The
breathtaking fjords of the southwest are Norway’s most dramatic scenic features, but there are many other reasons to visit this sparsely populated land on the northern fringe of Europe. The North Cape’s
midnight sun is rightly famous - here, far above the
Arctic Circle, lies the spectacularly situated town of
Tromsø, where the sun never rises in winter, nor sets in midsummer.
Each of Norway’s four major cities offers distinct appeal -
Oslo is present-day capital and financial center,
Bergen is a picturesque former Hanseatic
trading port and ‘gateway’ to Fjordland,
Stavanger is focal point of the Norwegian oil industry, and
Trondheim is a long-established center of Christian pilgrimage, and more recently, technical research.
In the sparsely populated
wilderness that lies between the main urban centers are such delights as Jostedalsbreen,
Europe’s largest glacier. There are opportunities to indulge in
outdoor activities including
skiing,
fishing and
rock-climbing. Even the less energetic can simply marvel at the awesome beauty of much of the Norwegian
countryside, with its countless steep-sided valleys, high mountain lakes and unbelievable views.
Norway is foremost a land for those who love
nature. However, it also offers a rich
cultural experience, as would be expected of such varied
history, from the
Vikings of the eighth and ninth centuries, to later luminaries such as artist
Edvard Munch, author
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and composer
Edvard Grieg, whose centenary Norway celebrated during 2007.
The nation, one of the world’s richest on a per capita basis since the discovery of oil in the late 1960s, has been independent since 1905, when it devolved from Swedish rule, and remains outside the European Union. Norway has developed an important role in international politics over recent decades, and is rated as the world’s most peaceful nation by the
Global Peace Index.
GeographyNorway is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by Finland, the Russian Federation and Sweden, to the south by the Skagerrak (which separates it from Denmark) and to the west by the North Sea. The coastline is more than 20,000km (12,400 miles) long, its most outstanding feature being the fjords. Most of them are between 80 to 160km (50 to 100 miles) long, and are often very deep and surrounded by towering mountains. Much of northern Norway lies beyond the Arctic Circle and the landscape is stark. In the south, the landscape consists of forests with many lakes, rivers and mountains.
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