
established, four of which are responsible for pharmacy. The vast majority are
organized on the basis of an existing hospital.
The tasks for the hospital system are continued diagnostics, treatment and
care of patients, training of health personnel and health-related research.
The law explicitly states that ownership can not be changed without the
approval of the Storting, ie. by a change in the law. The law thus does not call
for a privatization. During the reorganization, the state has taken over all the
counties' institutions without compensation, however with some form of
compensation in connection with any debt and pension obligations.
The state assumes all expenses for the hospitals; the total costs for general
and psychiatric hospitals as well as institutions for rehabilitation, etc. in
2002 amounts to approximately 52 billion Norwegian kr.
Norway - alcohol policy
Production and turnover of alcohol is strictly regulated in Norway. Luxury
beer, wine and spirits can only be bought in government shops, Vinmonopolet,
and in specialty liquor outlets; beer with pilsner strength can be bought in
regular stores. In 1975, advertising bans on alcoholic beverages were introduced
in Norway; light beer was excluded, but in 1997 the ban was extended to include
light beer produced by the same breweries that brew lager beer. Alcohol taxes
are high and the high price level has led to a lot of smuggling and illegal home
burning.
In the years after 1814, home burning was allowed in Norway. Alcohol
consumption rose sharply and social problems increased correspondingly. From the
1850's, it turned out, an influential abstinence movement was organized, which
sought to limit home burning. The abstinence movement was strengthened by the
advance of the labor movement, and in 1916 the Storting decided to introduce a
ban on alcohol; in 1917 a ban on liqueur wine was also introduced. In 1919, the
ban was confirmed by a referendum. However, the ban on liqueur wine was lifted
in 1923, and after a new referendum in 1927, the ban on spirits was lifted; at
the same time, however, the individual municipalities were given the right to
maintain a ban on the sale and serving of alcohol. The wine monopoly was
established in 1922 and functioned from 1923 as a state sales monopoly. In
addition to the exclusive right to sell, Vinmonopolet had until 1995 the
exclusive right to import wine and spirits.
For many years, most of Norway was drained; exceptions were primarily the
larger cities. From the 1980's, however, there has been a gradual liberalization
of alcohol sales, and the number of municipalities with alcohol bans fell from
91 in 1980 to only one in 1997. During the same period, the number of outlets
doubled, and the number of outlets with liquor licenses increased fivefold, and
the opening hours extended. However, alcohol consumption in Norway is still
significantly lower than in most other countries in Europe.
Norway - legal system
In Norway, the oldest known legal order was oral tradition, which applied in
defined areas of the country. Judicial unity was introduced by Magnus
Lagabøter's Landslov og Bylov (1274-76). It broke with primitive legal notions
such as blood revenge and duel and with the strictly formal rules of procedure,
and it applied in Norway until Christian V's Norwegian Law of 1687.
After Norway's unification with Denmark, the legislative power was
essentially with the Danish king, and the legislation was 1687-1814 essentially
common to Denmark and Norway.
The constitution of 17.5.1814 introduced a system change. The Constitution
was inspired by the 1776 Declaration of Independence of the United States, the
French Revolution of 1789, and the later American and French constitutions, and
was then one of Europe's most radical constitutions. It was clearly inspired by
the ideals of the Enlightenment, especially Montesquieuslearn about the
distribution of power. It contains provisions on the form of government, on the
legislature (the Storting), the executive (the government) and the judiciary
(the courts), as well as on human rights. The Constitution is the highest source
of law in Norway. Other provisions that come into conflict with it must give
way, and the Norwegian Supreme Court has in certain cases declared a law
unconstitutional. The Constitution provided that a new "Ordinary Civil and
Criminal Code" should be drawn up as soon as possible. A criminal law was
introduced in 1842, while the plans for a Norwegian civil law book were not
taken up until 1953 with the establishment of a civil law book committee. At the
suggestion of this committee, laws on co-ownership, claims, easements,
neighbors, etc. have since been introduced since the 1800's. a new penal code
from 1902 has also been introduced,Nordic legal co-operation.
In 1988, Norway introduced the UN Convention on Contracts for the
International Sale of Goods, CISG, and together with Finland and Sweden and
later Iceland the new Nordic Purchase Act. Norway has transposed a large part of
EU legislation as legislation and has also acceded to the 1988 Lugano Convention
on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial
Matters.
The court system is structured in such a way that civil cases are, as a
general rule, initiated by mediation in a conciliation council, which
is found in all municipalities. If a settlement is not reached, the case is
dealt with by the city or district court, which is also the first instance for
processing criminal cases. The decisions of the City and District Court can be
appealed to the total of six courts of appeal. The highest instance is
the Supreme Court, to which the decisions of the Court of Appeal can
be appealed. In criminal cases that have been appealed from the Court of Appeal
and in civil cases where the appeal concerns a property value of less than DKK
100,000, permission from the Supreme Court Appeals Committee is required.,
so that the case can be heard in the Supreme Court. Otherwise, the Appeals
Committee has the right to reject anchor, if it is found obvious that the
appeal will not lead to anything.
A new Disputes Act from 2005 is expected to enter into force on 1
July 2007. It will continue the current court structure. However, the
conciliation councils will have a somewhat more limited authority than today and
will therefore no longer be considered the ordinary courts. The functions of
the Supreme Court Appeals Committee will be continued by the Supreme
Court Appeals Committee.
Norway - military
The armed forces are (2006) 25,800, of which 15,200 conscripts. The service
period is 12 months. The army is at 14,700, the navy (Navy) at 6100
and the Air Force (Air Force) at 5000. The reserve is at 219,000. All
defenses are equipped with equipment produced in the West, a significant part of
the Norwegian arms and shipbuilding industry. Most of the equipment is from the
1980's and 1990's. The armed forces' mobilized main force is organized and
equipped to operate under the country's special geographical and climatic
conditions, including under Arctic conditions in the northern Norwegian
winter. Increasingly, the standing force is built to make and maintain
contributions to international operations.
Norway was one of the founding members of NATO.
Norway - trade union movement
The first trade unions in Norway emerged in the 1870's, and soon after that
trade unions and local joint organizations developed. In 1899, these joined the
Arbeidernes faglige Landsorganisasjon (AfL), which after a weak start became the
dominant direction within the trade union movement. AfL, since 1957 LO, is part
of the total social democratic labor movement. In 1911, a syndicalist-inspired
opposition emerged, which gained a majority at the LO congress in 1920, and this
more radical direction characterized the Norwegian labor movement in the
interwar period.
LO is an association of 28 unions with a total of over 790,000 members
(1997). Originally, the unions were divided by union, but after a resolution at
the LO Congress in 1923, the tendency has been for the unions to be transformed
into industrial unions; the largest - Fellesforbundet - emerged in 1988 through
an association of five unions. This development has been reinforced by the
development of Norwegian industry. The trade union movement organizes
approximately 60% of employees, and the LO federations proportion of which is slightly
below 2/3. Other trade unions have gained increasing
support among the trade unions, especially the Central Confederation of Trade
Unions, established in 1977 as an association of 17 unions, which organizes
officials in the financial sector; in 1997 it had approximately 216,000
members. Akademikernes Fellesorganisasjon, founded in 1974, was after growing
quite significantly in 1997 split into two main organizations with resp. 170,000
and 80,000 members. One takes care of the higher educated, while the other
mainly organizes employees with three-year educations. Outside the main
professional organizations, there are approximately 25 unions and unions, of which the
Norwegian Teachers' Association is the largest with approximately 77,000 members in
1998.
In comparison with the other Nordic countries, the percentage of
organizations is low, but still significantly higher than in most other
non-Nordic countries. In the 1990's, the trade union movement faced major
structural problems, including the low organization of (part-time working)
women, the declining importance of the industrial sector and the growing
importance of the tertiary sector.
Norway - library service
University Library in Oslo (grdl. 1811) also served as Norway's national
library from 1815-1997. Thereafter, the former library building (from 1913) will
be home to the National Library, while the University Library will move to a new
building on Blindern. A department of the National Library, with safety
magazines in the mountains, has operated in Mo i Rana since 1989.
The University Library in Trondheim was established by coordinating the
libraries at the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences (grdl. 1760), the Norwegian
University of Technology (grdl. 1910) and the Norwegian Teacher Training College
(grdl. 1922). The university libraries in Bergen (1948) and Tromsø (1968) are
based on the sites respectively. 1825 and 1872 libraries of existing museums. Of
the libraries of other higher education institutions, the most important are the
library of the Norwegian School of Agricultural Sciences in Ås and the library
of the Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen. The coordinating body for the
research libraries is the National Library Service, headed by the National
Librarian.
In the area of public libraries, Norway took a leading position in the
Nordic region around 1900 due to Haakon Nyhuus' reorganization of the Deichman
Library. Later, a strained economy was stressful for Norway's public
libraries. However, the Library Act of 1935 pointed forward, and in 1947 it
became mandatory for municipalities to maintain libraries. Central libraries
(county libraries) are available in all 19 counties. The central body for the
public libraries is the Norwegian Library Inspectorate, headed by the library
director.
Norway - archives
National Archives in Oslo, established in 1817, contains material
from the central administration and the Supreme Court, while the eight state
archives for one or more counties have collections from local/regional
state administration. The national team for Local and Private Archives primarily
organizes local and regional archives. Several of these contain municipal
archives, and many, like the state archives, contain material from companies,
organizations and individuals. Significant special archives belong to the labor
movement and the Storting. The National Archives is responsible for Arkivnett
Norge, which disseminates archive information on the Internet.
Archives from the union period with Denmark have been transferred from
Copenhagen on several occasions; the Danish-Norwegian archive question regarding
the time before 1814 was resolved by an agreement from 1991.
Norway - mass media
Measured per. per capita, Norway is the world's leading newspaper country,
and the country has around 100 independent newspapers. In the field of radio and
television, the Norwegian state radio Norsk Rikskringkasting originally had a
monopoly, but since 1988 the monopoly has been abolished and more competing
companies have been added.
Norway - visual art
Norway - visual art, The characteristic common Nordic art, which was created
in the time from approximately 800 to the 1st half of the 12th century, was rooted in
the Germanic animal ornamentation. Towards the end of the period, it lived with
the Romanesque art, which now dominated.
Norway - handicrafts
Norway's handicrafts have deep roots in folk art, which had its heyday
approximately 1730-1850. It is peculiar to Norway that folk art, incl. the peasant
silver, is considered equal to the art and object production of urban culture
and craftsmen.
Folk art was developed in the settlements in wood and textile works as well
as in furniture decorations with rose paint in regional styles. In older
industrial production, ovens with relief decorations can be
highlighted; 1600-1850, about 30 ironworks produced more than 800 furnace types.
Porcelain and glass production have also taken hold; Herrebøe Fajansefabrikk
designed porcelain in a rich rococo style, and Nøstetangen's engraved glass
goblets were characteristic of the 18th century.
1880-1910, an Old Norse decorative style was expressed in both the furniture
and goldsmith art: the dragon style. The style was strongly stimulated by
several Viking ship finds, including in Gokstad in 1880.
Within the art of goldsmithing, a filigree art also emerged, where the use
of enamel achieved great richness of color in the metal. Enamel has gained a
solid foothold in Norway since the beginning of the 20th century with Gustav
Gaudernack's (1865-1914) and Torolf Prytz '(1850-1938) works as well as
with Grete Prytz Kittelsen's further development of the enamel art in the
1950's. Among the tapestries is Frida Hansen's (1855-1931) art nouveau- inspired
tapestries from the time around 1900.
The post-war handicrafts are characterized by expressive diversity, however,
the references to folk art are numerous. In 1975, the organization Norske
Brukskunstnere changed its name to Norske Kunsthåndverkere, signaling the
development towards a freer artistic expression. In a special position is the
internationally renowned jewelery artist Tone Vigeland.
Norwegian furniture design showed an early ergonomic approach; best known is
the chair concept Balance and the child seat Tripp Trapp (Peter
Opsvik b. 1939), produced by Stokke AS since 1972.
Norway - architecture
Middle Ages and Renaissance
The churches of the period were predominantly of wood, corresponding to the
country's ancient building customs, whereas the stone building represents a
foreign, original southern European tradition, which was especially foreign in
the cities and by the power elite, kings and bishops. The majority of the
churches erected in the country's 1250 parishes were made of wood and built as
stave structures as opposed to the loft building, a technique that became
increasingly prevalent in secular construction. The preserved 30 stave churches
from the 1100's and 1200's, ranging from simple choir-ship facilities (Haltdalen)
to complicated constructions with an elevated central section as well as swallow
passages and apses (Borgund), constitute a unique cultural heritage that,
despite its loans from the stone building maintains a refined wooden
architecture that was once widespread in Northern Europe.
The stone churches of the coastal towns reveal in particular the Anglo-Norman
influence (also known from the early stone churches of southern Scandinavia),
which in Norway is maintained through the High Middle Ages to reach a peak in
the rebuilding of the episcopal church in Trondheim, Nidaros
Cathedral (1170-1325). Despite extensive reconstructions, it still stands as a
significant monument in the line of European cathedrals.
Both the carved and the carved building sculptures, which are included as
part of the architecture, reveal the connection to the Danish wooden building
tradition. It appears of the column motif, which in several Romanesque
stave church portals is spun into an ornamental rug, whose animal and plant
sling is reminiscent of the ornamentation of the Viking Age. However, the
building sculpture is especially English-influenced, especially in the 1200's and
1300's. The Renaissance is not richly represented in Norway and first appears
with Christian IV's new construction of Kristiania (Oslo).
Norway - architecture (after 1850)
Early historicism in Norway was particularly influenced by the national
romanticism of Germany, where many Norwegian architects over the years had been
educated. HE Schirmer's Kristianias Botsfengsel (1851) and JH Nebelong's
neo-Gothic castle Oscarshall (1852) on Bygdøy testify to this. Victorian facade
architecture in cement plaster became a well-known theme for the extensive
factory and multi-storey building of the 1850-60's. The Norwegian wooden building
tradition ensured the spread of the picturesque Swiss style in the province,
with HE Schirmers and W. von Hannos (1826-82) town halls and station
buildings on the main line Oslo-Eidsvoll 1853-67. An independent Norwegian
national style was introduced around 1885 with the so-called dragon style, eg HH
Munthes (1848-98) Frognerseteren sports restaurant from 1891, designed as a
traditional log house with ornamented gable panels. EC Christie's neo - Gothic
restoration of Nidaros Cathedral (1872-1906) was of great importance for the
period's church building.
With the National Theater (1899) and the city of Ålesund rebuilt in 1906, the
Art Nouveau style broke through alongside the "granite baroque" manifestation
with heavy quarry surfaces, eg ABS Greves (1871-1931) new main building for the
Norwegian University of Technology (1916), where the country's first
architectural school six years before had been created. Characteristic of the
interwar years 'style change is the development from A. Arneberg and M.
Poulsson's classicist villas from around 1910 in the Oslo area to the same
architects' functionalist design of Oslo City Hall(1931). International
functionalism gained several significant interpreters: G. Blaksted (1893-1985)
and H. Munthe-Kaas introduced with The Odd Fellow building (1934), the
modular facade scheme, and the O. Bangs (1891-1942) office building
Samfunnshuset (1940) in Oslo are a stylish example of 1930's functionalism.
The prosaic construction tasks of the post-war years were particularly
concentrated on the multi-storey housing construction and resulted in e.g. in
open park buildings with staggered apartment blocks, partly under the influence
of A. Korsmos and K. Knutsen's (1903-69) humanistic visions. In the period after
1960, the confrontation with modernism's schematic modular buildings was seen in
a number of expressionist individual buildings, often designed in partnership:
K. Lund's (b. 1927) and N. Slaatto's (1923-97) individualistic style came, among
other things. expressed in Det norske Veritas' headquarters by the Oslo Fjord
(1984). S. Fehn's versatile work is reflected in the Archaeological Museum in
Hamar (1973), which combines modern glass surfaces with a medieval building
structure in stone. The opposing tendencies in the international architecture of
the 1970's-80's are reflected in J. Digerud's (b. 1938) and J. Lundberg's (b.
1933) extensive production;
Norwegian architecture made a strong mark in the 1990's with many large,
public buildings, both at home and abroad. Modernism is still dominant
with Sverre Fehn as the foremost representative. Fehn received the Pritzker
Prize in 1997, the "Nobel Prize in Architecture", and in 2001 the newly
established Grosch Prize; among his works are the Aukrust Museum in Alvdal
(1996) and Ivar Aasen Senter in Ørsta (2000). The architectural firm Snøhetta is
also built in a spectacular, very original style as seen in Lillehammer Art
Museum (1993), Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt (2002) and the winning project
from 2002 for a new national opera house at Bjørvika in Oslo. An example of an
architecture that, by its design, describes what it contains, is the Norwegian
Oil Museum in Stavanger (1999) by Lunde & Løvseth Arkitektur A/S, which with
an almost massively closed main building in gray gneiss signals the Norwegian
bedrock, while three round steel buildings on pillars in the sea refer to the
drilling platform. The University Library in Oslo (1999) at the architectural
firm Telje-Torp-Aasen shows with the black-clad, column-bearing façade and the
bright interior a new form of airy monumental architecture. The architectural
firm Aviaplan has been responsible for large airport constructions, including in
Gardermoen (1998), and one of the partners, the internationally known Niels Torp
(b. 1940), has built British Airways' headquarters at Heathrow, England
(1998).
Norway - literature
It has been customary in Norwegian literary history writing to refer to Norse
poetry (see Norse culture - literature) as part of Norwegian, despite the fact
that most of it was written in Iceland. The most significant Norwegian work
from the period is Konungs skuggsjá, Kongespejlet, a pedagogical
writing that expresses the educational ideals of the time.
In the 1500's. extinct Norwegian as a written language, and the union period
up to 1814 is often referred to as the time of the Danish-Norwegian common
literature. Of the few Norwegian-born authors who made their mark here, Ludvig
Holberg is the undisputed loner.
In the latter half of the 18th century, national patriotic moods began to
prevail, above all among Norwegian students in Copenhagen, and in connection
with this a certain literary activity with the Norwegian Society as its
center. Authors such as Johan Nordahl Brun, Claus Fasting, Jens
Zetlitz and Johan Herman Wessel wrote everything from merry drinking songs and
epigrams to pious hymns and high-sounding tragedies, partly with national
historical motifs.
During the Union era, very few books were published in Norway, and this
picture did not change significantly in the decades that followed. Around 1820,
an average of four works of fiction were published annually, most with
classicist models.
National Romance
The romance came late and became less important in Norway than in Denmark. It
had the greatest impact in the 1840's in the form of national
romanticism. Romantic features can be found in the short story list of Maurits
Hansen's authors. The most important poet of the period, Henrik Wergeland, who
emerged around 1830, combines romance and the Enlightenment, political
liberalism and cosmic-religious universalism. Wergeland unfolded in a number of
genres, but created his supreme as a lyricist, breaking with the harmonious
ideals of classicism.
Romantic character also has JS Welhaven's poems, but unlike Wergeland he
emphasized clarity and harmony and was deeply skeptical of the opponent's strong
nationalism. In the 1840's, however, Welhaven joined the National Romantic
movement, whose admiration for the Viking Age is combined with worship of the
peasant and enthusiasm for Norwegian nature and people's lives. Asbjørnsen and
Moe's fairy tale collections and Ivar Aasen's studies of rural dialects are the
clearest expressions of a shift towards popular forms of expression that were
perceived as specifically Norwegian.
Around 1850, a new generation of poets emerged with Henrik
Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson at the helm. They gradually did away with
national romanticism, and the period up to 1875 can be seen as a precursor to
later realism. National motifs continue to dominate, both in the historical
plays and in Bjørnson's stylistically innovative peasant tales.
Camilla Collett, the literary pioneer of the women's movement, occupies a
special position with the novel Amtmandens Døttre (1854-55), the first
example of realistic trend poetry in Norway. Between 1850 and 1870, a total of
13 women debuted, mostly with prose books.
The realistic trend is evident not least in Aasmund Olavsson
Vinje's prose. In his journalistic works, Ferdaminne fraa Sumaren 1860 (1861),
he combines sharp realism with political commentary, ironically wide
with poetic sensitivity. Among the period's main works are Ibsen's two verse
dramas Brand (1866) and Peer Gynt (1867), in which the poet
definitely put an end to national romanticism.
Realism and naturalism
With Georg Brandes as inspiration, the poets put problems under debate in
plays and novels. The first social drama is Bjørnson's A Bankruptcy (1875). Ibsen
followed up with Samfundets støtter (1877) and gained modern Norwegian
drama international fame with masterpieces such as A Doll's Home (1879), Ghosts (1881), An
Enemy of the People (1882) and The Wild Duck (1884).
Prose writers such as Jonas Lie, Alexander Kielland, Kristian
Elster and Arne Garborg also contribute to what has been called the golden age
of Norwegian poetry. In a realistic form with impressionist stylistic features,
the current societal problems took up with a critique of (religious) prejudices
and social inequalities. The 1880's were the heyday of the new realistic
novel. Lies Familjen paa Gilje (1883) is one of the main works. The
family is also the arena in Kielland's broadly depicting social trend novels
with sting against church, civil service and new bourgeoisie: Garman & Worse (1880), Skipper
Worse (1882), Married (1883), Jacob(1891). Krassest is
the tendency of Garborg, one of the first significant authors to write in
Nynorsk (Bondestudentar, 1883, Mannfolk, 1886).
Most visible among the naturalists, however, is Amalie Skram. Some of her
marriage novels also have an autobiographical starting point (Constance
Ring, 1885, Forraadt, 1892). A broader and more "objective"
naturalism is found in her four-volume work Hellemyrsfolket (1887-98),
a major work in Scandinavian naturalism.
Neo-romanticism
In the 1890's, a reaction to the positivist social poetry of the last decade
occurred, a turn towards the inner life with strong elements of decadence,
mysticism, natural moods and religious idealism as the background for the
concept of neo-romanticism. The established poets were also influenced
by the new atmosphere. In the two collections Trold (1891-92), Lie
builds on legends and myths. A typical decadent novel is Garborg's Tired Men (1891),
and in a number of later works he addressed religious issues. Ibsen's later
dramas are similar to in-depth psychological studies with strong symbolic
elements (Bygmester Solness, 1892, Naar vi död vaagner,
1898).
Knut Hamsun was responsible for the most powerful confrontation with 1880's
literature. Instead of the societal-reformative type poetry, he would put a
psychological literature that depicted the complex soul life of modern man. He
realized the program in Hunger (1890), which also marks a turning point
in the European context. Both in theme, human image and writing style, the novel
anticipates 1900's modernist prose poetry. Even more distinctly "modernist" is Mysteries (1892),
while the prosaic short novel Pan (1895) is neo-romantic.
Fairy tale motifs and unconscious soul life are also important elements in
other of the 1890's' new prose writers, Hans E. Kinck, especially in the
breakthrough book Flaggermusvinger (short stories, 1895). In the 1890's,
there was also a renewal in poetry, and as a genre it gained increased
importance. A major work is Garborg Haugtussa (1895). More innovative
and modern are Vilhelm Krag (1871-1933) and Sigbjørn Obstfelder.
Neorealism
The period from approximately 1905 onwards is often referred to as neo-realism. A
generational change took place, and social issues were put on the agenda again
in broad-based societal novels. In a series of highly socially critical novels,
Hamsun glorified the old peasant society with the Nobel Prize-winning Field
Crop (1917) as its highlight. Here and in the Landstryker trilogy
(1927-33), Hamsun is in pact with a main line in neo-realism: the depiction of
the conflicts that arise with the rise of industry and modern capitalism. The
demographic changes, mobility and social unrest that modernization brought with
them laid the foundation for a realistic poetry characterized by social
indignation, but also with ethical and individual psychological themes.
Modernist poetry in Europe, however, passed by. Olav Duun combined
psychological analysis and broad environment depiction of a series of historical
novels from Trøndelagskysten (Juvikfolke, 1-6, 1918-23, the trilogy fellow
human being, 1929-33).
Sigrid Undset portrayed modern women's destinies before turning to the Middle
Ages in her masterpiece Kristin Lavransdatter (1920-22), for which she
received the Nobel Prize. One of the most extensive works of the time
is Kristofer Uppdal's ten- volume series Dansen genom skuggeheimen (1911-24),
which depicts the emergence of the working class. A significant
working author is also Johan Falkberget.
Overall, neo-realist prose spans a wider field, socially and geographically,
than poetry of earlier periods. People like to talk about "the literary mapping"
of Norway.
The modern ones
A number of new poets emerged with the Bokmål authors Herman
Wildenvey, Arnulf Øverland and Olaf Bull and the New Norwegian Olav
Nygard and Tore Ørjasæter at the helm. Norwegian poetry, however, remained
largely unaffected by contemporary expressionism and modernism.
In the mid-1920's, a new generation of cultural radicals emerged. Under the
influence of Freud and Wilhelm Reich, they attacked the patriarchal society. At
the head were the cultural radical troika Helge Krog, Arnulf
Øverland and Sigurd Hoel. Hoel's psychologically-realistic novel art (The Road
to the End of the World, 1933, Fourteen Days Before the Frosts,
1935) formed a school. More experimental was the Danish-born Aksel
Sandemose with A refugee crosses his trail (1933).
Authors such as Cora Sandel, Nini Roll Anker and Nils Johan Rud were also
associated with cultural radicalism, while Ronald Fangen and Sigurd
Christiansen were more concerned with religious and ethical themes. Helge
Krog and Nordahl Grieg are among the leading playwrights of the time. The
latter adopted new assembly techniques and broke into Our Glory and Our
Power (1935) and Defeat (1937) with the strong Ibsen tradition.
In the interwar period, women asserted themselves for the first time as poets
with Aslaug Vaa and Haldis' mother Vesaas. The most important lyrical innovation
was Rolf Jacobsen by introducing the city and the new technology as motifs.
During the occupation (1940-45), Nazi censorship laid a clammy hand over all
intellectual life. A majority of the authors went on strike, and after 1942 no
significant books of fiction were published. The war naturally became a dominant
theme after 1945 with Hoel's Meeting at the Milestone (1947) and
Sandemose's Werewolf (1958) as central works.
One of the most prolific narrators of post-war literature, Agnar Mykle,
continued the cultural radical legacy of the anti-Puritan double novel Lasso
around Mrs Luna and the Song of the Red Ruby (1954-56). Fine depictions of children
and the environment are given by Torborg Nedreaas in the Herdis books
(1950-71). Both belong within the realistic tradition.
The most important experiments were performed by Sandemose, Tarjei
Vesaas and Johan Borgen. Vesaas wrote novels with expressionist features and
mixes symbolism and realism in The Birds (1957) and The Ice
Castle (1963). With the Lillelord trilogy (1955-57) and
especially "I" (1959), Borgen renewed the psychological novel.
Modernism, socialism, postmodernism
In poetry, a modernist breakthrough took place around 1950 with Paal
Brekke as a pioneer, and during the 1950's, the "free verse" pushed traditional
poetry aside. The "post-war modernists" include Gunvor Hofmo, Olav H.
Hauge, Hans Børli, Astrid Hjertenæs Andersen and somewhat later Stein Mehren.
Around 1965, a new generation showed its face with the Profil circle as the
driving force in a showdown with the realistic prose and the symbol-heavy
post-war poetry. Central figures here were Dag Solstad, Espen
Haavardsholm, Jan Erik Vold and Einar Økland. A modernist prose under the
influence of Kafka, Beckett and the French neo-novel was
developed. Contributions to the renewal were also made by Øystein Lønn, Liv
Køltzow and Tor Åge Bringsværd.
The literary upheaval is closely linked to the anti-authoritarian youth
uprising. The populist and Marxist currents later led to a revitalization of
social realist prose with an emphasis on depictions of the working
environment. It was especially cultivated by the so-called AKP writers, led by
Dag Solstad. The AKP was the Workers' Communist Party, founded by Norwegian
Maoists. In parallel with this ran a more experimental prose, called
"social modernism ", with Kjartan Fløgstad as a central figure.
In the 1970's, a special women's literature was also developed with close ties
to the feminist movement, led by Bjørg Vik. A simpler form with strong
skepticism towards "over-consumption" of symbols and metaphors characterizes the
lyrics from 1965 onwards with Jan Erik Vold as the special pioneer. In the
1970's, the fighting and utility lyricism flourished again, but in the 1980's the
poets turned in a broad front towards the "meaning literature" of the 1970's.
Realism came again in disrepute. Fantastic forms of various kinds gained
greater space, and several writers entered into dialogue with postmodernism. One
of these is Jan Kjærstad with Homo Falsus (1984) and The Seducer (1993). The
modernists also include Tor Ulven, Lars Aamund Vaage and Jon Fosse, while
realistic storytelling methods are handled by e.g. Herbjørg Wassmo (Tora trilogy,
1981-86, and the Dinatrilogy, 1989-97) and Erik Fosnes Hansen (among
other things, Psalm at the end of the journey, 1990).
With authors such as Tomas Espedal and Karl Ove Knausgård, realism returns
in a new, outrageous form. In the self-engaging and brush-up autofiction, the
author's own persona is used as the focal point of the work, thus placing itself
in a field of tension between reality and fiction, as is seen, for example, in
Knausgaard's monumental masterpiece, My Struggle 1-6.
Norway - theater
There are assumptions about theater life in Norway already in the Middle
Ages, but more certain traces are found only after the Reformation with eg
humanistic school dramas. German and Danish theater troupes played in the city
halls or in private party and ballrooms. Around 1800, permanent theater
buildings were built (Bergen 1800, Oslo 1802). Norway's first purely
professional theater, which opened in 1827, was Christiania Public Theater. This
was followed by the Christiania Theater (1837-99), which in 1899 became the
National Theater; Danish actors in particular dominated here. In the 1850-60's
came the first purely Norwegian theaters, characterized by the urge for
linguistic independence. At the Norwegian Theater in Bergen 1850-63 (reopened as
the National Stage 1876) both Ibsen and Bjørnson performedas directors and
playwrights. The National Theater in Oslo has especially had to stimulate
Norwegian drama. The first boss was Bjørn Bjørnson (1859-1942, student of
William Bloch), who as a modern instructor emphasized ensemble playing. The idea
with Det Norske Teatret in Oslo was that all drama should be played in
Nynorsk. In 1985, this theater got a new house, one of the most modern in
Europe. It was not until 1936 that Trondheim got a permanent theater, Trøndelag
Teater, which is housed in Norway's oldest preserved theater building (from
1816). In 1949, Norway got its National Theater, which toured all over the
country with a permanent ensemble.
The first regional stages from the 1970's initially belonged to the National
Theater as Hålogaland Theater in Tromsø. In 1953, the Statens Teaterskole was
established in Oslo, primarily with acting education. In the 1960's and 1970's,
the outreach Free Theater Groups came; Odin Theater(1964), who after a short
time moved to Denmark, was one of them. Porsgrunn Grenland Friteater (1976) also
ran educational activities within physical theater. De Frie Teatergrupper was
organized through Teatercentrum and got a permanent venue, Black Box, in Oslo in
1985. In 1987, Oslo got Det Open Open Theater, a workshop theater as a hub for
Norwegian contemporary drama. In the 1980's, many alternative regional small
theaters rooted in the local environment and culture emerged as a kind of
counterculture to the established institutional theaters, such as Beaivváš Sámi
Teáhter in Kautokeino in northern Norway in 1980.
Norway - dance
Norway has a rich tradition of folk dance, but also has a reputable
national ballet.
Folk dance
Norwegian folk dance is both dance-wise and musically characterized by the
group of older couple dances, which in summary is called village dances. They
are considered Norwegian national dances and are closely associated with
Norwegian fiddle music (see harding fiddle). The main forms are springar (Western
Norway) and pols (Eastern Norway), which are danced to music in three
parts, as well as corridors and halling., which is danced to
music in two parts. The village dances are improvisational with alternating
figures comprising both solo dance and pair dancing. The couples follow each
other in a ring in the same way as in the round dances of the waltz family,
which gained a foothold in the Nordic countries in the 1800's. The dance
repertoire also includes singing games and tour dancing for several couples. A
special genre is the song dances, which arose in the folk dance movement in the
first part of the 1900's, inspired by the folk song dance in the Faroe Islands.
Norway - dance - the classical ballet
In the first half of the 20th century, the classical ballet was performed at
the National Theater with names such as Gyda Christensen (1872-1964)
and Lillebil Ibsen.
The first professional ballet ensemble was Ny Norsk Ballett, formed in 1948
by Gerd Kjølaas (1909-2000) and the British Louise Browne (1906-96). After
several phases with different names, the company became part of the Norwegian
Opera, which was founded in 1958; Australian Harcourt Algernoff (1903-67) became
ballet director.
He and his successors expanded the repertoire, which came to consist of
contemporary choreography by eg George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Birgit
Cullberg and Glen Tetley, the great classics from the romantic period and new
Norwegian choreography by Kjersti Alveberg (b. 1948) and Kari Blakstad.
Significant leaders were Sonia Arova (b. 1927) (1966-71) and Anne Borg (b.
1936) (1971-77 and 1983-88). From 1990 to 2002, the Dane Dinna Bjørn led
the company, which she led to international recognition. In 1992, the ballet was
renamed the Norwegian National Ballet.
Norway also has a number of smaller groups that practice modern dance,
including New Carte Blanche in Bergen, with choreographers such as Ingun
Bjørnsgaard (b. 1962) and Ina Christel Johannessen (b. 1959).
Norway - music
The oldest evidence of the cultivation of music has Norway in common with the
other Nordic countries, namely partly archaeological finds, especially lurks,
partly more or less historical, often imaginative mentions in the eddas, sagas
and chronicles. The first written sources of music came with Christianity in the
late 900's. The material now consists only of fragments, but from these, in 1911,
almost completely succeeded in recreating the liturgical music for the
celebration of Saint Olav; the influence of the English missionaries in this is
unmistakable. Tradition is also a two-part anthem in honor of St. Magnus, the
oldest known polyphonic piece of Nordic origin; the music is remarkable for its
time by using almost exclusively the third interval.
Only two Norwegian composers are known from the 1500's, Caspar Ecchienus and
Johan Nesenus (died 1604). Around 1600, city musicians were given privileges in
Bergen and Oslo with responsibility for city music in collaboration with the
organists and students at the Latin schools. Concerts were organized in the
major cities in the 1700's. of music companies consisting mainly of amateurs; one
of them, Musikselskabet Harmonien, founded in Bergen 1765, still exists. Georg
von Bertouch (1668-1743) left his mark on music life in Kristiania, while Johan
Daniel Berlin (1714-1787) and his son Johan Heinrich Berlin (1741-1807) were
organists in Trondheim. The violinist Johan Henrik Freithoff (1713-1767) from
Kristiansand and the pianist Israel Gottlieb Wernicke (1755-1836) from Bergen
were especially active in Denmark.
With the secession from Denmark in 1814, a desire for national independence
grew, and Kristiania took a leading position in cultural life. With imitations
of folk music, Waldemar Thrane created a national opéra-comique, The Mountain
Adventure(1825). Ole Bull was one of the 1800's most famous violinists, who
was the first to make Norway internationally known in the music world, and in
Paris TDA Tellefsen (1823-1874) was a famous student of Chopin. More domestic
fame was achieved by Otto Winther-Hjelm (1837-1931), who composed the first
Norwegian symphony, and Halfdan Kjerulf, who was valued for his choral songs,
romances and piano music. In Trondheim, Ole Andreas Lindeman (1769-1857) became
the ancestor of a musician dynasty, whose most important member, his son Ludvig
Mathias Lindeman, was organist, educator and folk song collector. Edvard Grieg
became one of the most representative and beloved composers of national
romanticism, whose original harmonics had great significance for the development
of music in the late 1800's, not least among the Impressionists. At the same time
as him was Johan Svendsen, whose talent as a conductor got in the way of a
significant symphonic composer company, and Johan Selmer (1844-1910). After
Grieg, Chr. Sinding the position as Norway's leading composer, and Johan
Halvorsen worked just like Svendsen as composer and conductor. Where Gerhard
Schjelderup (1859-1933) and Hjalmar Borgstrøm (1864-1925) were close to German
music, Alf Hurum, Pauline Hall (1890-1969) and Arvid Kleven (1899-1929) came
under the influence of French Impressionism.
Eivind Groven (1901-1977) and Geirr Tveitt (1908-1981) continued the national
line with music based on a thorough study of Norwegian folk music, while less
pronounced national elements are found combined with international stylistic
features in David Monrad Johansen, Ludvig Irgens Jensen and Bjarne Brustad
(1895-1978). After World War II, the long-isolated pioneer of atonality in
Norway, Fartein Valen, achieved international recognition, and together with
Harald Sæverud and Klaus Egge, he drew modern Norwegian music in the
mid-1900's. At the same time, Knut Nystedt and Egil Hovland emerged as
representative younger figures in Norwegian music life, not least in church
music, and Finn Mortensen showed more challenging tendencies. Most radically
experimental was Arne Nordheim, who is still a dominant personality in Norwegian
music life.
After Nordheim, Olav Anton Thommessen (b. 1946) and Lasse Thoresen (b. 1949)
in particular have asserted themselves both as composers and as
communicators; both are professors at the Norwegian Academy of Music, and in
2010 Lasse Thoresen received the Nordic Council Music Prize. The generation of
younger composers includes especially Rolf Wallin (b. 1957), who received the
Nordic Council Music Prize in 1997, Asbjørn Schaatun (b. 1961), Åse Hedstrøm (b.
1950) and Cecilie Ore (b. 1954).
Norway - film
Norwegian film production has played a rather peripheral role in Norwegian
culture, but a few internationally oriented successes have strengthened the
reputation since the mid-1980's. In the limited production from the first
Norwegian feature film in 1907 and until the 1930's, the most important current
was the national romantic depictions of folk life, eg Carl Th. Dreyer's Glomdalsbruden (1926)
and Tancred Ibsen's Guest Baardsen (1939, Landstrygernes Konge).
The post-war period offered pathetic realism in the form of occupation-time
dramas such as Arne Skouens (1913-2003) Ni liv (1957), but also folk
comedies and literary films such as Astrid Henning-Jensen's Kranes
confectionery (1951). Inspired by contemporary "new waves" in European film
was, for example, Pål Løkkeberg's (1934-98) Liv (1967).
An improvement in state support for film production led in the 1970's and
1980's to socially engaged films with elements of feminism such as Anja Breien's Wives (1975),
apocalyptic satire such as Svend Wams (b. 1946) and Petter Vennerød's (b. 1948) Det
tause majority (1977) and social realism as Sølve Skagen's (b. 1945) Hard
asphalt (1986).
A special position was taken by the puppet film director Ivo Caprino
(1920-2001).
Recent Norwegian films include the wilderness dramas Orion's Belt (1985),
directed by Ola Solum (b. 1943), and The Wizard (1987, The Pathfinder),
directed by Nils Gaup (b. 1955), and Berit Nesheims (b. 1945). romantic
everyday comedy Frida - with the heart in hand (1991) and Pål Sletaunes
(b. 1960) thriller The Messenger (1997).
Most recently, films such as Peter Næss '(b. 1960) Elling (2001),
Knut Erik Jensens (b. 1940) Heftig og begeistret (2001), a documentary
about a male choir, and Bent Hamers' (b. 1956) bizarre comedy Hymns from the
kitchen (2003) attracted international attention, and Erik Poppes (b. 1960)
Oslo mosaic Hawaii, Oslo (2004) was a big hit in Norway.
All cinema activities in Norway have been municipally managed since 1913, and
film production has since 1932 been dominated by the public Norsk Film A/S. In
1997, the country's first film school was established in Lillehammer.
Norway - sports
Norway has created remarkable results in winter sports; at the Winter
Olympics, the country has thus won a total of 329 medals, of which 118 of gold
(2015). Famous was figure skater Sonja Henie, who won the Olympics three
times (1928-36) and the World Cup ten times (1927-36). In the 1990's, Bjørn
Dæhlie dominated the cross-country disciplines as the most gold-winning athlete
so far at the Winter Olympics (eight gold medals), while the alpine skier Kjetil
André Aamodt in 2006 broke a record in his discipline by winning his eighth
medal. Norway has twice hosted the Winter Games (Oslo 1952 and Lillehammer
1994). See also Holmenkollrennene.
Norwegian women were among the first to break down some of the gender
differences in elite sports; Among other things, was Grete Waitz as nidobbelt
winner of the New York Marathon a symbol of women's entry in elite sport. In
women's handball and football, the country has won the European Championships
and the World Cup. 1965-85, especially state and tip funds created fertile
ground for an unprecedented activity and membership in Norwegian sports.
Norway - kitchen
With Norway's very long coastline and the largest part of the population
living by the coast, fish has always been an essential part of Norwegian
cuisine. There are many species, but for everyday use, fish are especially used
within the herring and cod families. Herring is eaten fresh or salted. In late
winter, the cod is often served cooked with cod roe and liver, while a typical
dish at Christmas time is lutefisk, which is dried cod treated with a
strong base, lyeed, and then diluted and boiled. It is also common
with boiled, smoked cod, while smoked and dug salmon and halibut are considered
party food. The export of stockfish and clipfish to Catholic countries has left
its mark on Norwegian cooking, as the exporters brought home Spanish recipes for
clipfish,bacalao. A frequent everyday dish is fried or boiled fish
mince.
The natural basis of agriculture is often barren, so it is especially animal
agricultural products that are supplied. The milk is frequently processed into
cheese, and the whey again into the brown whey cheese. Commonly, it is also
eating sour cream, broaching, or to boil for broaching this porridge
that can be eaten together with the dried and cured meats, spekemat. Apart
from potatoes and carrots, vegetables are only to a lesser extent included in
traditional cuisine; however, kohlrabi and white cabbage are not infrequently
used, the latter eg cooked with mutton, sheep in cabbage.
From the mountain you can get reindeer and grouse as well
as cranberries and cloudberries used as dessert. In food made from flour can be
mentioned the very thin flatbread as well as waffles.
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