60 Fun Facts About Norway

What is the capital and largest city of Norway?

It spent three centuries as Christiania, named for a Danish king who rebuilt it after a 1624 fire, and only got its old name back in 1925.

Norway shares its longest land border, 1,619 km, with which country?

The short 196 km stretch with Russia in the far northeast is the one that makes headlines.

Norway's population is roughly how large?

More Americans identified as Norwegian-American in the 2006 census than there were ethnic Norwegians in Norway.

What is Norway's highest mountain, at 2,469 metres?

It is also the highest point in Scandinavia and all of Northern Europe, and sits in the Jotunheimen range.

Which fjord is the world's longest at 204 km, and its second deepest?

Urnes Stave Church, on its inner reaches, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Including its islands, Norway's coastline has been estimated at roughly how long?

The mainland alone, with fjords, runs about 29,000 km, which is why coastal shipping has always mattered so much.

Which Arctic archipelago is part of Norway yet outside the Schengen Area and any county?

A 1920 treaty gave Norway sovereignty but made it a free economic zone, which is why a Russian mining town operates there to this day.

What is the largest settlement on Norway's Arctic archipelago north of the mainland?

There the midnight sun lasts from 20 April to 23 August and polar night from 26 October to 15 February.

Norway's Arctic archipelago hosts a famous 'doomsday' vault. What is stored inside it?

Its Arctic location and permafrost keep the deposits cold even if the power fails.

Which lake is the deepest in Europe?

Ice-age glaciers carved it out, the same process that made Norway's fjords so deep.

The Lærdal Tunnel in western Norway holds which world record?

At 24.51 km it has lit 'caves' every six kilometres so drivers stay alert.

Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock, is a flat-topped cliff rising 604 metres above which fjord?

The nearly square summit is about 25 metres on each side, with no railing.

The word 'maelstrom' derives from a system of tidal eddies off which Norwegian island group?

The same islands have been the centre of the winter cod fishery for over a thousand years.

The old Hanseatic wharf in Norway's second city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is called what?

German merchants ran a state within a state there for generations, trading with fishermen who sailed south each summer.

Trondheim, founded in 997 by Olav Tryggvason, was originally known by which name?

It served as Norway's capital through the Viking Age until 1217 and its cathedral is still where kings are consecrated.

Which city in the far north earned the nickname 'Paris of the North' in the 19th century?

Its 1972 university was for years the only one serving the northern half of the country.

The Hurtigruten coastal route sails from Bergen to which town near the Russian border?

The northbound trip makes 34 ports of call, and the service still carries local cargo as well as tourists.

Oslo was known by what name from 1624 until 1925?

Christian IV rebuilt the fire-ravaged city closer to Akershus Fortress and named it after himself.

According to tradition, which king first unified Norway in 872 after the Battle of Hafrsfjord?

Some historians now doubt he existed at all, but the battle site near Stavanger is marked by three giant bronze swords.

Which son of Erik the Red is thought to have reached North America around 1000 AD?

The settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland may be the Vinland of the sagas.

From 1537 to 1814 Norway was ruled in union with which country?

When Denmark ended up on the losing side of the Napoleonic Wars, it was forced to hand Norway to Sweden while keeping Iceland, Greenland and the Faroes.

Norway's national day, 17 May, marks the signing of what in 1814?

The document was modelled on the American and French examples, and the day is celebrated with children's parades rather than military ones.

What is the Norwegian name for the national costume worn in 17 May parades?

Regional designs vary, and the parades are famous for their hot dogs, waffles and ice cream.

Roughly what share voted yes in the 1905 referendum on dissolving the union with its eastern neighbour?

Only 184 people voted no, making it one of the most lopsided referendums in history.

The Danish prince who became Norway's king in 1905 took which traditional royal name?

He insisted the Norwegian people confirm they wanted a monarchy at all before he accepted the crown.

On what date did Nazi Germany invade Norway in 1940?

The country had declared neutrality, as it had in the First World War, and Vidkun Quisling tried to seize power the same day.

Which Norwegian collaborator's surname became a synonym for 'traitor' in several languages?

He was executed by firing squad at Akershus Fortress in October 1945.

Norwegian saboteurs attacked a German-run heavy-water plant at which site in Telemark?

Operation Gunnerside knocked the Vemork plant out of production in early 1943 without a shot being fired.

Who became King of Norway on 17 January 1991?

He was the first Norwegian-born monarch to inherit the throne since 1380, a gap of 610 years.

Norwegians rejected joining the European Union in referendums held in which two years?

It still takes part in the single market through the European Economic Area, alongside Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Alone among the Nobel Prizes, the Peace Prize is awarded not in Stockholm but in which city?

A five-member committee appointed by Norway's parliament chooses the winner, and the ceremony has been held in the City Hall since 1990.

Norway's Government Pension Fund Global was set up to invest surplus revenue from what?

By 2026 it held over $2.2 trillion, about 1.5% of every listed company on Earth.

Roughly what share of Norway's electricity comes from hydroelectric plants?

That is a higher share than any other country, which helps explain how it can run so many electric cars cleanly.

In 2020 Norway became the first country where annual sales of what outsold petrol and diesel combined?

By 2024 plug-in cars were 88.9% of new sales, and the Nissan Leaf was the all-time best seller.

Norway is the world's largest producer of which fish?

Chile is second, and Norway is also the second-largest fish exporter by value after China.

Lutefisk is dried whitefish that has been treated with what before cooking?

The name literally means 'lye fish'; the lack of salt deposits in the region made air-drying the traditional preservation method.

Brunost, Norway's sweet brown cheese, gets its colour and taste from caramelising the sugars in what?

Its modern firm form is credited to a Gudbrandsdalen milkmaid, Anne Hov, and it is eaten sliced thin on bread or waffles.

Norwegian has two official written standards. Bokmål is one; what is the other?

About 85% of Norwegians write in Bokmål, and Sámi languages are co-official in parts of the north.

The name 'Norway' comes from an Old English word first recorded around 890 that means what?

It came from the account of Ohthere of Hålogaland, describing the coastal route to the north.

Which Norwegian painter created The Scream in 1893?

He made four versions, and both painted ones have been stolen from Oslo museums and recovered.

The National Gallery's The Scream was stolen in February 1994 on the opening day of what?

The thieves left a note thanking the gallery for the poor security; the painting was recovered undamaged that May.

Which Norwegian author of A Doll's House is called 'the father of modern drama'?

He was born in the port town of Skien and set most of his plays in Norway.

In which city was Peer Gynt composer Edvard Grieg born?

The city's largest concert hall and its music academy both carry his name, and his home Troldhaugen is a museum.

Roald Amundsen's party became the first to reach the South Pole on which date?

He had earlier been first through the Northwest Passage in the tiny sloop Gjøa, and vanished in 1928 on an Arctic rescue flight.

Fridtjof Nansen, who crossed Greenland on skis in 1888, later won the Nobel Peace Prize for what?

His 'Nansen passport' for stateless people was recognised by more than 50 countries.

For how many days did Heyerdahl's 1947 Kon-Tiki raft drift before hitting a reef?

The 6,900 km voyage ended on Raroia in the Tuamotus, and the documentary about it won an Oscar.

Norwegian band a-ha's 1985 debut album, which produced the worldwide No. 1 'Take On Me', was called what?

Two years later the trio recorded the theme song for the James Bond film The Living Daylights.

At the Winter Olympics, which nation has won more medals than any other?

Its 447 medals include 166 golds, and it has hosted the Games in Oslo in 1952 and Lillehammer in 1994.

Magnus Carlsen became World Chess Champion in 2013 by defeating which reigning champion?

Chess became so popular back home that world rapid and blitz championships are broadcast live on the biggest national TV channel.

Erling Haaland was born in 2000 in which English city, where his father was playing?

He grew up a Leeds fan and later set a Premier League record with 36 goals in a single season.

Which children's author, born in Wales in 1916 to Norwegian parents, was named after a polar explorer?

His father was a shipbroker from Sarpsborg and his mother came from Christiania, now Oslo.

The modern cheese slicer, or ostehøvel, was invented in Norway in 1925 by whom?

Mass production began two years later in Lillehammer, and the wire-cutting design is still the standard.

Norwegians long credited Johan Vaaler with inventing which everyday object, a claim now called a myth?

A better clip was already on sale abroad when he patented his design, but the story stuck and even reached international dictionaries.

In The Hitchhiker's Guide, Slartibartfast won an award for designing which Earth feature?

Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect later find his signature deep inside a glacier in prehistoric Norway.

Norway's flag, a red field with a blue cross bordered in white, was designed in 1821 by whom?

He was a member of parliament and never explained his choice of colours in writing.

What is the largest land predator on the Norwegian mainland?

The polar bear is the kingdom's largest predator overall, but only on Svalbard.

Which remote subantarctic territory is a Norwegian dependency, but not part of the Kingdom itself?

Norway also claims Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.

How many bridges carry Norway's Atlantic Ocean Road across its islands and skerries?

The most photographed is Storseisundet Bridge, which appears from some angles to launch cars into the sea.

Trolltunga, the 'troll's tongue' rock, juts out roughly how far above the lake Ringedalsvatnet?

The formation sits at 1,126 metres above sea level and the round-trip hike takes most of a day.

Which Norwegian black metal bands helped make the genre a global export from the 1990s?

The scene became notorious well beyond music, but Darkthrone, Burzum and Immortal are still cited as its architects.