Portal:Norway
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Norway (Norwegian:Kongeriket Norge) is a Nordic country on the western part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, bordering Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Norway's extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean is home to its famous fjords.
The arctic archipelago of Svalbard is under Norwegian sovereignty under the Svalbard Treaty, while Jan Mayen is not part of the treaty. These arctic islands are not part of mainland Norway, although they are part of the Kingdom. Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean and Peter I Island in the South Pacific Ocean are also external dependencies, but these are not part of the Kingdom. Additionally, Norway has a claim for Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.
Norway is a constitutional monarchy, the current head of state being Harald V.
Norway possesses the second highest GDP per capita in the world, and the highest position in the World on the Human Development Index (HDI) for the fifth consecutive year. The Norwegian economy is an example of mixed economy, featuring a combination of free market activity and government intervention. The government controls key areas, such as the vital petroleum sector and the electricity production. The control mechanisms over the petroleum resources is a combination of state ownership in major operators in the Norwegian fields (Statoil ca 70% in 2005, Norsk Hydro 43% in 2004) while specific taxes on oil-profits for all operators are set to 78%, finally the government controls licensing of exploration and production of fields. The country is richly endowed with natural resources: petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals. Norway has obtained one of the highest standards of living in the world, partly from petroleum production. Norway also has a very high employment ratio.
Borgund stave church (Borgund stavkyrkje) is a stave church located in Lærdal, Norway. This is also Norway's best preserved stave church. The church was probably built in the end of the 12th century, and has not changed structure or had a major reconstruction since that date. The church site shows evidence of a previous building, which can point to an earlier church or perhaps an old pagan temple that had been taken into use as a church. The interior of the church, except for the pulpit and the altarpiece, is mainly free from the post-Reformation decorations seen in most other stave churches.
- ...that Norwegian is so closely related to Swedish and Danish that the languages are mutually intelligible to citizens from the three countries?
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- The microcredit Grameen Bank and its creator, Muhammad Yunus, are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below."
The Norwegian Parliament appoints the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which selects the Laureate for the Peace Prize. The Peace Prize is awarded annually in Oslo, Norway.
Lars Saabye Christensen (born September 21, 1953) received the The Nordic Council's Literature Prize for his book The Halfbrother.
- 1634 - Dorothe Engelbretsdotter (born January 16, 1634 in Bergen, Norway, died February 19, 1713 in Bergen), was Norway's first recognized woman author.
- 1897 - Carl Abraham Pihl (born January 16 1825 in Stavanger, Norway, died September 14, 1897) in 1865) became Norway's first railroad engineer and director.
Norway • Culture • Foreign relations • Geography • History • Law • Military • Natural history • People • Politics • Science • Tourism • • Cities • Regions
