Year after year Norway, in the north of Europe , ranks first in the Human Development Index of the United Nations. This marker contemplates and measures all the nations of the world in three basic areas: life expectancy, education and the standard of living or income. Norway achieves superior qualifications in each of these aspects, which is why it is an ideal place to live. Join us to know 25 Curiosities of Norway. A surprising Viking country which is currently the envy of the planet.
25 Curiosities of Norway
Norway is one of the 3 countries that make up the Scandinavian peninsula, it is a constitutional monarchy and surprisingly it is not a member state of the European Union, although it is part of the European Economic Area. It has about 5'3 million inhabitants and its capital is Oslo. We will divide the curiosities of Norway in sections to facilitate reading. We hope you like them!
Norway's geographical and political curiosities
1. The original name of Norway was "Nordweg" which means "North Road" and its full name is currently "Kongeriket Norge" or Kingdom of Norway.
2. If you are in Norway and you want to buy beer you will have no problem finding it in any supermarket, but if you want to buy wine or liquor you will only find it in some stores called Vinmonopolet.
3. One of the curiosities of Norway is that if you have a television you are required to pay an annual license for having it.
4. An old rock carving in Rødøy in the county of Nordlan shows that 4,000 years ago Norwegians already used skis. The oldest skis found are 2,300 years old and were found in Finnmark, which is in northern Norway.
5. The continent's largest wild reindeer herd lives on a Norwegian plateau called Hardangervidda and is the largest mountainous plateau in Europe .
6. It was the Norwegians who founded Dublin, the capital of Ireland, in the year 836 AD.
7. The Saami or Lappish people, with their own language and culture, constitute 1% of the Norwegian population.
8. Norway was one of the founders of the United Nations in 1945 and Trygve Lie, who was the Foreign Minister of the country was the first Secretary General of the UN.
9. Roald Dahl , the famous writer author of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", was Norwegian-American and was inspired by the chocolate factory "Freia" for his book.
10. Alfred Nobel He was Swedish, but he gave Norway the privilege of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize.
11. Norway is the country with the most Olympic medals in the total number of Olympic Winter Games.
12. According to an old Norwegian saga was the Norwegian Bjarni Herjólfsson the first European to see the American continent in the year 986 when he lost the direction sailing between Iceland and Greenland.
13. Another of the curiosities of Norway is that its inhabitants are the most read in the world. Spending more than 80 euros per year in books per capita.
14. Norway is a very strict country, if you are stopped driving and you have drunk alcohol, you will go to jail for 30 days and your driver's license will be withdrawn for a year. You will only recover it after passing an exam.
Scandinavian Peninsula and Scandinavia
Do not confuse Scandinavian Peninsula with Scandinavia. The Scandinavian Peninsula It is made up of Norway, Sweden, Finland and a territory that belongs to Russia. Scandinavia is the union of the traditional Scandinavian countries: Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Some curiosities of Norway they have to do with the fact of being located in the Scandinavian Peninsula or be part of Scandinavia:
15. The Norwegian city of Kirkenes is located as far east as Cairo and very close to the border with Russia.
16. The Swedish company IKEA gives its products names related to cities in the countries of Scandinavia or the Scandinavian Peninsula . Norway has been replaced by beds, cabinets and hall furniture.
17. The flag of Norway is red with a blue cross outlined in white. These colors represent the old relationship of the country with the other members of Scandinavia.
Viking countries
18. Norway together with Sweden and Denmark form the so-called Viking countries , although many experts add to this group Iceland and Finland.
19. Norway was one of the Viking countries and for that reason it had a great impact on Western civilization. It all started when they ransacked the monastery of Lindisfarne in England in 793.
20. The viking Erik the Red was Norwegian, he was exiled from his country and was banished from Iceland, reaching Greenland where he founded two communities.
Norwegian Fjords
21. The fjords Norwegian They are one of the attractions of the country.
22. Of the Norwegian fjords , the biggest is the Sognefjorden that goes into the land 205 km. It is the third largest in the world.
23. In the Lysefjord, one of the Norwegian fjords The most famous is the famous Pulpit or Preikestolen.
Language of Norway
24. Although the Norueg language a is Norwegian, in fact there are two official languages, Riksmål or Bokmål, which closely resembles Danish and Nynorsk or Landsmål, which contains most dialects of Norwegian prior to Danish rule. In addition, several Sami languages are spoken.
Capital of norway
25. The Capital of norway , Oslo , is at the end of the Oslofjord a fjord that is almost 100 km. and 40 islands. In Oslo live King Harald V of Norway and Queen Sonja
Extra Curiosity: Dying is illegal in Longyearbyen since his cemetery does not admit more corpses after discovering that the permafrost prevented that the bodies decomposed
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