The young nation has a strong sense of national identity, although it is divided over a language problem. In the mid-19th century a new literary language. Landsmal was fostered to challenge the official language of Riksmal, which had lingered from the days of Danish rule. The two variants burden the schoolroom, complicate signposts and con-round mapmakers. There is a third language in northern Norway: that of 25 000 Lapps, about a quarter of whom are involved in traditional reindeer husbandry.
Norway has had some internationally famous heroes such as the Arctic explorers Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) and Roald Amundsen (1872-1928) who beat a British party led by Captain Robert Scott in the race to the South Pole in 1911. More recently, the explorer and anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl sailed his raft Kon-Tiki from Peru across the Pacific Ocean to the TUAMOTU islands in 1947.
The reputation of Norwegian literature was made by the playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), whose plays portray Norwegian life. The composer Edvard Grieg (1843-1907), whose music is part of the international concert repertoire, was inspired by the folk tunes of his native Norway.
Today, Norwegians have a high standard of living. Few people are very rich (the exceptions are mostly ship-owning families) and few are very poor. The welfare state provides services even to the most isolated of the scattered communities. There is space for everyone and the majority of people own their houses. Most also have leisure homes on the shores of seas and lakes. There is leisure fishing for everyone - its salmon fishing is renowned - and the country has 250 000 pleasure boats. Norway rivals Switzerland for skiing and mountaineering (indeed, Norwegians invented skiing), and woodlands offer elk hunting.
A referendum in Norway voted against membership of the European Economic Community in I 972, but the country is a member of the European Free Trade Association and the Nordic Council (with Denmark, Sweden. Finland and Iceland). Norway was a founder member of NATO, but is opposed to the stationing of foreign troops and atomic weaponry on its soil.
NORWAY AT A GLANCE
Area 324 219 km2 (125_180 sq miles)
Population 4 170 000
Capital Oslo
Government Parliamentary monarchy
Currency Krone = l00 ore
Languages Norwegian (old - Riksmal, new -Landsmal), Lappish and Finnish
Religion Christian (88% Evangelical Lutheran, 1 % Pentecostalist)
Climate Temperate; cold in the north. Average temperature in Oslo ranges from -7 to -2'C(19-28F) in January to 13-22°C (55-72°F) in July
Major industries Mining, crude oil and natural gas refining, mineral refining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, fishing, forestry, timber products
Main exports Crude oil and natural gas, aluminium and other nonferrous metals, chemicals, ships, machinery, fish, petroleum products, iron and steel, paper, timber products
Locals hypothesize that the legacy of Italian blood and culture in Cologne, colonized by the Romans more than 1500 years ago, makes the people more jovial and lighthearted. Cologne is the largest city on the Rhine.
Kolsch is not only the dialect spoken here but, also the name of their own top-fermented beer. There are more than 4,000 pubs, restaurant's and brewery taverns in Cologne.
Unlike many of the world's large cities, Cologne, with a population of over a million, gets better every day, there are more things to do and see, more new and innovative buildings... more
Travel is an opportunity to learn, whether geography, languages, history or other subjects.
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Cologne is situated on the beautiful Rhine River.