Loading

History of Norway

A kingdom united in 872 that has existed for over a thousand years. 4 eras, 872 CE to today.

Kingdom of Norway, 872 CE–1397 Draft, not yet reviewed

The unified kingdom of Norway was established in 872 as a merger of petty kingdoms and has existed continuously for over a millennium. A unified realm was initiated by warrior bands that had coalesced around Harald "Shockhead" Hálfdanarson in the 9th century. The civil war era began in 1130 and ended in 1240. The Kingdom of Norway was the second European country after England to enforce a unified code of law to be applied for the whole country, called Magnus Lagabøtes landslov (1274).

Seat of power: Oslo

Rulers

Denmark–Norway, 1536–1814 Draft, not yet reviewed

Denmark–Norway was a 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real union consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and other possessions), the Duchy of Schleswig, and the Duchy of Holstein. From 1536/1537, Denmark and Norway formed a personal union that would eventually develop into the 1660 integrated state called Denmark–Norway by modern historians, at the time sometimes referred to as the "Twin Kingdoms". Prior to 1660, Denmark–Norway was de jure a constitutional and elective monarchy in which the King's power was somewhat limited; in that year it became one of the most stringent absolute monarchies in Europe, and was shortly thereafter, in 1665, formalized by an absolutist constitution, the King's Law. The Dano-Norwegian union lasted until 1814, when the Treaty of Kiel decreed that Norway (except for the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland) be ceded to Sweden.

Seat of power: Copenhagen

Rulers

Union between Sweden and Norway, 1814–1905 Draft, not yet reviewed

Sweden and Norway, officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch and common foreign policy that lasted from 1814 until its peaceful dissolution in 1905. After the adoption of the new Constitution of Norway on 17 May 1814, Prince Christian Frederick was elected king. Continuing differences between the two realms led to a failed attempt to create a separate Norwegian consular service and then, on 7 June 1905, to a unilateral declaration of independence by the Storting. Sweden accepted the union's dissolution on 26 October.

Seat of power: Stockholm

Rulers

Norway, 1905 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

Norway was neutral during the First World War, and in the Second World War until April 1940 when it was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany until the end of the war. Norway became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. In 1969, the Phillips Petroleum Company discovered petroleum resources at the Ekofisk field west of Norway. Norway was twice invited to join the European Union, but ultimately declined after referendums that failed by narrow margins in 1972 and 1994.

Seat of power: Oslo

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.