Norway

Norway or Norge (Bokmål), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island.[note 1] Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of about 4.99 million. It is the second least densely populated country in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; in its south Norway borders the Skagerrak Strait across from Denmark. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.

Norwegian lowland landscape near the Gaulosen branch of Trondheimsfjord

Two centuries of Viking raids tapered off following the adoption of Christianity by King Olav Tryggvason in 994. A period of civil war ended in the 13th century when Norway expanded its control overseas to parts of the British Isles, Iceland, and Greenland. Norwegian territorial power peaked in 1265, but competition from the Hanseatic League and the spread of the Black Death weakened the country. In 1380, Norway was absorbed into a union with Denmark that lasted more than four centuries. In 1814, Norwegians resisted the cession of their country to Sweden and adopted a new constitution. Sweden then invaded Norway but agreed to let Norway keep its constitution in return for accepting the union under a Swedish king. Rising nationalism throughout the 19th century led to a 1905 referendum granting Norway independence. Although Norway remained neutral in World War I, it suffered heavy losses to its shipping. Norway proclaimed its neutrality at the outset of World War II, but was nonetheless occupied for five years by the Third Reich. In 1949, neutrality was abandoned and Norway became a founding member of NATO. Discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. In referenda held in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU. Key domestic issues include immigration and integration of ethnic minorities, maintaining the country's extensive social safety net with an aging population, and preserving economic competitiveness.

Reine in Lofoten, Northern Norway

Norway is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with King Harald V as its head of state and Jens Stoltenberg as its prime minister. It is a unitary state with administrative subdivisions on two levels known as counties (fylke) and municipalities (kommunar). The Sámi people have a certain amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament and the Finnmark Act. Although having rejected European Union membership in two referenda, Norway maintains close ties with the union and its member countries, as well as with the United States. Norway remains one of the biggest financial contributors to the United Nations, and participates with UN forces in international missions, notably in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Sudan and Libya. Norway is a founding member of the United Nations, NATO, the Council of Europe, and the Nordic Council; a member of the European Economic Area, the WTO, and the OECD; and is also a part of Schengen Area.

Rondeslottet in Rondane National Park, Eastern Norway

Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower. On a per-capita basis, it is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East, and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. The country maintains a Nordic welfare model with universal health care, subsidized higher education, and a comprehensive social security system. From 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 through 2011, Norway has had the highest human development index ranking in the world.

Feigefossen, Sogn og Fjordane

Climate

The southern and western parts of Norway experience more precipitation and have milder winters than the southeastern part. The lowlands around Oslo have the warmest and sunniest summers but also cold weather and snow in wintertime (especially inland).

Norway is mountainous, but there are also some flat areas like Jæren, Toten and Ørlandet

Because of Norway's high latitude, there are large seasonal variations in daylight. From late May to late July, the sun never completely descends beneath the horizon in areas north of the Arctic Circle (hence Norway's description as the "Land of the Midnight Sun"), and the rest of the country experiences up to 20 hours of daylight per day. Conversely, from late November to late January, the sun never rises above the horizon in the north, and daylight hours are very short in the rest of the country.

Loen, a small village on the Western coast of Norway

Biodiversity

The total number of species include 16,000 species of insects (probably 4,000 more species yet to be described), 20,000 species of algae, 1,800 species of lichen, 1,050 species of mosses, 2,800 species of vascular plants, up to 7,000 species of fungi, 450 species of birds (250 species nesting in Norway), 90 species of mammals, 45 fresh-water species of fish, 150 salt-water species of fish, 1,000 species of fresh-water invertebrates and 3,500 species of salt-water invertebrates. About 40,000 of these species have been described by science. The red list of 2010 encompasses 4,599 species.

The Storting is the Parliament of Norway

Seventeen species are listed mainly because they are endangered on a global scale, such as the European beaver, even if the population in Norway is not seen as endangered. The number of threatened and near-threatene species equals to 3,682; it includes 418 fungi species, many of which are closely associated with the small remaining areas of old-growth forests, 36 bird species, and 16 species of mammals. As of 2010, 2,398 species were listed as endangered or vulnerable; of these are 1250 listed as vulnerable (VU), 871 as endangered (EN), and 276 species as critically endangered (CR), among these are the gray wolf, the Arctic fox (healthy population on Svalbard) and the pool frog.

Bryggen in Bergen is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The largest predator in Norwegian waters is the sperm whale, and the largest fish is the basking shark. The largest predator on land is the polar bear, while the brown bear is the largest predator on the Norwegian mainland, where the common moose (also known as the "European Elk") is the largest animal.

Agriculture is a significant sector, in spite of the mountainous landscape (Flakstad)

Transport

Due to the low population density, narrow shape and long coastlines, public transport in Norway is less developed than in many European countries, especially outside the cities. As such, Norway has old water transport traditions, but the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications has in recent years implemented rail, road and air transport through numerous subsidiaries in order to develop the country's infrastructure. Most recently there has been discussion of the possibility of created a new high-speed rail system between the nation's largest cities.

Norway's main railway network consists of 4,114 kilometres (2,556 mi) of standard gauge lines, of which 242 kilometres (150 mi) is double track and 64 kilometres (40 mi) high-speed rail (210 km/h) while 62% is electrified at 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC. The railways transported 56,827,000 passengers 2,956 million passenger kilometres and 24,783,000 tonnes of cargo 3,414 million tonne kilometres. The entire network is owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration,[84] while all domestic passenger trains except the Airport Express Train are operated by Norges Statsbaner (NSB). Several companies operate freight trains.

NSB type 73 at Oslo Central Station, the largest railway station in the country

Investment in new infrastructure and maintenance is financed through the state budget, and subsidies are provided for passenger train operations. NSB operates long-haul trains, including night trains, regional services and four commuter train systems, around Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen and Stavanger.

Norwegian and Scandinavian aircraft at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen

 

There are approximately 92,946 kilometres (57,754 mi) of road network in Norway, of which 72,033 kilometres (44,759 mi) are paved and 664 kilometres (413 mi) are motorway. There are four tiers of road routes; national, county, municipal and private, with only the national roads numbered en route. The most important national routes are part of the European route scheme, and the two most prominent are the E6 going north-south through the entire country, while E39 follows the West Coast. National and county roads are managed by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim

Of the 97 airports in Norway, 52 are public, and 46 are operated by the state-owned Avinor. Seven airports have more than one million passengers annually. 41,089,675 passengers passed through Norwegian airports in 2007, of which 13,397,458 were international.

The main building of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim

The central gateway by air to Norway is Oslo Airport, Gardermoen,] located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Oslo with departures to most European countries and some intercontinental destinations. It is hub for the two major Norwegian airlines Scandinavian Airlines System and Norwegian Air Shuttle, and for regional aircraft from Western Norway.

 Urnes Stave Church has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site

 The small town Røros has small streets and old houses

 Fredrikstad

 

 Tønsberg

 

 Trondheim

 

 Kristiansand

 

 Bergen

 

 Skien

 Drammen

 Oslo

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Finland-Santa Claus Village

Santa Claus office

Santa Claus Village is an amusement park near Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland.

The Arctic circle line

Location and transportation

Santa Claus Village is located about 8 km northeast of Rovaniemi and about 2 km from the Rovaniemi Airport.

Rovaniemi city bus route 8 travels between the Rovaniemi Railway Station and the Santa Claus Village. The bus trip takes about 30 minutes.

Attractions

Arctic Circle: The Arctic Circle cuts right through Santa Claus Village. A white line denoting the Arctic Circle is painted across the park. Visitors officially enter the Arctic area when they cross the line. The line is a very popular photo spot for visitors.

l   Santa Claus Post Office: A large variety of Christmas related items, Christmas cards and CDs are sold in the post office. All mail sent from this post office is postmarked with a special Santa Claus postmark. Visitors can also specify their mail to be sent at the next Christmas, regardless of when they actually visit the post office and send their items.

l   Santa Claus's Office: A Santa Claus's Office is located inside the main building of the Village, for visitors to take photographs and chat with the Santa Claus. However, there is an "office hour" for the Santa Claus and he may not be in the office all the time even when the Village is open.

l   Other attractions: There are also many shops and restaurants inside the park selling a variety of items related to Santa Claus and the Lapland region. (see Details of attractions in Santa Claus Village)

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Finland-Hameenlinna

View of Lake Vanajavesi, next to Hämeenlinna. The castle is visible to the right.

Hämeenlinna (Swedish: Tavastehus) is a city and municipality of about 67,000 inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the province of Southern Finland. Nearby cities include the capital Helsinki (98 km/61 mi), Tampere (73 km/45 mi) and Lahti (72 km/45 mi).

The medieval Häme Castle (Hämeen linna) is located in the city.

Hämeenlinna: Sibelius HouseThe municipalities of Hauho, Kalvola, Lammi, Renko and Tuulos were consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 1 January 2009.

 Hämeenlinna: Sibelius House

 October sunset - Hämeenlinna

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Finland-Tampere

Tampere (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈtɑmpere] ( listen); Swedish: Tammerfors [tamərˈfɔrs] or [tamərˈfɔʂ]) is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of 213,344, growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in Finland, after the Greater Helsinki municipalities of Helsinki and Espoo. In 2007, the entire Pirkanmaa region had around 470,000 residents, of which 230,000 were employed, and a turnover of 25 billion euros.

View towards Tampere City Centre

Tampere is located between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. Since the two lakes differ in level by 18 metres (59 ft), the rapids linking them, Tammerkoski, have been an important power source throughout history, most recently for generating electricity. Tampere is dubbed the "Manchester of Finland" for its industrial past as the former center of Finnish industry, and this has given rise to its Finnish nickname "Manse" and terms such as "Manserock".

Helsinki can be reached in 1.5 hours by train and 2 hours by car. The distance to Turku is approximately the same. Tampere Airport is the third-busiest airport in Finland, with 800,000 passengers annually.

Tammerkoski in summer.

Name

There have been many debates on the origin of the name Tampere. One theory is that it comes from the Swedish word damber, meaning "milldam". Another speculation is that the name originates from the ancient Scandinavian words þambr ("thick bellied") and þambion ("swollen belly"), referring to the rapids, and according to researchers, these kinds of references were given to name giving instances by ancient Scandinavian hunters. Other suggestions have been the Swedish tamper-dagar, fasting days, and also the Finnish word tammi. meaning "oak".Although the name Tampere or its Swedish counterpart's Tammer- part cannot be completely confirmed, it is clear that the fors part in the Swedish name means "rapids".

The old Finlayson works.

Climate

On average, the snow season lasts 4 – 5 months: from late November to mid-April.

The Renaissance Revival Raatihuone (City Hall), 1890; from its balcony was read the "red manifesto" in 1905

Sites of interest

The main tourist attraction is the Särkänniemi amusement park, which includes a dolphinarium and the landmark Näsinneula tower, topped by a revolving restaurant. Other sites of interest are Tampere Cathedral, Tampere City Library Metso ("wood grouse"), Kaleva Church (both designed by Reima Pietilä), the Tampere Hall for conferences and the Tampere Market Hall.

Tampere, from the Näsinneula tower

Tampere is also home to one of the last museums in the world dedicated to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Lenin moved to Tampere in August 1905 and during a subsequent Bolshevik conference in the city met Joseph Stalin for the first time. Lenin eventually fled Tampere (for Sweden) in November 1907 when being pursued by the Russian Okhrana. Lenin would not return to any part of the Russian Empire until ten years later, when he heard of the start of the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The Tampere Theatre.

There are many museums and galleries, including:

l   The Vapriikki Museum Centre which includes the Natural History Museum of Tampere, Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame and the Shoe Museum

l   Tampere Art Museum

l   Tampere Lenin Museum

l   The Muumilaakso Museum,about Moomins

l   Spy Museum in Siperia

l   Workers' housing museum in Amuri.

l   Finland's largest glass sculpture, owned by the City of Tampere, "Pack Ice / The Mirror of the Sea" by the renowned artist Timo Sarpaneva, is installed in the entrance lobby of the downtown shopping mall, KoskiKeskus.

The Old Church (Vanha kirkko) on the edge of the Tampere Central Square.

Pispala

Pispala is a ridge located between the two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. It used to house the majority of industrial labour in the late 19th and early 20th century, when it was part of Suur-Pirkkala and its follower Pohjois-Pirkkala. It was a free area to be built upon by the working class people working in Tampere factories. It was joined to Tampere in 1937. Currently it is a popular residential area and together with neighbouring Pyynikki it forms an important historical area of Tampere.

Transport

The public transport network within Tampere consists exclusively of a bus network. Between 1948 and 1976 the city also had an extensive trolleybus network, which was also the largest trolleybus system in Finland. As of 2009 plans are being made for construction a light rail system in the city to replace some of the most popular bus lines (see Tampere light rail), as well as initiating commuter rail service on the railroad lines connecting Tampere to the neighbouring cities of Nokia and Lempäälä.

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