Equality, freedom… and waffles. The foods, traditions and way of life here on the outskirts of Europe may sometimes seem peculiar. Hopefully you can learn a thing or two by reading here.
Official Name: Kingdom of Norway
Area: 385,178 km2
Population: 5,258,317 (2017)
Population per km2: 15 persons
Capital city: Oslo (approximately 634,293 inhabitants)
Language: Norwegian (Bokmål and Nynorsk. In some districts, Sámi is also an official language).
Religion: Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran)
Currency: 1 Norwegian Krone = 100 øre
System of Government: Constitutional Monarchy
The electrical current in Norway is 230 Volts. Plugs are of the continental type, with two round prongs. American appliances require a transformer and a plug adapter for use in Norway. British plugs, with three prongs, will also require a plug adapter.
In Norway, VAT is included in the retail price and makes up to 20% of the price tag. Thousands of stores across the country offer visitors the opportunity to make use of the Tax Free Shopping service, which enables visitors to receive cash refunds of 12 – 19% when leaving the country. Some facts about tax free shopping:
1) The VAT rate in Norway is 25% on regular goods, which makes the VAT content 20%. For foods the rate is 11%.
2) The goods must be exported in unused condition within 1 month from purchasing date.
3) The Tax Refund Service is applicable to all EU residents provided they live outside Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
4) The minimum purchase amount is NOK 315 on regular goods, on foods NOK 280.
The first inhabitants were the Ahrensburg culture (11th to 10th millennia BC), which was a late Upper Paleolithic culture during the Younger Dryas, the last period of cold at the end of the Weichsel glaciation.
Between 3000 and 2500 BC new settlers (Corded Ware culture) arrived in eastern Norway. They were Indo-European farmers who grew grain and kept cows and sheep. The hunting-fishing population of the west coast was also gradually replaced by farmers, though hunting and fishing remained useful secondary means of livelihood.
From the 8th to the 10th century, the wider Scandinavian region was the source of Vikings. The looting of the monastery at Lindisfarne in Northeast England in 793 by Norse people has long been regarded as the event which marked the beginning of the Viking Age.
Upon the death of Haakon V (King of Norway) in 1319, Magnus Erikson, at just three years old, inherited the throne as King Magnus VII of Norway.
After Sweden broke out of the Kalmar Union in 1521, Norway tried to follow suit, but the subsequent rebellion was defeated, and Norway remained in a union with Denmark until 1814, a total of 434 years.
After Denmark–Norway was attacked by the United Kingdom at the Battle of Copenhagen, it entered into an alliance with Napoleon, with the war leading to dire conditions and mass starvation in 1812.
From 1945 to 1962, the Labour Party held an absolute majority in the parliament. The government, led by prime minister Einar Gerhardsen, embarked on a program inspired by Keynesian economics, emphasising state financed industrialisation and co-operation between trade unions and employers' organisations.
Norway is a young nation with a long history, especially as a maritime nation. In spite of being joined to Denmark for 400 years, Norway retained a strong cultural tradition of its own which, together with cultural impulses from abroad, produced its own unique diversity.
Norway’s climate fluctuates greatly from place to place, especially in its most northern parts. The lowest minimum temperature recorded is -51°C in Karasjok in northern Norway. Due to the Gulfstream along the entire coastline, the temperatures are moderate and often can reach more than 20 degree in the summer.
Norway is noted for its excellent raw products, particularly fish. You can find smoked salmon, gravlaks (cured salmon) and trout in most restaurants, but you can also enjoy freshly caught white fish such as cod, monkfish, and halibut. Herring and shellfish are also very popular – try a bag of shrimps fresh from the fisherman’s boat and enjoy it on the quayside!
In the norwegian language we have a word for passionate people “ildssjel” which translated means “firesoul”. It is descriptive for the norwegian mentality.
Our team and local partners are all “ildsjel” and therefor can communicate true values and give this little extra which never can be paid with money. It is the human encounter which is our core together with meaningful experiences
We are a value-based DMC focussing on innovative, sustainable and new thinking experiences in whole Norway.
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