The box of old letters that unlocks a family connection … an anniversary party photo showing multiple generations … documentation like this can provide priceless clues in tracing your family lineage. People tend to view genealogy as a look back in time, rather than a piece of the present.
Do you have any kroner that you’ve been saving for a rainy day? You’ll need to trade them for new banknotes by the end of May 2018. Last year, Norges Bank phased in brilliant new 100- and 200-krone bills, while keeping the old ones in circulation for a year. On May 30, 2018, the old 100- and 200-krone notes will expire [...]
The Storting (Norway’s parliament) recently passed the most comprehensive administrative reform since 1662. Back then, the country’s administrative units transitioned from len to amt while under Danish rule. In this new reform, Norway’s 19 fylker (counties) are planned to be replaced by 11 regioner (regions) by January 2020. Four existing counties (Nordland, Rogaland, Oslo and Møre og Romsdal) will continue using the [...]
A project funded by the European Union is making it possible to convert centuries-old handwriting into typed text. Transkribus is a software program that can scan, transcribe and search historical documents that are in English or Norwegian. The program is supported by the READ project (Recognition and Enrichment of Archival Documents), an international collaboration involving 14 countries. The ability to scan [...]
Author and historian Øystein Morten has studied ødegårder—abandoned farms—at length. Fascinated by their vacant, fallen structures, Morten believes deserted farms have a particular allure and tell us something important about the places and the culture that Norwegians have moved away from. With photographer Pål Hermansen, Morten has published—Norske ødegårder – Historien om stedene vi forlot—("Abandoned Norwegian Farms - The History of [...]
On lille julaften (December 23), Norwegian families typically decorate the juletre (Christmas tree), adorning the branches with handmade woven baskets, lights, Norwegian flags and figures made from straw. One of the traditional straw ornaments is the julebukk, or Yule Goat. Many of Norway’s Christmas symbols stem from pre-Christian times, and the Yule Goat is no exception. It was believed that the [...]
Photo Credit: visitnorway.com Norway’s most famous play, Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, celebrates its 150 year anniversary in 2017. The drama, which paints the vibrant and outrageous adventures and misdeeds of Peer Gynt, was finished on October 14, 1867, while its stage premiere opened exactly one month later. To mark this milestone anniversary, Norway has been celebrating all year, both on and off [...]
Photo Credits: Tyveriet på Universitetsmuseet/Burglary at The University Museum of Bergen Facebook Group On Monday, August 14, University of Bergen staff discovered there had been a burglary over the weekend. A massive collection of invaluable Viking artifacts had been stolen in a raid being called Norway’s largest museum heist. The Viking Age and Iron Age artifacts, which were being temporarily stored [...]
Some clever off-bike research paid off at this year’s Tour de France for Norwegian pro cyclist Edvald Boasson Hagen. In the longest stage of the race –222 km / 138 miles–the 30-year-old broke his 6-year drought to finish first in the 19th stage, which ended in Salon-de-Provence in July. Boasson Hagen, known as “The Boss,” had taken second place in two [...]
Oslo was recently the backdrop for an episode of ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” The hit TV show has also been a popular series in Norway. This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of premiere of The Bachelorette, in which a group of men vie for the interest of a single, eligible woman. Sometimes the show is shot on location in romantic international settings, [...]
