History
- Norway is a country of incredible beauty. This country is also gives
inspiration to artists, poets, composers, and dreamers and for photographers
it is a dream place. Norway’s history starts around 11000 years ago.
People started migrating to Norway from Europe. In the Viking Era people of
Norway started seeking out. The Danes came in 16th century and surrendered
in 1814 during the Napoleon wars. This was a hard period for Norway because
the Treaty of Kiel presented Norway to Sweden in a 'Union of the Crowns'
which was disliked by Norwegians. So a new constitution was drafted and New
Norwegian king was elected by 17 May 1814, which is also celebrated, as
Norway’s national day. In late 1960s oil was discovered in the North
Sea which gave a boom to Norway's economy making it one of the expensive
country.
Government & Politics - Norway basically has
a constitutional monarchy, but also has a parliamentary democratic form of
government.The elections held after every four years for 165 seats. There
are two parties the largest Conservative Party and the extreme Communist
Party.
Foreign
Exchange / Currency - Norwegian krone (NOK) is the national currency
Which comes in denominations of 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 1. All
major foreign currencies and all brands of traveler’s cheques are
exchange by banks, which is also advisable to carry to get best exchange
rates.
Population
- Norway's population is the lowest amongst densities in Europe at 13 people
per sq/km. As per the census of 1995 Norway’s population is 4,348,500.
Largest is Oslo with 483,500 people, Bergen with 223,000,Stavanger with
104,000.
Religion
- Norway follows Christianity. 90% of Norwegians belongs to church and
officially King is the head of church who is the final decision taking
authority in all controversial decisions.
Language
- Norway basically has two languages - Bokmal 'the book language' and
Nynorsk 'New Norwegian'. English is the widely spoken language and it is
advisable to learn a few words of Norwegian.
Visa
- You must have a valid visa and a passport for your stay in Norway. We
provide visa assistance to
scantour@del2.vsnl.net.in.
The citizens of Sweden, Iceland,
Denmark
and Finland can enter Norway freely with or without a passport and citizens
of USA, Ireland, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia do need a valid
passport but does not require a visa for stay of less then three months on
their visit to Norway.
Time
- Norway is 1 hr ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and 3 hrs and 30 Mts. behind
Indian time.
Climate
- The summers in Norway has an average maximum temperature of around 16
degree C in south and 11 degree C in north. In winter the average maximum
temperature is 1 degree C in south and -3 degree C in north.
Cities
- Norway is a beautiful place to visit with clean air and clean water and
more over friendly people. It has some of the finest sites and destinations
like in Oslo-Oslo Domkirke, Eidsvolls plass-city square filled with
fountains and statues, Det Kongelige Slott- The royal palace, Akershus
Castle and Fortress, Bygdoy - Open air museum, it also has some good
beaches. Bergen - Bergen Kunstmuseum, The Bergen Aquarium, Floibanen,
Troldhaugen, Lysoen estate. Stavanger - Stavanger Domkirke, Ledaal,
Mosvangen. Svalbard - Longyearbreen, Barentsburg, Adventdalen, Pomor Museum.
Restriction
- People of Norway are camera friendly people. They don't mind taking their
photographs but it is always better to take permission before taking
photographs. This important in Sami areas where people are camera sensitive.
