Riksforsamlingen
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Riksforsamlingen is a Norwegian term approximately meaning "The National Assembly".
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[edit] The Assembly
Riksforsamlingen is the name given to the 1814 Assembly of Eidsvoll, Norway. The Assembly, which was composed of delegates from the whole country, was convened to forge the Norwegian Constitution ("Norges grunnlov"). The delegates were popularly dubbed the Eidsvollsmennene ("Eidsvoll people").
The Assembly met in the Eidsvollsbygningen (“Eidsvoll Building”) and agreed to the Constitution on 16 May 1814. It was signed and dated May 17, 1814, which has been made the Norwegian National Day.
(N.B. Etymology: The prefix "Rik-" in Norwegian has a germanic root (Reich in German, Rijk in Dutch, Rige in Danish, Rike in Swedish), meaning "realm" and "forsamlingen" is "assembly".)
[edit] Background
After the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden, without the consent of the Norwegian people. At Eidsvoll, the Norwegian Constitution was signed, formalising Norway’s independence from its 500 year union with Denmark. The delegates (‘Eidsvollmennene’) elected Prince Christian Frederick to be King of Norway. As a result of this, Sweden declared war on Norway. This war lasted six months, at the end of which a peace treaty established Norway and Sweden as separate kingdoms, under a common monarch (King Charles XIII), who consented to recognise the Constitution of 17 May. The Norwegian people remained discontented with this arrangement, wanting full independence. In 1905 the ties between Norway and Sweden were peacefully dissolved, giving Norway its full independence.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- This article is based on a translation of an article from the Norwegian Wikipedia.
