Portal:Norway/Selected article
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents |
[edit] Instructions
The layout design for these subpages is at Portal:Norway/Selected article/Layout.
- Add a new Selected article to the next available subpage.
- Only articles that have been given a "B" class rating or higher should be added.
- The "blurb" for all selected articles should be approximately 10 lines, for appropriate formatting in the portal main page.
- Update "max=" to new total for its {{Random portal component}} on the main page.
[edit] Selected articles list
Portal:Norway/Selected article/1
Chrome Division is a heavy metal band from Norway formed in 2004 by Shagrath, the lead vocalist of symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, and Lex Icon, founder of The Kovenant. Although it was not intended as such, it is now considered a side project of Shagrath's, and the current lineup consists of him on rhythm guitar, along with Eddie Guz as the vocalist, Ricky Black on lead guitar, Björn Luna on bass guitar and Tony White on drums. The band plays in the style of bands such as Motörhead, and draws heavily upon imagery from the motorcycling subculture. To date, Chrome Division has released one album, Doomsday Rock 'N' Roll, but the band has signed a three-album deal with Nuclear Blast, and both Shagrath and Luna have promised that there are more to come. Chrome Division also released a music video for the song "Serial Killer" in an attempt to publicise the album, directed by noted Swedish director Patrick Ullaeus.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/2
The naval Battle of Svolder (Svold, Swold) was fought in September 999 or 1000 somewhere in the western Baltic between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies. The backdrop of the battle is the unification of Norway into a single state, long-standing Danish efforts to gain control of the country, and the spread of Christianity in Scandinavia. King Olaf was sailing home after an expedition to Wendland (Pomerania), when he was ambushed by an alliance of Svein Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Olaf Eiríksson, King of Sweden, and Eirik Hákonarson, Jarl of Lade. Olaf had only 11 warships in the battle against a fleet of at least 70. His ships were cleared one by one, last of all the Long Serpent, which Jarl Eirik captured as Olaf threw himself into the sea. After the battle, Norway was ruled by the Jarls of Lade as a fief of Denmark and Sweden. The most detailed sources on the battle, the kings' sagas, were written approximately two centuries after it took place. Historically unreliable, they offer an extended literary account describing the battle and the events leading up to it in vivid detail. The sagas ascribe the causes of the battle to Olaf Tryggvason's ill-fated marriage proposal to Sigrid the Haughty and his problematic marriage to Thyri, sister of Svein Forkbeard. As the battle starts Olaf is shown dismissing the Danish and Swedish fleets with ethnic insults and bravado while admitting that Eirik Hákonarson and his men are dangerous because "they are Norwegians like us". The best known episode in the battle is the breaking of Einarr Þambarskelfir's bow, which heralds Olaf's defeat. In later centuries, the saga descriptions of the battle, especially that in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, have inspired a number of ballads and other works of literature.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/3
The Norwegian Jarmann M1884 was among the first bolt action repeating rifles to be adopted in the Western world. Its adoption, and subsequent modifications, turned the Norwegian Army from a fighting force armed with single-shot black powder weapons into a force armed with modern repeating weapons firing smokeless ammunition. Several thousand were manufactured to equip both Norwegian and Swedish forces in the 1880s. The design is unique, and was the brainchild of Norwegian engineer Jacob Smith Jarmann. After the design had been phased out of the Norwegian Army, a number of the weapons were rebuilt as harpoon guns.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/4
The Kammerlader, or chamber loader, was the first Norwegian breech loading rifle, and among the very first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. A single shot black powder rifle, the kammerlader was operated with a crank mounted on the side of the receiver. This made it much quicker and easier to load than the weapons previously used. Kammerladers quickly gained a reputation for being fast and accurate rifles, and would have been a deadly weapon against massed ranks of infantry. The kammerlader was introduced in 1842, and it is thought that about 40,000 were manufactured until about 1870. While first flintlock breech loading rifles, such as Ferguson, were launched decades before 1842 Norway was the first European country to introduce breech loaders on a large scale throughout its army and navy. Though United States was the first in the world with M1819 Hall rifle. The kammerladers were manufactured in several different models, and most models were at some point modified in some way or other. The kammerladers were phased out as more modern rifles were approved for use. They were either modified for rimfire cartridges, sold off to civilians or melted for scrap. Rifles sold to civilians were often modified for use as shotguns or hunting firearms. Today it is hard to find an unmodified kammerlader, and collectors often pay high prices for them.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/5
The Krag-Jørgensen is a repeating bolt action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Denmark, the United States and Norway. A distinctive feature of the Krag-Jørgensen action was its magazine. While many other rifles of its era used an integral box magazine, the magazine of the Krag-Jørgensen was integral with the receiver (the part of the rifle that houses the operating parts), featuring an opening on the right hand side with a hinged cover. The cartridges were inserted through the side opening, and were pushed up, around, and into the action by a spring follower. This presented both advantages and disadvantages compared with a top-loading "box" magazine, which were often fed using a "stripper clip". While a similar claw type clip would be made that could allow the magazine to be loaded all at once, normal loading was one cartridge at a time. However, the design was easy to "top off", and unlike most top-loading magazines, the Krag-Jørgensen's magazine could be topped up without opening the rifle's bolt. The relative complexity of manufacturing this magazine has been suggested as a reason why many countries did not adopt the Krag-Jørgensen. For others, the magazine's features likely aided adoption. The next major US rifle also had a magazine-lock off. Today, the Krag-Jørgensen is a popular rifle among collectors, and is valued by shooters for its smooth action.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/6
The Krag-Petersson rifle was the first repeating rifle adopted by the armed forces of Norway, and one of the first repeating arms used anywhere in the world. Developed by Ole Herman Johannes Krag, the action of the Krag-Petersson was uniquely actuated by the oversized hammer. Another distinguishing feature was that the cartridge rising from the magazine was not seated automatically, but had to be pushed into the breech of the rifle. Testing by the Norwegian military revealed that the Krag-Petersson was a robust, accurate and quick firing weapon, and the Royal Norwegian Navy adopted the rifle in 1876. The rifle was also extensively tested by other nations, but not adopted. After being phased out around 1900, the remaining rifles were sold off to civilians, and often extensively rebuilt. Today it is so difficult to find one in original condition that the Krag-Petersson has been described as "the rifle everybody has heard about, but hardly anybody has ever seen". It was the first rifle designed by Ole H. J. Krag to be adopted by an armed force.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/7
Operation Clambake, also referred to by its Web address, Xenu.net, is a website launched in 1996 that publishes mostly critical information about the Church of Scientology. It is owned and maintained by Andreas Heldal-Lund, who has stated that he supports the rights of all people to practice Scientology or any religion, though Operation Clambake has also referred to Scientology as: "a vicious and dangerous cult that masquerades as a religion." The site includes articles, exposés, and primary source documents. The site has been ranked as high as the third spot in Google searches for the term "Scientology". After the site hosted Scientology documents pertaining to Xenu and OT III, the Church of Scientology attempted to get this material removed through use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). After receiving a DMCA takedown notice, Google removed many Xenu.net pages from its indexes. This inspired Google to contribute to the Chilling Effects archive, informing others about material missing from Google indexes due to DMCA takedown notices and other legal threats.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/8
Bjørnøya (IPA: [ˈbjøːɳøja]), meaning "Bear Island" in Norwegian, is an arctic island of Norway that forms the southernmost part of Svalbard. It is located in the western part of the Barents Sea, approximately halfway between Spitsbergen and the North Cape. It was discovered by Willem Barents and Jacob van Heemskerk on 10 June 1596, and it was named when a polar bear was seen swimming nearby. Bjørnøya was considered terra nullius until the Svalbard Treaty of 1920 placed it under Norwegian sovereignty. Despite its remote location and barren nature, the island has seen commercial activities in past centuries, such as coal mining, fishing and whaling. However, no settlements have lasted more than a few years, and Bjørnøya is now uninhabited except for personnel working at the island's meteorological station. Along with the adjacent waters, Bjørnøya was declared a nature reserve in 2002.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/9
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish and Norwegian: Nobels fredspris) is the name of one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." The Peace Prize is awarded annually in Oslo, the capital of Norway (Alfred Nobel's will stated that the Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded in that city). The actual prize is presented on the 10th of December, the anniversary of the death of Nobel, with the Norwegian king is in attendance. The Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony is held at the Oslo City Hall, followed the next day by the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which is broadcast to more than 450 million households in over 150 countries around the world. The concert has received worldwide fame and the participation of top celebrity hosts and performers. The selection of Nobel Peace Prize winners sometimes causes controversy, as the list of winners includes people who formerly used violent methods of problem-solving, but then later made exceptional concessions to non-violence in the attempt to achieve peace. This is the only Nobel Prize not given out in Stockholm, Sweden.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/10
Oslo (called Christiania from 1624 to 1878, and Kristiania from 1878 to 1924) is the capital and largest city of Norway. It is also a municipality, and a county of its own. The city of Oslo was established as a municipality on 3 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). It was separated from the county of Akershus as a county of its own in 1842. The rural municipality of Aker was merged with Oslo on 1 January 1948 (and then transferred from Akershus county to Oslo county). The population of the city proper is 548,617 (as of January 1, 2007). The city area extends into the surrounding county of Akershus, its agglomeration totaling 839,423, and its metropolitan area, also referred to as the Greater Oslo region (Stor-Osloregionen) and which extends beyond the city boundaries, has an estimated population of 1,121,020 citizens (2005) and a land area of 6,920 km². In the entire Oslo Fjord Region, there is a total population of about 1.7 million. Oslo has a current annual growth exceeding 15,000. The city centre of Oslo is situated at the end of the Oslofjord from where the city sprawls out both to the north and to the south on both sides of the fjord giving the city area more or less the shape of a "U". The urban municipality (bykommune) of Oslo and county (fylke) is the same entity. Of Oslo's total area, 115 km² is built-up and 7 km² is agricultural. The open areas within the built-up zone amount to 22 km².
Portal:Norway/Selected article/11
Situated in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway, Atlanterhavsveien (lit. The Atlantic Road) is the part of National Road No. 64 (RV 64) that connects the island of Averøy to Vevang, Eide, on the mainland; by extension, the road connects the cities of Kristiansund and Molde. Construction work on the road started on August 1, 1983, with the opening taking place on July 7, 1989. During this period there were no less than 12 hurricanes in the area. The 8.3 km (5 mile) long road is built on several small islands and skerries, and is spanned by eight bridges and several landfills. This road has an open sea view which is not so common for roads along the Norwegian coast, since there are archipelagos that obscures this view. Here the distance between the islands is so small that a road could be built across the archipelago. In addition there are fjords and mountains inside the road.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/12
The Battle of Kringen was an ambush perpetrated by a Norwegian peasant militia against Scottish soldiers who were on their way to enlist in the Swedish army for the Kalmar War. By all accounts, the battle took on a character of a massacre, as the Scottish soldiers were lightly armed and many were summarily executed on the battlefield or shortly thereafter. The battle has since become a part of folklore in Norway, giving names to local places in the Otta region. A longstanding misconception was that George Sinclair, chief of the Highland Clan Sinclair was the commander of the forces; in fact, he was subordinate to Ramsay.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/13
The Common Seal (UK, Ireland), Harbor Seal (U.S.) or Harbour Seal (Canada), Phoca vitulina is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern hemisphere. They are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as those of the Baltic and North Seas, making them the most wide-ranging of the pinnipeds (walruses, eared seals, and true seals). Common seals are brown, tan, or gray, with distinctive V-shaped nostrils. An adult can attain a length of 1.85 meters and a mass of 130 kilos. Females outlive males (30-35 years versus 20-25 years). With an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 individuals, the population is not threatened as a whole; most subspecies are secure in numbers with the Greenland, Hokkaidō and Baltic Sea populations being exceptions. Local populations have been reduced or eliminated through outbreaks of disease and conflict with humans, both unintentionally and intentionally. While it is legal to kill seals which are perceived to threaten fisheries in the United Kingdom, Norway and Canada, commercial hunting is illegal; the seals are also taken in subsistence hunting and accidentally as bycatch in fishing nets.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/14
The Flag of Norway is red with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark. The proportions of the national flag are 22:16 (width to height), its colour elements having a width of 6:1:2:1:12 and a height of 6:1:2:1:6. The proportions of the state flag are 27:16, or 6:1:2:1:6:11 horizontally and 6:1:2:1:6 vertically. The red colour shall be PMS 032 U and the blue PMS 281 U in the Pantone system. This approximates to the RGB values #EF2B2D (red) and #002868 (blue).
Portal:Norway/Selected article/15
Hammerfest is a city and municipality in the county of Finnmark, Norway. The municipality encompasses parts of three islands; Kvaløya, Sørøya and Seiland. Hammerfest was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of low population, and very few voters, this was impossible to carry out for Hammerfest in 1838. (See also Vadsø and Vardø.) The rural district of Hammerfest (Sørøysund) was separated from the city January 1, 1852 - but it was again merged with the city January 1, 1992. (But without the area of Kvalsund, which was separated from Sørøysund as a municipality of its own 1869.)
Portal:Norway/Selected article/16
Harstad is a city and municipality in Norway. The town of Harstad was separated from Trondenes January 1, 1904. The municipalities of Sandtorg and Trondenes were merged with Harstad January 1, 1964. Harstad is located approximately 250 km (150 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. It is the second largest city in the county of Troms, and the third largest in North Norway, by population. This makes Harstad the natural centre for its district. The city celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004. The municipality is located on two islands in south Troms. Most of the municipality is located on Hinnøya, which is Norway's second largest island, after Svalbard. The northern part of the municipality is located on the southern third of Grytøya. Harstad is bordered by Bjarkøy to the north, Kvæfjord to the west and Tjeldsund (in the county of Nordland) to the south. To the southeast the Tjeldsund Bridge connects Hinnøya with Skånland and the mainland across Tjeldsundet, and to the northeast is the fjord Vågsfjorden, where Harstad shares a water border with Ibestad. The city itself is located northeast on Hinnøya; it is the only city on the island, and is popularly known as Vågsfjordens perle (The pearl of Vågsfjorden).
Portal:Norway/Selected article/17
Islam is the largest minority religion in Norway with over 2% of the population. In 2006, government statistics registered 72,023 members of Islamic congregations in Norway. 56% lived in the counties of Oslo and Akershus. Scholarly estimates from 2005 regarding the number of people of Islamic background in Norway vary between 120,000 and 150,000. The vast majority have an immigrant background. The Islamic community in Norway is highly diverse, but many mosques are organised in the umbrella organisation Islamic Council Norway (Islamsk Råd Norge). Muslims in Norway are a very fragmented group, coming from many different backgrounds. Kari Vogt estimated in 2000 that there were about 500 Norwegian converts to Islam. The rest are mostly first or second generation immigrants from a number of countries. The largest immigrant communities from Muslim countries in Norway are from Pakistan, Iraq and Somalia. The Turkish, Pakistani and Iranian communities are quite established in Norway. 55% of Iranians have lived in Norway more than 10 years. The Iraqis are a more recent group, with 80% of the Iraqi community having arrived in the past 10 years. In the 1990s there was a wave of asylum seekers from the Balkans. In recent years most immigrants arrive as part of family reunification.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/18
The Kalmar Union (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Kalmarunionen) is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions (1397–1524) that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway (with Iceland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Shetland and Orkney) and Sweden (including some of Finland) under a single monarch, though intermittently. The countries had not technically given up their sovereignty, nor their independence, but in practical terms, they were only autonomous, the common monarch holding the sovereignty and, particularly, leading foreign policy; diverging interests (especially the Swedish nobility's dissatisfaction over the dominant role played by Denmark and Holstein) gave rise to a conflict that would hamper the union in several intervals from the 1430s until the union's breakup in 1523 when Gustav Vasa became king of Sweden. The union was never formally dissolved - some argue that its conception actually was never ratified either. Norway and her overseas dependencies, however, continued to remain a part of the realm of Denmark-Norway under the Oldenburg dynasty for several centuries after the dissolution.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/19
Guovdageaidnu (Sami language) or Kautokeino (Norwegian language) (Koutokeino in Finnish language) is a municipality in the county of Finnmark, Norway. The administration is located in the township of Guovdageaidnu/ Kautokeino. The municipality was part of the old Kistrand municipality until 1851. The name of the municipality was Kautokeino until 1987 when it was changed to Guovdageaidnu-Kautokeino. It was the first municipality in Norway to get a Sami name. In 2005 the name was again changed, such that the either Guovdageaidnu or Kautokeino can be used. Guovdageaidnu/ Kautokeino is probably the cultural center of Northern Sápmi today. The most significant industries are reindeer herding, theatre/movie industry, and the public education system. In the township of Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino) live about 2000 of the 3000 people in the municipality. The village of Máze has 400 people, while the remaining live in 14 smaller villages. Recently the population has increased about 80 people each year. Guovdageaidnu/ Kautokeino has different demographics than the county of Finnmark and Norway, in that more than 50% of the population is younger than 30 years. Also, the number of people older than 66 years is half of the national average.
Portal:Norway/Selected article/20
Kvens (kveeni in Kven language / Finnish; kvener in Norwegian, and láddelažžat in Northern Sami) are a Norwegian ethnic minority descended from Finnish peasants and fishermen who emigrated from the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Northern Norway in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1996 the Kvens were granted minority status in Norway, and in 2005 the Kven language was recognized as a minority language in Norway. The term Kven has been continuously in use in Norway, from the Middle Ages up to the present age, to describe descendants of Finnish speaking people who immigrated to Northern Norway from the 16th century up to World War II. The origin of the term Kven is disputed as is the fate of the medieval Kvens. There is little evidence that modern Kvens are direct descendants of Kvenland mentioned in a few ancient Norwegian and Icelandic sources. Due to the discrimination and suppression by the Norwegian authorities the term Kven became derogatory in the late 19th century. Therefore, many Kvens, preferred to be called 'suomalaiset' (finns). But with the revitalization of the Kven culture in the 1970s Kvens themselves started using the term. However, even in the 1990s there was a debate whether the Norwegian terms 'finne', 'finsk', or 'finskætted' (respectively a Finnish person, Finnish, and of Finnish origin) should be used instead. However, today the term Kven is accepted and used for example in the name of the Kven organization in Norway (Norske Kveners Forbund).
[edit] Nominations
- Adding articles
- Feel free to add Featured or Good quality Norway articles to the above list.
- You can also ask for help at Portal talk:Norway.
