Introduction

The life of Norwegians has long been connected with the sea. The very name of the country comes from the Old Norse "Nordvegr" - "northern route", that is, the sea route to the north along the coast of Scandinavia.

Those who have heard of Norway probably think that this is a cold country far in the North, where polar bears walk the streets. In fact, even though Norway is in Northern Europe, temperatures often rise above 25 degrees in summer. Although, strictly speaking, you can actually see polar bears roaming the territory of Norway, but for this you will have to go to the island of Svalbard, which is located much further north from the main country - closer to the North Pole.

Other stories are more like the truth: the Vikings, the Norwegian warrior ancestors, ravaged Europe in the 10th century, and archaeologists are still finding treasures that they brought back on their huge ships.

Norway is associated with fish and has always been one of the leading countries in the field of navigation. There are not many places in the world where you can taste the same wonderful seafood as in the Norwegian coastal towns.

Winter sports are another area where Norwegians excel. Among other things, Norwegian children are said to be "born with skis on their feet." Norwegians are proud of the many Olympic medals they have won thanks to the national interest in skiing.

But what Norway is most famous for, and why people from all over the world come here, is its magnificent nature. Waterfalls, mountains, fjords, glaciers and the sea.

History of Norway

The first settlers appeared in Norway over 10,000 years ago at the end of the Ice Age. The greatest contribution to world history was made by the Viking Age, which began, according to historians, with the conquest of the English monastery of Lindisfarne by Norman pirates in 793 AD. Throughout the next century, the Vikings raided all over Europe, establishing their settlements in the occupied places. The Viking leader Harald Horfagr (Blond) unified Norway around 900 AD, and a hundred years later King Olaf, adopting the religion of the countries he conquered, introduced Christianity. The Vikings were good sailors and were the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean. In 982, Eric the Red, son of a Norwegian exiled to Iceland, captured Greenland. In 1001, Erik's son Leif Eriksson became perhaps the first European to explore the coast of North America on his way from Norway to Greenland. However, the Viking Age ended in 1066 when the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada was defeated at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England. In the 13th century, the city of Oslo became the capital of the state. It continued to flourish until the middle of the 14th century, when a significant part of the city's population died as a result of an epidemic of plague. In 1397, Norway formed an alliance with Denmark that lasted 400 years. In 1814, the territory of Norway was ceded to Sweden. In the same year, Norway, tired of violent alliances, adopted its own constitution, but attempts to achieve independence were thwarted by the invasion of the Swedes. In the end, the Norwegians were allowed to have their own constitution, but they were forced to recognize the authority of the Swedish king. The developing nationalist movement eventually led to a peaceful secession from Sweden in 1905. The Norwegians voted for a monarchy rather than a republic and chose Prince Carl of Denmark for the throne. When he became king, he took the name Haakon VII and named his newborn son Olaf, both names associated with the glorious time of the Vikings. Norway maintained neutrality during both the First and Second World Wars, but was occupied by the Nazis in 1940. The king set up a government in exile and placed the country's gigantic commercial fleet under the command of the allied forces. The powerful Resistance Movement fiercely fought the Nazis, who in response destroyed almost all the cities and villages in the northern part of Norway during the retreat. At the end of the war, the royal family returned to the country. Since 1949 Norway has been a member of NATO. In 1960, Norway joined the European Free Trade Association, but was reluctant to forge closer ties with other countries, partly out of fear that it would not be able to maintain small-scale agriculture and fisheries. In 1970, oil and gas found in the North Sea brought wealth and prosperity to the country, since that time Norway has been one of the countries with the highest standard of living. At the referendum in 1994, the country's population voted against joining the EU, which caused shock among the governments of European states that tried to profitably "sell" the results of the Maastricht Treaty in their countries. EU membership is still a sore point in Norway, but opposition to these plans is still strong among the various political forces in the country.

The Norwegians, with the exception of the Sami, are descended from the Scandinavian Germans. And, as the researchers note, there was no statehood in ancient Norway for a long time. Social structures relied on a powerful landed aristocracy, grouped around the leaders (kings). Retinues led by kings made predatory raids on the lands of other peoples of Europe, and this period received a special name in the history of the Viking Age. The power of the kings grew stronger, and they turned into specific princes (king means both the leader of the squad, and the prince, and the king, depending on the stage of social history). The beginning of the unification of Norway is associated with the activities of King Harald the Fair-Haired. Possessing a powerful fleet, he defeated the western grouping of kings in the famous battle of Hafsfjord (872). The leaders of the Vikings, who did not recognize his authority, were expelled from the country and forced to emigrate to the Shetland Islands or to Iceland. Haakon the Good, son of Eric, brought up and baptized at the English court (c. 950), tried to convert the Norwegians to Christianity and succeeded in this on the west coast, where there were strong trade relations with England. But in the central provinces of Trøndelag, the most densely populated, he encountered fierce resistance from the pagans.

1.1 History of Norway in the 11th - 14th centuries

At the end of the 10th c. Christianity was adopted in Norway. Under King Olaf the Holy, it began to assert itself throughout the country. The traditional social order, based on family and clan, was already weakening, to be replaced by a strong centralized state power. The king, the nobility and the church appropriated peasant communal lands and ownership of the newly colonized territories. The peasants supported the petty nobility. They created a group of so-called Birkebeiners (“birch legs” - in the meaning of “bast shoes”), who overthrew the then ruling King Magnus and proclaimed their leader, a priest from the Faroe Islands, Sverrir Sigurdson (1184--1202), king. The priest, having become a monarch, curtailed the privileges of the Catholic Church, strengthened secular power, but at the same time stopped the attempts of the peasants to regain the rights of free community members.

After the completion of the predatory raids of the Viking Age from the 12th century. trade began to develop in Norway. The employment of the population in trade became so great that there was not enough manpower in handicraft production and in the country's agriculture. In the XIII century. the Norwegian king Haakon Haakonsson even introduced restrictions on the participation of compatriots in trade in the Code of Frostating. Haakon Haakonsson (1223-1263) chose Bergen as his capital and extended his power to Iceland and Greenland. Haakon's son, Magnus the Legislator, improves and unifies laws; his reign (1263-1280) is sometimes called the golden age in Norwegian history. Under the next generation of Norwegian kings - Erik Magnusson and his brother Haakon V - a confrontation between the Norwegian aristocracy and enterprising German merchants began. Haakon V moved his capital to Oslo. For a short time (1319-1343), as a result of a dynastic marriage, Norway came under the rule of the Swedish king Magnus III Erikson. In 1397, the Union of the three Scandinavian kingdoms was signed in Kalmar. Norway was the weakest side in the Union and therefore was the loser. The Union years are the darkest period in Norwegian history. The terrible consequences of the plague of 1348-1349, enslaving dependence on the German trade union, which supplied wheat to Norway, which was always in short supply, led to the complete ruin of the rural population. The Norwegian aristocracy became impoverished and lost its former influence, but a small group of foreign rich people and aristocrats rose. The general decline in the country affected both intellectual life and art.

1.2 History of Norway in the 15th - 18th centuries

In the 15th century in Norway at court they even stopped using the Norwegian language: the Norwegians began to learn the Danish language. In 1468-1469. From Norway, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, with a population of Norwegian origin, went to Scotland. In 1523, Sweden withdrew from the Union, and weakened, enslaved Norway, subjected to cruel exploitation by the Hanseatic merchants, was reduced to the province of Denmark in 1536. The influence of Denmark was especially strengthened after the forcible carrying out of the church reformation in the form of Lutheranism since 1536. As a result, Danish, replacing Latin, became the official ecclesiastical, and then the administrative and literary language of Norway.

The first university in the Danish-Norwegian state was established in the 15th century. in Copenhagen. From the middle of the XVII century. the economic recovery of the country began .. Norwegian merchants began to export timber to England on their own ships. This led to the expansion of the fleet, the strengthening of logging, timber floating, the creation of sawmills and for a long time consolidated the pro-English trade orientation of Norway.

1.3 History of Norway in the 19th and early 20th century

In Norway, during this period, national identity develops. The Welfare Society of Norway, founded in 1809, became a kind of center for the liberation movement. It was not a party that would have a program of political struggle for autonomy or sovereignty, but an organization that launched a broad agitation for the establishment of a Norwegian university that would train the national cadres of the intelligentsia.

At the peak of the public upsurge on June 7, 1905, the Norwegian Storting (parliament) terminated the union with Sweden, and in August the monarchy was preserved in a referendum, the Danish prince Karl was elected king (under the name Haakon VII). Norway became a sovereign state. And the first great power to recognize this independence in October 1905 was Russia.

1.4 Recent history of Norway

Norway is a member of NATO and an associate member of the WEU. Within the framework of the UN, the first Secretary General of which was the Norwegian Trygve Lie, Norway is working in many directions. Norwegians are part of the UN peacekeeping forces. As a member of NATO and signing the Schengen Agreement, Norway, however, refrains from joining the European Union and the euro area. But Norway has extensive cooperation, primarily with the Nordic countries. They created, for example, a single labor market. In 1960 Norway became a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). in a referendum in November 1994. For the second time, the Norwegian government failed to get the support of the country's population on the issue of joining the EU (the first referendum on Norway's accession to the EU took place in 1972 and also had a negative result). The Norwegian parliament was one of the first to ratify the treaty establishing the WTO. The Norwegian authorities pay great attention to environmental issues. Former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (now Director of WHO) chaired the UN Commission on Environment and Development. The work within the framework of this Commission formed the basis for broad international cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

Norway allocates about 1% of GDP to help the poorest countries in the world. Funds are sent directly to recipient countries or distributed through various UN bodies. The Norwegian authorities attach great importance to ensuring that the assistance provided benefits those in need and contributes to sustainable development from an environmental point of view. Definite value for international. Norway has the Nobel Peace Prize. The award decision is made by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose members are appointed by the Storting.

Full name: Kingdom of Norway.
Capital: Oslo.
Area: 385,186 sq. km (including water - 19,520 sq. km).
Population: about 5,085,000 people
Official language: Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk), in some communes - Sami.

Official currency: Norwegian krone.

The flag of Norway is red with a large cross. Such crosses are depicted on the flags of all Scandinavian states.

The coat of arms of Norway is one of the oldest in Europe. He is over 7 years old. The lion in heraldry is a symbol of strength, and the ax is the weapon of the Vikings and the heavenly patron of Norway, St. Olaf.

The Kingdom of Norway is the northernmost state in Europe. "The way to the north" - this is how the name of the country is translated from the Old Norse language. But more often it is called the Northern Kingdom, or the Land of the Midnight Sun. In summer, in some areas of Norway, the sun does not hide behind the horizon for days, while in others, a period of white nights begins.

Almost the entire territory of the country is occupied by mountains, and the coast is indented by narrow sea bays - fjords. They go deep into the tens of kilometers. Norwegians prefer to live on the sea coast and the shores of the fjords. In mountainous regions there are places where no human foot has set foot for many years.

Norway is a happy country. In Greenland, Siberia, Alaska - permafrost, and in Norway frosts are only in the mountains, although a third of its territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle.

The seas around the Norwegian coast do not freeze because the warm Atlantic Gulf Stream comes here. It not only "warms" Norway. In the waters of the Gulf Stream there is a lot of plankton, and schools of fish follow the abundant food. For many centuries, Norwegian fishermen have been sharing their catch with all of Europe: the fish is frozen, dried, processed into canned food and fishmeal.

Nature is generous to the inhabitants of the kingdom in everything. The largest oil and gas deposits in Europe have been discovered off the coast of Norway. In the mountains there are the largest reserves of iron, titanium, vanadium, copper and molybdenum ore on the European continent. The mountain plateaus are covered with dense forests. Waterfalls cascade down from the rocks. The Norwegians have built power plants on the rivers and send cheap electricity to other countries.

Continuing the traditions of the Vikings, the inhabitants of Norway are building modern sea vessels at the shipyards, and the merchant fleet of the Northern Kingdom is one of the largest in the world. Now do you understand why Norway is one of the richest countries in Europe and the world?

Norwegians value their state independence very much. The country received it only at the beginning of the last century. The proud descendants of the Vikings were part of Denmark for a long time, and then Sweden.

The King is one of the symbols of Norway's independence. He cannot independently make important decisions for the country, but he approves them, opens parliamentary meetings, and attends holidays. Royalty is a beautiful Norwegian tradition.

International Oslo

The name of the capital of the Northern Kingdom has nothing to do with the eared donkey. “The mouth (in Norwegian - os) of the river Lo - this is how this word is translated.

Oslo is the oldest capital of Northern Europe. The city is almost 1000 years old, but it returned its name less than 100 years ago. There are few ancient architectural monuments here, but there are picturesque shores of the fjord, an abundance of greenery and parks, more than 300 lakes.

Oslo began to grow along with the construction of the Akershus Fortress. The Norwegian kings did not accidentally choose this place in the southeast of the country for their residence. The city is located among the picturesque hills, where the Oslo Fjord ran deep into the land for a hundred kilometers. Here is the warmest place in Norway. Even in February in the capital, the thermometer rarely drops below -2 °C. A little more than half a million people live in Oslo, but almost half of the Norwegians settled in the neighborhood of the capital on the banks of the Oslo Fjord.

Fortress Akershus 8 centuries. It was rebuilt many times until it turned from a fortified castle into a magnificent palace. There are halls for ceremonial receptions, a beautiful park, and the last Norwegian kings rest in the tomb of the mausoleum. Part of the fortress is occupied by the Museum of Military History of Norway, so Akershus is open to tourists.

The main street of the Norwegian capital bears the name of the Swedish and Norwegian king Karl Johan and leads from the Central Station to the Palace of the Norwegian Kings. On the square in front of the palace stands an equestrian statue of Charles himself. In Norway, this man is greatly revered. It doesn't matter that he was French and his real name is Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. In Napoleon's army, Sergeant Jean rose to the rank of marshal. For special merits, the Swedes invited him to become their king. When it became clear that France would lose the war, the cunning Jean went over to the side of the enemy, took Norway from the Danes and gave it independence.

Karl Johan built the palace of the Norwegian kings for himself. Now the royal family lives in it. Sometimes tourists are allowed to inspect the rich chambers.

The length of the central street of Oslo is only a kilometer, but it divides the capital of Norway into two parts. In West Oslo, which stretches from the Royal Palace to Frogner Park, only native Norwegians and immigrants from Western European countries live. There are respectable cottages here, richness and chic are felt in everything.

Most of the city's population lives in East Oslo, but it is an area of ​​immigrants. Here in the schools, not only students, but also teachers are foreigners. Residential areas mainly consist of standard high-rise buildings. All peoples and races mixed up on the city streets.

Oslo is famous for its museums. To the delight of tourists, almost all of them are collected in one place - on the Bygdøy peninsula. This area is often referred to as Museum Island. Here are the open-air Norwegian Museum of Folk Life, the Viking Ship Museum, the Fram Museum, where you can see the ship of the polar explorer Raoul Amundsen, the Kon-Tiki Museum with the legendary ship Thor Heyerdahl.

Descendants of the Northern Gods. Vikings. Normans. Varangians

The Vikings suddenly broke into the life of Europe. In the middle of the 8th c. sharp-nosed boats began to moor to the shores of England, Ireland, and later France, Spain, Italy and other European countries. Bearded warriors in leather armor jumped out of them. The intruders were armed with swords, spears and battle axes. Their greed and cruelty knew no bounds. “From the fury of the Normans deliver us, O Lord!” — asked people in all churches. But the Normans, whom some nations called the Vikings, and the Slavs called the Varangians, did not worship the Christian god. They considered themselves descendants of the warlike gods of the North - Odin and Thor.

The Viking Age lasted three centuries in Europe. They not only robbed, but also laid great trade routes on the water: “Amber”, “From the Varangians to the Greeks”. The Normans collected tribute from the conquered lands, but more and more often laid cities and fortresses there. This is how Dublin was born. At the head of the ruling dynasties in foreign lands, the Vikings put their leaders-kings. It was in England and in Russia. And three centuries later, formidable warriors quietly left the historical stage.

Now the Viking Age is reminiscent of stones carved with runic inscriptions and archeological finds. There are sharp-nosed drakkar boats that have been recovered from the seabed. And, of course, the sagas created by the ancient skald poets.

In the homeland of the Vikings, in Norway, everything related to those times is carefully stored.

Who are they?

Vikings are not one people. Among them were the ancestors of the Swedes, Danes, but most of all Norwegians. Terrible Normans are simple Scandinavian peasants who became hungry and cramped in their native land. Therefore, they united in military squads and, led by the "sea prince", sailed to conquer the world.

How did you live?

Archaeologists have found traces of many settlements. Terrible Normans lived in long communal houses and obeyed the king-leader. They were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding, whaling, fishing. One of these villages has been restored in the Lofotr Museum in the Lofoten Islands.

What gods did they pray to?

northern gods was about a lot, but the aces were considered the main ones. In the sky in Asgard lived 12 gods and 14 goddesses. The Normans followed their precepts: they obtained wealth through robbery and deceit, and took revenge on their enemies. The main god Odin promised that the brave warriors who fell in battle would get to them in Asgard. The fighter with the giants, the god Thor, showed by personal example how to sacrifice everything for the sake of victory. He fearlessly placed his hand in the beast's mouth to distract it while the other gods chained the monster.

Why were they considered invincible?

The maneuverable Drakkars of the Normans are recognized as the most advanced ships of their time. On oars and under sail, these boats sailed the seas and rivers. Viking armor made of leather bound with metal was light and durable. A helmet, forged from metal, reliably protected the head. By the way, the Vikings had horns only on ritual helmets.

The squads often included specially trained berserk warriors. These people from childhood devoted themselves to serving the god Odin, they were fluent in any weapon, they did not feel pain and fear.

But most importantly, the Vikings appeared suddenly.

Norway began to free itself from the ice cover about 14,000 years ago, and, according to some estimates, parts of it have already been inhabited for at least 11,000 years. At first, people began to settle in the coastal strip, from where the glacier retreated, and by 9300 BC. e. settlements are already found in the Far North, up to the island of Magerøya (Finmark county), near the North Cape. The oldest finds of the Stone Age of the so-called Komsa culture, dating back to the 7th millennium BC. e., found in the Far North, in Tromsø and Finnmark, while in the south of the country the hunter-gatherer cultures of Nestvet and then Fosna became widespread. Agriculture appeared only in the IV millennium BC. e.

The Saami, one of the indigenous peoples of Northern Europe, settled in the north of Norway, according to some estimates, as early as 4000 years ago, moving from the east to the north of Russia, to Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Viking Age

From the end of the 8th century until the middle of the tenth century. Scandinavian peoples begin to play a prominent role in Europe. The Viking Age is coming. If the Swedish Vikings in their campaigns were mostly limited to the east, then the Norwegian and Danish Vikings rushed to the west, founding trading posts and settlements. Norwegian Vikings settled Shetland and Orkney, a significant part of Great Britain and Ireland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland. They even reached Greenland and what is now Newfoundland in Canada. If at first the Vikings staged ordinary raids on seaside or coastal settlements, then they soon began to winter in conveniently located places, thereby moving to settled life, and by the middle of the 9th century. they already ruled over the vast lands of Northern Europe, with their capital at Jorvik (now York in England).

Centuries-old trade ties with Britain began. When the Vikings appeared as a formidable force to be reckoned with, Norway at that time, as we now know, consisted of numerous princely possessions, incessantly warring among themselves in the struggle for supremacy.

According to tradition, Harald the Fair-Haired, who ruled in the coastal and southern lands of Norway in 872-930, is considered the first king to begin the unification of Norway.

Unification of Norway

The Vikings visited many European lands, getting acquainted with different peoples and cultures, and at the same time with Christianity. Until the 10th century the country remained pagan: the Vikings worshiped their gods. The beginning of the change was laid by the son of Harald Horfager (Fair-haired) Hakon, nicknamed the Good, who converted to Christianity in Britain. However, he himself did not decide to force his own faith on his subjects, so it fell to one of his successors, Olaf Haraldson, known as Olaf the Saint, who was then recognized as the patron saint of the country, to convert the Norwegians to Christianity. It was not religion that primarily drove Olaf's aspirations, but the desire to unite the people, so that he became the first king to rule Norway almost in its current borders, including the north and the lands stretching to the east.

He fell in the Battle of Stiklestad near Trondheim in 1030, and after his death was canonized. By the end of the century, the Christianization of the country was completed, and no religion was allowed here anymore.

Danish influence

The 13th century was a kind of golden age. Under Hakon VI, the kingdom and the Christian faith are further strengthened, the rise of such cities as Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim begins. The islands of Orkney, Shetland, Faroe, Hebrides and the Isle of Man belonged at that time to Norway, and in addition, she had an alliance with Greenland and Iceland. At the same time, royal sagas began to be created in Norway and Iceland, but at the same time the Viking era with leaders and fief (land) possessions ended, and in the united kingdom all the sons of the king, including illegitimate ones, were endowed with the same right to the paternal throne. The time has come for civil wars, vassalage and related marriages in order to somehow secure their own power.

After the marriage of King Hakon VI to Margarita, the daughter of the Danish king, his son Olaf in 1376 becomes the Danish king, and after the death of his father in 1380, the king of Norway. A long era of unions (unions) of the Scandinavian countries began.

In particular, the union of Norway with Denmark lasted almost continuously until 1814.

The plague epidemic, the so-called Black Death, was brought to Norway by ship from England, and it made real devastation here, reducing the population of the country by two-thirds in three years, from 1349 to 1351.

The deserted and bloodless region enters into a long period of decline. Queen Mother Margaret of Denmark succeeded in uniting Norway, Denmark and Sweden in 1397. This union lasted almost 140 years, until Sweden fell away in 1536. Norway remained in alliance with Denmark for almost 300 years. During this period, there is a further weakening of Norwegian independence and the influence of Denmark is growing stronger. The Danish supreme power in Norway was represented by governors elected by the Danish king. From the end of the XVI to the beginning of the XVIII century. Europe was shaken by wars, and as a result, the Norwegian-Danish alliance had to cede lands to Sweden, the sworn enemy of Denmark.

The French Revolution and the American War of Independence intensified in Norway, as elsewhere in the world, the aspirations for independence, but the future has prepared for the country another test before such aspirations come true.

Union with Sweden, 1814-1905

After the coalition of Denmark and Norway during the Napoleonic Wars was defeated in 1814, Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden, which was not very welcome in Norway itself, where over the past forty years the desire to gain independence has become even stronger. Therefore, the Norwegians decided to proclaim the independence of the country in Eidsvoll, adopting their own constitution on May 17, 1814. This date is now celebrated as Constitution Day. Sweden opposed, followed by a brief war, after which Sweden agreed to adopt a democratic Norwegian constitution and agree to a voluntary union with Norway, on the condition that the Danish prince Christian Frederik, who supported the Norwegians, abdicates the Norwegian throne.

After the agreements reached on November 4 of the same year, the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, agreed to elect the Swedish king as the ruler of Norway.

Independence

However, the awakened thirst for independence could no longer be drowned out. In 1905, 90 years after the conclusion of an alliance with Sweden, it collapsed without any bloodshed. But the event itself was preceded by several years of political disputes between the two states, but after collecting 250 thousand signatures in support of secession from the union, Sweden finally recognized the independence of Norway. But even earlier, a scientific and cultural upsurge begins in the country, writers such as Bjornstjerne Bjornson and Henrik Ibsen (who died a year after independence), the composer Edvard Grieg and the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen appear, forcing the attention of the whole world to Norway.

Laying the foundations of modern society

During the First World War, Norway was neutral, and it was in the early years of independence that industry began to grow stronger, laying the foundations of the welfare state and modern Norwegian society. The growth of industrial production and the economy continued into the interwar period, but when the Second World War broke out, Norway failed to remain neutral, and Germany invaded the country and occupied it from 1940 to 1945. The Norwegian National Socialist Vidkun Quisling collaborated so actively with the Third Reich, that his name has become associated with a traitor or anyone who collaborates with the occupation authorities. Many areas of Norway were badly damaged by the war, and the northern cities of Narvik and Bodø were heavily bombed. The war, with its consequences, apparently forced Norway to abandon neutrality forever, and when the NATO military bloc was formed in 1949, it was one of the first to join it. In addition, in 1959 it joined the EFTA (European Free Trade Association).

Luck again accompanies Norway when oil is found in the North Sea in the late 1960s. Oil fields make it possible to further improve the standard of living, and in 1972, during a national referendum, the Norwegians with a small majority voted against the country's entry into the European Union, and they will confirm this decision a little over 20 years later, in 1994.

At the beginning of the XX century. the country was busy with state building, then she had to endure all the hardships of the war, and then the country took an active part in European and world politics in maintaining peace. The current policy of Norway is aimed at supporting a long-standing working tradition that combines social democratic and liberal values. This approach encourages the development of industry and at the same time encourages government intervention in the economy and the strengthening of the general welfare through heavy taxes. The country, cherishing its independence, is pursuing a hard line on alcohol and does not abandon whaling, which has been practiced here for centuries, especially in the north. Norway has one of the highest standards of living in the world in terms of education, income and life expectancy, and is also ranked second in terms of gender equality according to the World Economic Forum.

Viking Age

Period between 800 and 1100 AD we call the Viking Age. At the beginning of the Viking Age, Norway was not a single state. The country was divided into many small principalities, each of which was headed by its own prince. In 872 the Viking Harald Fairhair became the first king of all of Norway.

Many Vikings sailed across the sea to other countries. Some of them were merchants who bought and sold goods, while others were warriors engaged in robbery and murder.

Today, when we talk about the Vikings, we often think of warriors.

The baptism of Norway took place in the 11th century. Christianity replaced the ancient pagan faith.

Danish-Norwegian union

In the XIV century, the influence of Denmark began to increase in Norway, and in 1397 Norway formally entered into an alliance with Denmark and Sweden. At the head of the union stood one common king. Some time later, Sweden withdrew from the union, but the union between Denmark and Norway continued until 1814.

Denmark ruled politics. Copenhagen became the union's cultural center and Norwegians read and wrote Danish. Norwegian peasants paid taxes to the king sitting in Copenhagen.

The collapse of the union and the new union

1814 is an important year in Norwegian history. On May 17 of this year, Norway received its own constitution.

At the beginning of the XIX century. battles raged on the fields of Europe. One of the biggest wars of that time was fought between England and France. Denmark-Norway took the side of France. And when France lost the war, the king of Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden, which stood on the side of England.

In 1814 the union between Denmark and Norway broke up. Many Norwegians hoped that after the collapse of the union, Norway would become an independent state, and several influential people gathered in the city of Eidsvoll in the county (province) of Akershus. One of the goals of this meeting was to write a constitution for an independent Norway. However, Norway was forced to enter into an alliance with Sweden, and in November 1814 the Swedish-Norwegian union became a fact.

The union with Sweden was looser than the previous union with Denmark. Norway retained its constitution with some modifications and had internal self-government. Foreign policy was determined by Sweden, and the Swedish king became king of both countries.

National romanticism and Norwegian identity

In the middle of the 19th century, a direction developed in European culture and art, which received the name of national romanticism. For the followers of this direction, it was important to highlight national features, their exaltation and embellishment. In Norway, the beauty of nature was especially emphasized, and the peasant way of life was considered "typically Norwegian" way of life.

National romanticism found its expression in literature, and in the visual arts, and in music. During this period, Norwegians increasingly began to realize their national identity. Many began to develop a sense of pride in belonging to Norway and, as a result, a strong desire for their country to gain independence.

The union with Denmark lasted for centuries, and therefore the written language in Norway was Danish. The written language that we know today as "Bokmål" is the same Danish language that has been further developed.

Both Bokmål and Nynorsk have undergone great changes since the 19th century. However, there are still two official forms of Norwegian in Norway in addition to Sami and Kven.

Industrialization of Norway

In the middle of the 19th century, about 70% of the Norwegian population lived in rural areas. They were mainly engaged in agriculture and fishing. The life of many of them was hard. The country's population grew, and there was no longer enough land and work for everyone.

Cities have also changed. More and more factories were opened, and many moved from the villages to the cities in search of work. City life was hard for many working-class families. Working days were long and living conditions were poor. Families often had many children, and often several families had to share a small apartment. Many children also had to work in factories, the only way their family could survive. Many Norwegians wanted to try their luck in other countries: between 1850 and 1920 over 800,000 Norwegians emigrated to America.

Free and independent country

In 1905, the union with Sweden was broken. There had been political differences between the Norwegian Storting and the King of Sweden for a long time, and at the beginning of the 20th century, more and more Norwegians believed that Norway should become a free and independent country.

On June 7, 1905, the Storting announced that the Swedish king was no longer the king of Norway and that the union with Sweden was terminated. This led to strong reactions in Sweden, and both Norway and Sweden were on the brink of war. In the same year, two national referendums were held, as a result of which it was decided that the union with Sweden was terminated, and the new state of Norway became a monarchy.

The Danish prince Carl was chosen as the new king of Norway. He took the Old Norse royal name Haakon. King Haakon VII was king of Norway from 1905 until his death in 1957.

First half of the 20th century

By the end of the 19th century, Norway began to use the energy of falling water to generate electricity. This led to the construction of new industrial enterprises. The need for labor increased, and cities grew. In accordance with a special law, private enterprises built hydroelectric power plants, but the water resources remained in public ownership.

In 1914-1918. battles of the 1st World War thundered on the fields of Europe. Norway did not take an active part in this war, but the economic consequences of the war were felt here too.

In the 30s. of the last century, an economic crisis erupted in Europe and North America. Many have lost their homes and jobs. Although the situation in Norway was not as difficult as in many other countries, we call this time the “hard 30s”.

World War II 1939/1940 - 1945

In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, thus starting World War II. On April 9, 1940, German troops occupied Norway.

The fighting in Norway lasted only a few days, and Norway capitulated. The king and the government moved to England, from where they continued the struggle for the liberation of the country. Norway was ruled by the pro-German, not democratically elected, government of Vidkun Quisling.

There were not many battles on Norwegian soil, but many resistance groups fought against the invaders, committing acts of sabotage, publishing underground newspapers and organizing civil disobedience and passive resistance to the authorities.

Many members of the Resistance were forced to flee the country. During the Second World War, about 50,000 Norwegians fled to Sweden.

German troops were defeated on all fronts of the war, and in May 1945 Germany capitulated.

During the war, about 9,500 Norwegians died.

Recent history of Norway

After the war, the country had to be rebuilt. There was a great shortage of goods and a shortage of housing in the country. To revive the country in the shortest possible time, joint work and solidarity were required. The state strictly regulated the economy and consumption.

Shortly after the end of the war, the United Nations (UN) was formed. The main task of the UN is to work for peace and justice throughout the world. Norway was one of the first countries to join the UN. This happened in November 1945.

After the war, the United States offered European countries economic assistance. This economic aid program, called the Marshall Plan, made economic and political demands on the recipient countries. Under this Plan, Norway received about $3 billion.

In 1949, Norway and 11 other countries signed the North Atlantic Pact. This led to the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO. Close ties between Western Europe and the United States continue to this day.

The economic situation of Norway in the 1950s and 1960s was relatively good, and the state introduced many reforms aimed at improving the lives of the population.

In the 1960s, a number of companies expressed their desire to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Norway. As with hydroelectric power fifty years earlier, oil resources remained in public ownership, and private companies were able to buy the rights to explore, drill and extract oil in limited areas and for a limited period of time. In 1969, oil was first found in the North Sea, and from that moment Norway began to develop as an oil power. Today, Norway is one of the largest oil exporting countries in the world, and the oil industry is of great importance to the Norwegian economy.

Large popular movements were also of great importance for the formation of modern Norway. The labor and women's movements played a particularly central role here. The roots of the labor movement in Norway go back to the 17th century. However, it became more organized in the 1980s, when a large number of new jobs were created in the country. The movement gained even more influence in the 1920s. The labor movement fought for better working conditions. Among the important objectives of the movement were the reduction of the working day, the improvement of workplace safety, workers' insurance against sickness, and the right to economic assistance for unemployment.

The women's movement fought for the rights of women in society, equality between the sexes and equal opportunities for men and women. Other important areas of struggle in the women's movement include the right to divorce, the right to use contraceptives, free abortion, and the right of women to dispose of their own bodies as they please. Today, men and women have equal rights to education and employment, to property and inheritance, to health care and good health.

Norway today

Today Norway is a modern democratic state with a high level of prosperity. Most people in Norway are economically well off and have a relatively high level of education. Both men and women participate in working life. Society is governed by a series of laws and treaties that provide the population with education, medical care, and, as needed, economic assistance.

The last decades have been characterized by a rapid level of development in the field of technology and computer technology. This was of great importance for Norway as well. New jobs are being created, the content of work is changing, and the personal life of most people is undergoing changes.

Over the past decades, Norway has developed into a multicultural and diverse society.