A skilful pilot, Hull dedicated much of his pre-war service to aerobatics, flying Hawker Audaxes, Furies and Hurricanes. He reacted to the outbreak of war with enthusiasm and achieved No. 43 Squadron's first victory of the conflict in late January 1940. Reassigned to Norway in May 1940 to command a flight of Gloster Gladiator biplanes belonging to No. 263 Squadron, he downed four German aircraft in an hour over the Bodø area south-west of Narvik on 26 May, a feat that earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was shot down the next day, and invalided back to England. Hull returned to action at the end of August, when he was made commander of No. 43 Squadron with the rank of squadron leader. A week later, he died in a dogfight over south London. (Full article...)
Borchgrevink was born and raised in Christiania (now Oslo) as the son of a Norwegian lawyer and an English-born immigrant mother. He began his exploring career in 1894 by joining a Norwegian whaling expedition, during which he became one of the first people to set foot on the Antarctic mainland. This achievement helped him to obtain backing for his Southern Cross expedition, which became the first to overwinter on the Antarctic mainland, and the first to visit the Great Ice Barrier since the expedition of Sir James Clark Ross nearly sixty years earlier. (Full article...)
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The black-throated loon (Gavia arctica), also known as the Arctic loon and the black-throated diver, is a migratoryaquatic bird found in the Northern Hemisphere, primarily breeding in freshwater lakes in northern Europe and Asia. It winters along sheltered, ice-free coasts of the north-east Atlantic Ocean and the eastern and western Pacific Ocean. This loon was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and has two subspecies. It was previously considered to be the same species as the Pacific loon, of which it is traditionally considered to be a sister species, although this is debated. In a study that used mitochondrial and nuclear intron DNA, the black-throated loon was found to be sister to a clade consisting of the Pacific loon and two sister species, the common loon and the yellow-billed loon.
The black-throated loon measures about 70cm (28in) in length and can weigh anywhere from 1.3 to 3.4 kilograms (2.9 to 7.5lb). In breeding plumage, the adult of the nominate subspecies has mostly black upperparts, with the exception of some of the mantle and scapulars, which have white squares. The head and hindneck are grey, and the sides white and striped black. Most of the throat is also black, giving this bird the name "black-throated loon". The colour of the throat patch can be used to distinguish the two subspecies; the throat patch of the other subspecies, G. a. viridigularis, is green. The underparts are mostly white, including the bottom of the throat. The flanks are also white, a feature that can be used to separate this bird from the Pacific loon. When the bird is not breeding, the black patch on the throat is absent, replaced with white; most of the black lines on the throat are also missing, except those on the bottom sides, and the upperparts are unpatterned except for a few white spots on the upperwing. The juvenile is similar to the non-breeding adult, except that it is overall browner. (Full article...)
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The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (Norwegian: De 6. olympiske vinterleker; Nynorsk: Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
Discussions about Oslo hosting the Winter Olympic Games began as early as 1935; the city was keen to host the 1948 Winter Olympics, but that was made impossible by World War II. Instead, Oslo won the right to host the 1952 Games in a contest that included Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy and Lake Placid in the United States. All of the Olympic venues were in Oslo's metropolitan area, except for the alpine skiing events, which were held at Norefjell, 113km (70mi) from the capital. A new hotel was built for the press and dignitaries, along with three dormitories to house athletes and coaches, creating the first modern athlete's village. Oslo bore the financial burden of hosting the Games in return for the revenue they generated. The 1952 Winter Olympics was the first of the two consecutive Olympics to be held in Northern Europe, preceding the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. (Full article...)
The song received positive reviews. Chuck Taylor from Billboard said it was "absolutely enchanting" and would appeal to both young and mature listeners. It reached number 2 in Norway, number 4 in both Australia and New Zealand, number 16 in the UK and number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was certified gold in the US and Australia and remained M2M's biggest hit. M2M performed the song on episodes of the television series One World, Top of the Pops and Disney Channel in Concert. Two similar music videos were released for the song, with one showing clips from Pokémon: The First Movie. (Full article...)
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Corsair fighters and Barracuda bombers ranged on the flight deck of HMSFormidable during operations off Norway in July 1944
Operation Mascot was an unsuccessful British carrier air raid conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway, on 17 July 1944. The attack was one of a series of strikes against the battleship launched from aircraft carriers between April and August 1944, and was initiated after Allied intelligence determined that the damage inflicted during the Operation Tungsten raid on 3 April had been repaired.
A force of 44 British dive bombers and 40 fighters took off from three aircraft carriers in the early hours of 17 July. German radar stations detected these aircraft while they were en route to Kaafjord, and Tirpitz was protected by a smoke screen by the time the strike force arrived. Few of the British airmen were able to spot the battleship, and their attacks did not inflict any significant damage. German losses were limited to a patrol craft, and three British aircraft were destroyed or damaged beyond repair by Kaafjord's defenders. A group of German submarines attempted to intercept the carrier force as it returned to base, without success. Two U-boats were sunk near the carriers by British patrol aircraft and several others were damaged. (Full article...)
He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on cross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his Fram expedition of 1893–1896. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. He was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1897. (Full article...)
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Amundsen, Hanssen, Hassel, and Wisting at Polheim at the South Pole
The first expedition to reach the Geographic South Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four other crew members made it to the geographical South Pole on 14December 1911, which was to be five weeks ahead of the British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and about a year later heard that Scott and his four companions had perished on their return journey.
Amundsen's initial plans had focused on the Arctic and the conquest of the North Pole by means of an extended drift in an icebound ship. He obtained the use of Fridtjof Nansen's polar exploration ship Fram, and undertook extensive fundraising in a country that had gained its independence only some six years earlier. Preparations for this expedition were disrupted when, in 1909, the rival American explorers Frederick Cook and Robert Peary each claimed to have reached the North Pole - both claims are highly disputed. Amundsen then changed his plan and began to prepare for a conquest of the South Pole; uncertain of the extent to which the public and his backers would support him, he kept this revised objective secret. When he set out in June1910, he led even his crew to believe they were embarking on an Arctic drift, and revealed their true Antarctic destination only when Fram was leaving their last port of call, Madeira, on 9 September 1910. (Full article...)
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In September 1967, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands brought the Greek case to the European Commission of Human Rights, alleging violations of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) by the Greek junta, which had taken power earlier that year. In 1969, the Commission found serious violations, including torture; the junta reacted by withdrawing from the Council of Europe. The case received significant press coverage and was "one of the most famous cases in the Convention's history", according to legal scholar Ed Bates.
On 21April 1967, right-wing army officers staged a military coup that ousted the Greek government and used mass arrests, purges and censorship to suppress their opposition. These tactics soon became the target of criticism in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, but Greece claimed they were necessary as a response to alleged Communist subversion and justified under Article15 of the ECHR. In September 1967, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands filed identical cases against Greece alleging violations of most of the articles in the ECHR that protect individual rights. The case was declared admissible in January 1968; a second case filed by Denmark, Norway and Sweden for additional violations, especially of Article3 forbidding torture, was declared admissible in May of that year. (Full article...)
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The orca (Orcinus orca), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus Orcinus, it is recognizable by its distinct pigmentation; being mostly black on top, white on the bottom and having recognizable white eye patches. A cosmopolitan species, it inhabits a wide range of marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas, but is more commonly documented in temperate or cooler coastal waters. Scientists have proposed dividing the global population into races, subspecies, or possibly even species.
Orcas are apex predators with a diverse diet. Individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey, including bony fish, sharks, rays, and marine mammals such as seals, dolphins, and whales. They are highly social, with some populations forming stable matrilineal family groups (pods). Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors, often unique to specific groups and passed down from generation to generation, are considered to be manifestations of animal culture. The most studied populations are off the west coast of North America, which include fish-eating "residents", mammal-eating "transients", and offshores. (Full article...)
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Fram leaves Bergen on 2 July 1893, bound for the Arctic Ocean Nansen's Fram expedition of 1893–1896 was an attempt by the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen to reach the geographical North Pole by harnessing the natural east–west current of the Arctic Ocean. In the face of much discouragement from other polar explorers, Nansen took his ship Fram to the New Siberian Islands in the eastern Arctic Ocean, froze her into the pack ice, and waited for the drift to carry her towards the pole. Impatient with the slow speed and erratic character of the drift, after 18 months Nansen and a chosen companion, Hjalmar Johansen, left the ship with a team of Samoyed dogs and sledges and made for the pole. They did not reach it, but they achieved a record Farthest North latitude of 86°13.6′N before a long retreat over ice and water to reach safety in Franz Josef Land. Meanwhile, Fram continued to drift westward, finally emerging in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The idea for the expedition had arisen after items from the American vessel Jeannette, which had sunk off the north coast of Siberia in 1881, were discovered three years later off the south-west coast of Greenland. The wreckage had obviously been carried across the polar ocean, perhaps across the pole itself. Based on this and other debris recovered from the Greenland coast, the meteorologist Henrik Mohn developed a theory of transpolar drift, which led Nansen to believe that a specially designed ship could be frozen in the pack ice and follow the same track as Jeannette wreckage, thus reaching the vicinity of the pole. (Full article...)
The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Anne married James at age 14. They had three children who survived infancy: Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, who predeceased his parents; Princess Elizabeth, who became Queen of Bohemia; and James's future successor, Charles I. Anne demonstrated an independent streak and a willingness to use factional Scottish politics in her conflicts with James over the custody of Prince Henry and his treatment of her friend Beatrix Ruthven. Anne appears to have loved James at first, but the couple gradually drifted and eventually lived apart, though mutual respect and a degree of affection survived. (Full article...)
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A British Lancaster bomber over Kaafjord during Operation Paravane
A British Lancaster bomber over Kaafjord during Operation Paravane
Operation Paravane was a British air raid of World War II that inflicted heavy damage on the German battleship Tirpitz, at anchor in Kaafjord in the far north of German-occupied Norway. The attack was conducted on 15 September 1944 by 21 Royal Air Forceheavy bombers, which flew from an airfield in the north of the Soviet Union. The battleship was struck by one bomb, and further damaged by several near misses. This damage rendered Tirpitz unfit for combat, and she could not be repaired as it was no longer possible for the Germans to sail her to a major port.
The attack on 15 September followed a series of raids conducted against Tirpitz with limited success by Royal Navy carrier aircraft between April and August 1944, seeking to sink or disable the battleship at her anchorage, so that she no longer posed a threat to Allied convoys travelling to and from the Soviet Union. The first of these raids was successful, but the other attacks failed due to shortcomings with the Fleet Air Arm's strike aircraft and the formidable German defences. As a result, the task of attacking the battleship was transferred to the RAF's Bomber Command. Avro Lancaster bombers from the Command's two elite squadrons flew to their staging airfield in the Soviet Union on the night of 11/12 September, and attacked on 15 September using heavy bombs and air-dropped mines. All of the British aircraft returned to base, though one of the Lancasters later crashed during its flight back to the United Kingdom. (Full article...)
Operation Tungsten was a Second World War air raid by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy against the German battleship Tirpitz. The operation sought to damage or destroy Tirpitz at her base in Kaafjord in the far north of Norway before she could become fully operational again following a period of repairs.
The British decision to strike Kaafjord was motivated by fears that the battleship, upon re-entering service, would attack strategically important convoys carrying supplies to the Soviet Union. Removing the threat posed by Tirpitz would also allow the Allies to redeploy the capital ships which had to be held in the North Sea to counter her. After four months of training and preparations, the British Home Fleet sailed on 30 March 1944 and aircraft launched from five aircraft carriers struck Kaafjord on 3 April. The raid achieved surprise, and the British aircraft met little opposition. Fifteen bombs hit the battleship, and strafing by fighter aircraft inflicted heavy casualties on her gun crews. Four British aircraft and nine airmen were lost during the operation. (Full article...)
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Z33 under attack by Allied aircraft on 9 February 1945
On 9February 1945, near the end of the Second World War, a force of Allied Bristol Beaufighter aircraft suffered many losses during an attack on the German destroyer Z33 and its escorting vessels; the operation was called Black Friday by the survivors. The German ships were sheltering in a strong defensive position in the Førde Fjord in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway, forcing the Allied aircraft to attack through massed anti-aircraft fire (FlaK).
The Beaufighters and their escort of Mustang Mk III fighters from 65 Squadron RAF were intercepted by twelve Focke-Wulf Fw 190s of Jagdgeschwader 5 (Fighter Wing 5) of the Luftwaffe. The Allies damaged at least two of the German ships for the loss of seven Beaufighters shot down by FlaK. Two Beaufighters and a Mustang were shot down by the Fw 190s and four or five of the German aircraft were shot down by the Allied aircraft, including that of the ace Rudi Linz. (Full article...)
Frozen 2 was greenlit in March 2015 after a company debate about whether it would be perceived as inferior to the original. It used more-complex, enhanced animation technology compared to the first film, and was an interdepartmental collaboration. Anderson-Lopez and Lopez returned as the film's songwriters, and Christophe Beck again composed the score. The film was translated into 46 languages and was accompanied by Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, a documentary series. (Full article...)
Operation Goodwood was a series of British carrierair raids conducted against the German battleship Tirpitz at her anchorage in Kaafjord in occupied Norway during late August 1944. It was the last of several attacks made by the Home Fleet during 1944 which sought to damage or sink Tirpitz and thereby eliminate the threat it posed to Allied shipping. Previous raids on Kaafjord conducted by Fleet Air Arm aircraft had involved only one air attack; in Operation Goodwood several attacks were made in a single week. The Royal Navy hoped that these raids would wear down the formidable German defences.
The British fleet departed its base on 18 August and launched the first raid against Kaafjord on the morning of 22 August. The attack failed, and a small raid that evening inflicted little damage. Attacks were conducted on 24 and 29 August and were also failures. Tirpitz had been hit by two bombs during the raid on 24 August, but neither caused significant damage. British losses during Operation Goodwood were 17 aircraft to all causes, a frigate sunk by a submarine, and an escort carrier badly damaged. German forces suffered the loss of 12 aircraft and damage to 7 ships. (Full article...)
Significant steps on the road to the pole were the discovery of lands south of Cape Horn in 1619, Captain James Cook's crossing of the Antarctic Circle in 1773, and the earliest confirmed sightings of the Antarctic mainland in 1820. From the late 19th century onward, the quest for Farthest South latitudes became a race to reach the pole, which culminated in Roald Amundsen's success in December 1911. (Full article...)
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Female near Kaktovik, Barter Island, Alaska, United States
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore by body mass, with adult males weighing 300–800kg (660–1,760lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water.
Polar bears are both terrestrial and pagophilic (ice-living) and are considered marine mammals because of their dependence on marine ecosystems. They prefer the annual sea ice but live on land when the ice melts in the summer. They are mostly carnivorous and specialized for preying on seals, particularly ringed seals. Such prey is typically taken by ambush; the bear may stalk its prey on the ice or in the water, but also will stay at a breathing hole or ice edge to wait for prey to swim by. The bear primarily feeds on the seal's energy-rich blubber. Other prey include walruses, beluga whales and some terrestrial animals. Polar bears are usually solitary but can be found in groups when on land. During the breeding season, male bears guard females and defend them from rivals. Mothers give birth to cubs in maternity dens during the winter. Young stay with their mother for up to two and a half years. (Full article...)
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Bosse as Indra's daughter at the 1907 première of A Dream Play(1902) by August Strindberg
Harriet Sofie Bosse (19 February 1878 – 2 November 1961) was a Swedish–Norwegian actress. A celebrity in her day, Bosse is now most commonly remembered as the third wife of the playwright August Strindberg. Bosse began her career in a minor company run by her forceful older sister Alma Fahlstrøm in Kristiania (now Oslo, the capital of Norway). Having secured an engagement at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, the main drama venue of Sweden's capital Stockholm, Bosse caught the attention of Strindberg with her intelligent acting and exotic "oriental" appearance.
After a whirlwind courtship, which unfolds in detail in Strindberg's letters and diary, Strindberg and Bosse were married in 1901, when he was 52 and she 23. Strindberg wrote a number of major roles for Bosse during their short and stormy relationship, especially in 1900–01, a period of great creativity and productivity for him. Like his previous two marriages, the relationship failed as a result of Strindberg's jealousy, which some biographers have characterized as paranoid. (Full article...)
The Oslo Metro is the rapid transit system of Oslo, Norway, operated by Oslo T-banedrift on contract from the transit authority Ruter. The network consists of six lines that all run through the city center, with a total length of 84.2 kilometres (52.3mi). It has a daily ridership of 200,000 with 105 stations of which 16 are underground or indoors. In addition to serving all 15 boroughs of Oslo, two lines run to Bærum. The first rapid transit line was the Holmenkoll Line, opened in 1898, with the branch Røa Line opening in 1912. It became the first Nordic underground railway in 1928 when the underground line to Nationaltheatret was opened. The Sognsvann Line opened in 1934 and the Kolsås Line in 1942. The opening of the upgraded T-bane system on the east side of town occurred in 1966, after the conversion of the 1957 Østensjø Line, followed by the new Lambertseter Line, the Grorud Line and the Furuset Line; in 1993 trains ran under the city between the two networks in the Common Tunnel, followed by the 2006 opening of the Ring Line. Between 2006 and 2010 the system is replacing the older T1000 stock with MX3000 stock. (Fullarticle...)
Photograph credit: Eivind Enger; restored by Adam Cuerden
Gina Krog (20June 1847– 14April 1916) was a Norwegian suffragist, teacher, liberal politician, writer and editor. She played a central role in the Norwegian women's movement from the 1880s until her death, notably as a leading campaigner for women's right to vote. In 1884, Krog co-founded the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights with liberal MP Hagbart Berner. Over the next two decades, Krog co-founded the Women's Voting Association, the National Association for Women's Suffrage, and the Norwegian National Women's Council, spearheading the presentation of women's suffrage proposals to the Storting (the Norwegian parliament). She was an early member of the Liberal Party and served as a deputy member of its national board. Krog was regarded as an unapologetic liberal progressive during her time, seeking full and equal voting rights for all women on the same conditions as men, which was achieved in 1913. She was the first woman in Norway to receive a state funeral.
This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
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Tryvandshøiden (also Tryvannshøgda, Tryvann and Øvreseter) was a planned station on the Holmenkollen Line in Oslo, Norway. It was planned by the company Tryvandsbanen in the early 1910s and partly constructed in 1916 at the end of a single-tracked line from Frognerseteren. A red signalman's house named "Norden" was the station's only facility. Passenger trains never served the station, and the tracks from Frognerseteren to Tryvandshøiden were removed in 1939. The signalman's house was not demolished. In 1993, 2004 and 2008, proposals were made to re-open the station so that it would be more convenient for Oslo residents to use the Tryvann Ski Resort. However, these proposals were all rejected by the operator Oslo Sporveier on the grounds that the extension would be too expensive. (Full article...)
In a three-car configuration, the units weigh 158 tonnes (156 long tons; 174 short tons) and are 82.3 metres (270ft 0in) long, with a power output of 2,645kW (3,547hp). The units are similar to the NSB Class 73, and are related to the Swedish X2 units. By 2009, all units were expanded with a fourth car. (Full article...)
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German U-boat bases in occupied Norway operated between 1940 and 1945, when the Kriegsmarine ('war navy'), converted several naval bases in Norway into submarine bases. Norwegian coastal cities became available to the Kriegsmarine after the invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940. Following the conclusion of the Norwegian Campaign (June 1940), the occupying Germans began to transfer U-boats stationed in Germany to many Norwegian port cities such as Bergen, Narvik, Trondheim, Hammerfest and Kirkenes. Initial planning for many U-boat bunkers began in late 1940. Starting in 1941, the Todt Organisation began the construction of bunkers in Bergen and Trondheim. These bunkers were completed by Weyss & Freytagg AG between 1942 and 1943.
The Kriegsmarine generally used U-boats stationed in Norway to extend its range of operation in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The Norwegian bases housed U-boats that took part in the interception of Allied convoys crossing the Arctic Ocean to the Soviet Union. Following the liberation of France by the Western Allies in 1944, U-boat activity in many Norwegian ports increased. With the French ports captured or cut off, many German U-boats re-located to Norwegian port cities. (Full article...)
A/S Bergen Aviation was a Norwegianairline that never operated any scheduled flights. Based in Bergen and established in 1981, it operated 2 Piper Cheyenne 2 turboprop for charter. It was originally established by the Bird Technology Group and was acquired by As Nevi in the Vestagroup in 1983. This was a time when SAS did not service Bergen well except Oslo and Copenhagen further adding to Flesland's decline as an important airport.
Later it signed an agreement to fly charter flights with Vestlandsreiser in 1986. It had also made an unsuccessful attempt to receive concession to operate domestic scheduled flights between Oslo Airport, Fornebu and Bergen Airport, Flesland. The airline bought 2 Sud Aviation Caravelle, but never received permission to operate. One Caravelle was severely damaged on take-off at Arlanda Airport in 1986 and left there for various kind of training for several years. The crash saved Bergen Aviation financially. (Full article...)
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.sj is the Internetcountry code top-level domain (ccTLD) reserved for the designation Svalbard and Jan Mayen. The domain name registry is Norid, but .sj is not open for registration. The issuing of the domain was based on the ISO 3166 designation of Svalbard and Jan Mayen, which consists of two separately administrated integrated territories of Norway: the Arctic archipelago Svalbard and the nearly uninhabited volcanic island Jan Mayen. .sj was designated on 21 August 1997, at the same time as Bouvet Island was allocated .bv. Both were placed under the .no registry Norid, which is also the sponsor. Norwegian policy states that .no is sufficient for those institutions connected to both Svalbard and Jan Mayen, and therefore the domain is not open to registration. It is Norwegian policy not to commercialize domain resources, so there are no plans to sell .sj. Should the domain later come into use, it will be under regulation of the Norwegian Communications Authority and follow the same policy as .no. There are two second-level domains reserved for the two areas: svalbard.no and jan-mayen.no, but other web addresses are also used. (Full article...)
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LN-SUG, the hijacked aircraft photographed in 1982
Braathens SAFE Flight 139 was an aircraft hijacking that occurred in Norway on 21 June 1985. The incident took place on a Boeing 737-200 belonging to Braathens SAFE that was on a scheduled domestic flight from Trondheim Airport, Værnes to Oslo Airport, Fornebu. The hijacker was Stein Arvid Huseby, who was drunk during most of the incident. It was the first plane hijacking to take place in Norway; there were no deaths and no injuries. Huseby was sentenced to three years' imprisonment and five years' detention.
Armed with an air gun, Huseby threatened a cabin attendant and told the captain to proceed as planned to Fornebu. He claimed (falsely) to have placed explosives on board. His demands were to make a political statement and talk to Prime Minister Kåre Willoch and Minister of Justice Mona Røkke. The plane landed at 15:30 at Fornebu and was surrounded by the police. After one hour, Huseby released 70 hostages in exchange for having the aircraft moved closer to the terminal building. Thirty minutes later, Huseby released the remaining passengers. He drank throughout the incident, and at 17:30, after he consumed the plane's beer supply, he surrendered his weapon in exchange for more beer. The plane was immediately stormed and Huseby arrested. (Full article...)
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Where You Go I Go Too is the first studio album by Norwegian electronica artist Hans-Peter Lindstrøm. It was first released in the United Kingdom on 18 August 2008 and was subsequently released the next day in the United States. The album comprises three tracks, roughly 30, 10, and 15 minutes in length. Where You Go I Go Too is usually labeled "space disco" due to its "spacey, psychedelic" feel and four-to-the-floor beats.
Production of the album followed the 2006 release of It's a Feedelity Affair, a compilation of singles. Lindstrøm had become dissatisfied with simply producing remixes and average length songs, which led to experimentation with lengthy tracks. The album received positive reviews from critics, who praised its slick production values and epic scope. At the 2009 Spellemannprisen award ceremony in Norway, the record won the award for "best electronica album". (Full article...)
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RA-85621, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in May 1996
Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 was an international charter flight from Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, to Svalbard Airport on Spitsbergen, in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. On 29 August 1996 at 10:22:23 CEST, a Tupolev Tu-154M operating this flight crashed into the ground in Operafjellet during the final approach to Svalbard Airport. All 141 people (11 crew members and 130 passengers, of whom three were children) aboard the plane were killed, making it the deadliest aviation accident in Norwegian history. The accident was the result of a series of small navigational errors causing the aircraft to be 3.7 kilometres (2.3mi; 2.0nmi) from the approach centerline at the time of impact.
The Vnukovo Airlines aircraft, with the registration number RA-85621, had been chartered by Arktikugol, a Russian state-owned coal-mining company, to fly Russian and Ukrainian workers to the towns of Barentsburg and Pyramiden in Svalbard. The accident was a contributing cause for Arktikugol's closure of Pyramiden two years later. The accident was investigated by the Accident Investigation Board Norway with assistance from the Interstate Aviation Committee and became known as the Operafjell accident (Norwegian: Operafjell-ulykken). After the accident, a series of lawsuits determined compensation for the victims' families. (Full article...)
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Ringerriksbanen utkast 2016
Draft of Ringeriksbanen from 2016. Simplified version of the route adopted by the Storting.
The Ringerike Line (Bokmål: Ringeriksbanen, Nynorsk: Ringeriksbana) is a proposed 40-kilometre (25mi) extension of the Bergen Line from Jong, Sandvika to Hønefoss, Norway. In 2022, the project was postponed; the government has no commitment to any timeframe (as of Q1 2026). Regional authorities and political groups continue to advocate for the project, which is fully planned but lacks funding and a construction start. If construction eventually begins, it is estimated to take 10–12 years to complete due to extensive tunnelling and civil works.
The Big Room is the second international studio album by Norwegian pop music duo M2M. It was released in Asia in November 2001 and in the rest of the world in early 2002. It reached No. 16 in Norway and No. 61 in Australia. Two singles were released worldwide from the album, "Everything", which peaked at No. 6 in Norway and No. 27 in Australia, and "What You Do About Me", which reached No. 46 in Australia.
To promote the album M2M appeared on an episode of the series Dawson's Creek and were selected as the opening act for Jewel's This Way US tour. Despite critical acclaim, sales of The Big Room were considerably lower than their previous album, Shades of Purple, which Verdens Gang attributed to a lacklustre marketing effort by Atlantic Records. Citing disappointing sales, Atlantic chose to replace M2M as Jewel's opening act halfway through the tour, after which they returned to Norway and disbanded. (Full article...)
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Bergen Air Transport AS was an airline based at Bergen Airport, Flesland in Norway. In addition to charter aviation and an aviation workshop, it offered until 2017 a scheduled service between Bergen and Notodden Airport, Tuven. The airline operated two Beechcraft B200 King Air aircraft and one Cessna Citation CJ2. The airline was established in 1998, offering seaplane charter flights using Cessna 421 aircraft. The service to Notodden started in 2000; a Cessna 441 was acquired in 2003, and from 2006 the company used two Beechcraft. The company is owned by Geir Hellsten and Håkon Lie-Nielsen.
This airline is not to be confused with Bergen Air Transport (1961), which operated from approximately 1961 to 1977 with Douglas DC-3, DC-4 und DHC-2 Beaver aircraft. (Full article...)
The airline was established in response to the opening of Gardermoen, which would allow any airline sufficient landing slots to compete with the incumbents Braathens and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). Color Air commenced operations on 1 August 1998, with the two other airlines moving from Oslo Airport, Fornebu on 8 October. Following the airline's establishment, a price war broke out between it and the two incumbents. All three increased capacity and dropped prices, giving a 40% increase in seats on the dominant domestic routes and seat loads of between 30 and 50 percent. After thirteen months and NOK400 million in losses, Color Air gave up and filed for bankruptcy. The price war cost the three airlines more than NOK3 billion, and ultimately forced the other two to merge. (Full article...)
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Oslo Airport, Fornebu (IATA: FBU, ICAO: ENFB) was the primary international airport serving Oslo and Eastern Norway from 1 June 1939 to 7 October 1998. It was then replaced by Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and the area has since been redeveloped. The airport was located at Fornebu in Bærum, 8km (5.0mi) from the city center. Fornebu had two runways, one 2,370m (7,780ft) 06/24 and one 1,800m (5,900ft) 01/19, and a capacity of 20 aircraft. In 1996, the airport had 170,823 aircraft movements and handled 10,072,054 passengers. The airport served as a hub for Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), Braathens SAFE and Widerøe. In 1996, they and 21 other airlines served 28 international destinations. Due to limited terminal and runway capacity, intercontinental and charter airlines used Gardermoen. The Royal Norwegian Air Force retained offices at Fornebu.
The airport opened as a combined sea and land airport, serving both domestic and international destinations. It replaced the land airport at Kjeller and the sea airport at Gressholmen. In 1940, it was taken over by the German Luftwaffe, but civilian air services began again in 1946 and it was then taken over by the Norwegian Civil Airport Administration. The airport at first had three runways, each at 800m (2,600ft), but these were gradually expanded, first the north–south runway and finally the east–west one in 1962. The runways retained that length until the time of the airport's closure in 1998. The same year the terminal moved south to the final location. A large-scale expansion to the terminal was constructed during the 1980s. (Full article...)
The station opened as Raastad, later Råstad, in 1881. It had a single building, designed by Balthazar Lange. It was upgraded with a passing loop in 1910, but this was removed in 1971, and the station was closed in 1978. In 2008, the station reopened to serve the airport. The station is owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration. (Full article...)
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A drawing from the 1890s depicting 10th century ruler Haakon the Good commanding Christian clergy While the constitution of Norway establishes that the King of Norway must be Evangelical Lutheran, it also establishes that all individuals have the right to exercise their religion. The government's policies generally support the free practice of religion in the country, and it provides funding to religious organizations and anti-discrimination programs on a regular basis. According to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Norwegian police, religiously motivated hate speech is prevalent, particularly online, and primarily targeting the Muslim and Jewish communities.
The origins of the modern Kingdom of Norway can be traced to the kingdoms established by Vikings during the Middle Ages. During this period, Norwegian kings such as Olaf II of Norway converted to Christianity, and propagated it within their kingdoms to reify their authority. Accounts from this time period include graphic descriptions of gruesome torture perpetrated against pagans who refused to convert. The Catholic Church in Norway was replaced by Evangelical Lutheranism during the Reformation in the 16th century, and non-Protestants were persecuted.' From the 16th to 19th centuries, Norway (under either a Danish or Swedish crown) forced the Sámi people of northeastern Scandinavia to convert to Christianity, suppressing and eventually all but eradicating their indigenous religion. Jews were at times tolerated in Norway, but in 1814 a new constitution banned Jews from the country––this provision was reversed in 1851, and by the end of the 19th century Norway would be home to a few thousand Jews. This population was devastated in the 1940s during the German occupation of Norway as part of World War II and the Holocaust. Toward the end of the 20th century and in the 21st, the Norwegian government has adopted some constitutional reforms to recognize the traditions of the Sámi people, to establish a separation between church and state, and to provide financial restitution for the Jewish community, but it has also imposed religious clothing bans targeting Muslim women. (Full article...)
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Norwegian Christmas tree at Washington Union Station in 2023 The Norwegian Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C., is an annual gift from the people of Norway to the United States that is displayed in Washington Union Station. The tradition began in 1997 after a proposal by Ambassador Tom Vraalsen. The tree in Union Station is one of several that Norway donates to various countries as a gift of thanks for assistance in World War II. The tree lighting ceremony involves concerts, a model train track, and visits by the Norwegian royal family, amongst other events. The tree is between 30 and 35 feet (9.1 and 10.7m) tall and is decorated with thousands of lights, the flags of the U.S. and Norway, and themed ornaments. One year the tree was decorated with 700 ornaments depicting The Scream by Norwegian Edvard Munch. According to one reporter from the Hill Rag, the tree and model train have become "one of Washington's most popular holiday traditions." (Full article...)
NSB Di6, later designated ME26 and DE2700, is a class of twelve diesel-electric locomotives built by Siemens for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). The prime mover provides a power output of 2,650 kilowatts (3,550hp), a starting traction effort of 400 kilonewtons (90,000lbf) and a maximum speed of 160 kilometres per hour (99mph). They have a Co′Co′ wheel arrangement. The bidirectional locomotives were designed for use with both passenger and freight trains.
The units were ordered by NSB in 1992 as replacements for the aging Di3, and were particularly intended for use on the Nordland Line and to a lesser extent on the Røros Line. Construction was done by Maschinenbau Kiel (MaK) in Kiel, Germany, which was then part of Siemens Schienenfahrzeugtechnik. The class is largely based on the MaK-built DB Class 240, with each unit costing 32 million Norwegian krone (NOK). The first units were delivered in March 1996, one year after schedule, but were plagued with faults. By 1999, the entire order was terminated and the locomotives returned to Germany. They were taken over by locomotive lessor Dispolok and were used by various Germany railway companies. Ownership was taken over by Vossloh in 2003, after which most of the class were leased to German passenger train operator Nord-Ostsee-Bahn. In 2008, three units returned to Norway and are used by Cargolink for freight trains. (Full article...)
By 1942, the German nuclear weapons programme had come close to being able to develop a nuclear reactor, but for the reactor to function it would require a great deal of heavy water. The source of the heavy water was the Norsk Hydro plant, which had been occupied since 1940. (Full article...)
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Koanda in 2023
Solfrid Eila Amena Koanda (born 13 November 1998) is a Norwegian weightlifter and former electrician. She became the first female Norwegian weightlifter to become an Olympic champion, and the first Norwegian weightlifter to become World and European champion in the sport.
Born in Oulu, Finland, to a Finnish mother and an Ivorian father, she lived in Finland until moving to Norway at the age of nine. She struggled with self-confidence and usually trained alone in a weight room before being put into foster care and began training in CrossFit. She was then recruited into weightlifting by a CrossFit coach who trained both sports. (Full article...)
The Progress Party focuses on law and order, downsizing the bureaucracy and the public sector; the FrP identifies as an economic liberal party which competes with the left to represent the workers of Norway. The Progress Party calls for a strict immigration policy, integration of immigrants and for the removal of illegal immigrants or foreigners who commit crimes. During its time in coalition government from 2013, the party oversaw the creation of a Minister for Integration and increased the process of deporting failed asylum seekers or migrants with criminal convictions. It has been described as anti-immigration; nevertheless, the FrP also supports free migration to and from the European Union through the European Economic Area as well as helping refugees through the United NationsConvention Relating to the Status of Refugees. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Progress Party has been amenable to receiving Ukrainian refugees. (Full article...)
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Aurora in 2024
Aurora Aksnes (born 15 June 1996), known mononymously as Aurora (stylised in all capital letters), is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and record producer. Known for blending electropop, folk, and art pop, she has been described as a pioneer of the Norwegian art pop scene and dubbed the "Fairy of Pop". She started writing songs and learning dance at age six, and gained recognition as a teenager after a classmate posted her music online without her knowledge. Initially trained on the piano, she later learned percussion and production.
Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegianeconomist, leader (since 2002) of the Norwegian Labour Party and the former Prime Minister of Norway. Stoltenberg was the leader of the Workers' Youth League between 1985 and 1989, and the Oslo chapter of the Labour Party between 1990 and 1992. He was junior minister (statssekretær) in the Department of the Environment 1990-1991, Minister of Industry 1993-1996, and Minister of Finance 1996-1997. His first tenure as Prime Minister (2000 to 2001) was controversial within his own party, being responsible for reforms and modernisation of the welfare state that included part-privatising several key state-owned services and corporations. In the parliamentary elections of 10 September 2001 the party suffered one of its worst results ever, winning only 24% of the vote. The disastrous results of 2001 were quickly followed by a bitter leadership battle between Thorbjørn Jagland and Stoltenberg, with Stoltenberg winning the party leadership. The 2005 parliamentary elections saw a vast improvement for Labour, and the party gained a majority in parliament together with the other "Red-Green" parties, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party. This paved the way for a historic first in Norway, with Labour joining in a coalition government, the Red-Green Coalition. Stoltenberg became Prime Minister for the second time on 17 October 2005. (Full article...)
One of the qualities of liberty is that, as long as it is being striven after, it goes on expanding. Therefore, the man who stands in the midst of the struggle and says, "I have it," merely shows by doing so that he has just lost it.
Bokn is a municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway. Bokn was separated from Skudenes in 1849. Bokn is one of the smaller municipalities of Rogaland, consisting of 3 islands: Ognøy, Austre (eastern) Bokn and Vestre (western) Bokn. (Full article...)
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk·contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged(e.g. {{WikiProject Norway}})or categorizedcorrectly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.
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The Kingdom of Norway about 1265, at its greatest extent (from History of Norway)
Henrik Ibsen, c. 1890 (from Culture of Norway)
Battle of Alvøen between the frigate HMS Tartar and Norwegian gunboats near Bergen in 1808 (from History of Norway)
Bryggen in Bergen, once the centre of trade in Norway under the Hanseatic League trade network, now preserved as a World Heritage Site (from History of Norway)
Homann's map of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Fennoscandia with their surrounding territories: northern Germany, northern Poland, the Baltic region, Livonia, Belarus, and parts of Northwest Russia. Johann Baptist Homann (1664–1724) was a German geographer and cartographer; map dated around 1730. (from History of Norway)
Norwegian Hardanger fiddle (from Culture of Norway)
Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik met with U.S. President George W. Bush at the Oval Office in White House, on 27 May 2003. (from History of Norway)
Scenes from the Norwegian campaign in 1940 (from History of Norway)
Edvard Munch's The Scream (1893) (from Culture of Norway)
Petty kingdoms of Norway c. 872 (from History of Norway)
Statfjord oil platform (from History of Norway)
The Constituent Assembly which approved the Constitution of Norway (from History of Norway)
Roald Amundsen, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Oscar Wisting (l–r) at Polheim, the tent erected at the South Pole on 16 December 1911 as the first expedition (from History of Norway)
Map of Sweden–Norway (from History of Norway)
Røros, a major copper mining town, in 1869 (from History of Norway)
The Kalmar Union, c. 1400 (from History of Norway)
Industry along Akerselva in Oslo in 1912 (from History of Norway)
Smørbrød, Norwegian open sandwiches (from Culture of Norway)
Trondheim in 1965 (from History of Norway)
Map of Denmark–Norway (from History of Norway)
Traditional Norwegian St. Hansbål (midsummer) bonfire in Laksevåg, Bergen Municipality (from Culture of Norway)
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