Steamboats like this one - on Lovatnet, Stryn, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway - opened up possibilities for the people living in isolated places. People and goods could be transported in a way that had not been possible before. | Photo: Anders Beer Wilse - digitaltmuseum.no DEX_W_00294 - cc by. | Photo: Anders Beer Wilse - digitaltmuseum.no DEX_W_00294 - cc by.

Norwegian history | prosperity, war and depression | Norway

On 18 November 1905, after a supportive referendum, the Norwegian parliament unanimously elected the Danish Prince Carl as the country’s new king.

Prosperity, war, and depression | AD 1905 – 1940

Prince Carl took the historical name King Haakon 7, and gave his only child, Prince Alexander, an equally Norwegian royal name: Olav. Haakon’s queen consort, Queen Maud, was the youngest daughter of King Edward 7 of the United Kingdom, and thus the granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

Haakon, Maud and Olav arrived on 25 November 1905; a cold and windswept winter day. The coronation took place on 22 June 1906, in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim – the burial church of the Viking king St. Olav.

With its newfound independence, Norway experienced a surge in energy and development. In all areas of society, enthusiasts pushed forward in educating the country and building a strong new nation.

Norway, with its resources and access to waterfalls and their power, experienced great industrial development in the years that followed. Agriculture and fishing were motorised and modernised. The principles of national control and ownership of natural resources were defined and implemented during this early period, something that has greatly contributed to the wealth experienced by the Norwegian population in more recent times.

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Norwegian royal family | the secret of Queen Maud’s coffin

The early AD 1900s was also a period of great social change, with new laws protecting workers, and generally improved living standards.

Norway chose a neutral position during World War 1, but still suffered losses and hardship. In AD 1930, the Great Depression hit Norway with full force. The labour movement and the labour party – Arbeiderpartiet – became Norway’s largest political party.

Despite a second attempt at staying neutral, it was from a weakened position that Norway was about to become a pawn in Hitler-Germany’s game of war and World War 2.

Next period: Norwegian history | World War 2 and occupation | Norway

Or see the full: History timeline | from stone age to modern era | Norway

BC = before Christ | AD = anno domini = after Christ
Main source: Store norske leksikon – snl.no

LA Dahlmann | history timeline

Norwegian railway history | the pioneer era 1851-1868 | Norway

buildings and structures

With the birth of the new Norwegian national state in 1814, came big ideas. And one of them was to establish better transportation systems.

Faredag | notice day for farmhands – twice a year | Norway

homestead and farm

In the old farming society, nature dictated the flow of the working year. And farmworkers could only leave their jobs on 2 specific days during the year.

Åre | means open fire on the floor in Norwegian | Norway

words from history

Åre is a Norwegian noun that means an open fireplace, placed on the floor in the middle of a room. The smoke goes up and out through a vent in the roof – the ljore.

Folk instruments | the birch trumpet | Norway

folk instruments

One of the oldest Norwegian instruments is the birch trumpet. But is it really an instrument at all – or did it originally have a completely different purpose?

Queen Maud of Norway | her background and childhood years

norwegian royal history

Queen Maud of Norway was born in London in 1869, as Princess Maud of Wales. Her grandmother was none other than the formidable Queen Victoria.

Fjords | gateways to mystery | Norway

landscape

Once upon a time in the distant past, imagine yourself sitting in a small boat, facing this mighty gateway into the bowels of the land.

Norway | on the coastal path along the Oslofjord

landscape

Whether it be on a rainy day – or a beautiful summer’s day like this one – the coastal paths take us through some pleasing stretches of Norwegian scenery.

Ice export | a booming business for more than a century | Norway

landscape

From the early 1800s and well into the 1900s, Norway was a significant exporter of natural ice. But how did they prevent the ice from melting?

Norway | a land of water

landscape

In the spring, the Norwegian mountain-snow melts and turns into creeks, rivers and magnificent waterfalls.

Moose calf saved from drowning in 1939 | Norway

wild animals

Magne Løvstuen and his family adopted this moose calf after saving it from drowning in Lake Mjøsa.

Horse history in the land of the Vikings vol 2 | Norway

domesticated animals

The horse no longer roams wild in the Norwegian landscape. But it still has an important place in the Norwegian psyche.

Reindeer | an ancient presence in the Norwegian mountains

wild animals

When the ice melted after the last ice age, herds of reindeer followed in its wake. And with the animals came their main predator: the humans.

Horse history in the land of the Vikings vol 1 | Norway

domesticated animals

The horse settled in the Scandinavian landscape after the last ice age. Let us meet this majestic animal – and follow in its footsteps.

Grøt | a nation built on porridge | Norway

food history

Some claim that porridge is the oldest hot dish in the Norwegian diet. Was it to our ancestors what bread is to the modern family of today?

Food history | the «Viking pizza» | Norway

food history

In Norway, the pizza appeared as an exotic newcomer in the 1970s. But bread topped with foodstuffs is nothing new in Norwegian food history.

Klippfisk | what is Norwegian klipfish? | Norway

food history

Klippfisk – or klipfish – is fish preserved through salting and drying. Since the early 1700s, the Norwegians have been large-scale klippfisk producers and exporters.

Food history | the beginning | Norway

food history

When humankind first appeared in the Norwegian landscape – sometime after the last ice age – the search for food was their primary motivation.

Norwegian art | the mysterious boy from Setesdal | Norway

art

Carl Fredrik Sundt-Hansen created this fascinating oil painting in 1904. It is like a window leading into the house of history. If only we could climb through.

Facts | only 3 percent is agricultural land | Norway

statistics

The most significant sections of Norwegian productive soil can be found in the counties of Trøndelag, Hedmark, Oppland and Rogaland.

Do we show our ancestors the respect they deserve? | Norway

opinion

The modern human has a tendency to judge its forebears and their way of life solely based on the reality of our own time.

Bergen | historical city once plundered by pirates | Norway

towns and cities

Bergen is Norway’s second-largest city and one of the country’s oldest urban locations. The first post-viking king, Olav Kyrre, gave it market-town-status around AD 1070.

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External link: How to trace your ancestors in Norway

Norwegian history | prosperity, war and depression | Norway

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