Kingdom of Norway

1. Kingdom of Norway By: Nathan, Lizz, and Ashley

2. Norwegian Government The constitutional assembly in 1814 • Norway’s government is a parliamentary democracy that is ruled by constitutional monarchy. • The Norwegian constitution was inspired by the U.S Declaration of Independence and the French constitution and on May 17, 1814 it was signed and put into action. • Power is divided between executive, legislative, and supreme courts and uses checks and balances like the United States, however there is still a king.

3. Gov Continued.. • The current king of Norway is King Harald V. He came into power after his father on January 17, 1991. • King Harald V commands the Norwegian Armed Forces and is head of the Church of Norway. • An interesting fact about Harald V is that he’s also in line for the Bristish throne becaue his grandfather was King Edward VII and his second cousin is Queen Elizabeth II. • King Harald V of Norway is also given executive power but must have the parliaments approval before a decision is made. • The ruling monarchy has power along with parliament, council of state, and a judiciary system and must comply with the constitution. • The king elects the members of his cabinet/committee of advisors and it is referred to as The Council of State. Current photograph of King Harald V.

4. Gov Continued.. • The current prime minister/the head of parliament is Jens Stoltenberg. • The Norwegian parliament is called the Storting and is a unicameral organization. • The judiciary system is called the Supreme Courts of Justice of Norway. Photograph of the Stortinget a.k.a Storting which in Norwegian means “great thing”

5. Economy • Currency is a Krone, 1 Krone=0.155972 U.S. dollars. • Government owns a large part of the economy. • Main exports are oil and natural gas. • Resources also include wood and fish. • One of the most expensive countries to live in.

6. Recent History

7. Art and Music • Popular genres of music in current Norway are electronica, rock, pop, hip-hop, and black metal. • Norwegian folk music, jazz, blues, and country are also well-liked. • In 2008 a new opera house was opened in the capital city of Oslo where people are able to enjoy the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. • The Opera House in Oslo seats 1350 people, contains 1100 rooms, has an area equal to four football fields, and six stages (some which are even underwater.

8. Art and Music continued.. Famous people from Norway include: • Roald Dahl- author of childrens books • Röyksopp- duo that compose and play electronic music • Gatas Parlament- a hip-hop group composed of rap artists who rap about political issues and world leaders • Mayhem- black metal group known to be highly controversial and violent because they previously were caught setting fire to churches • Edvard Munch- an artist well known for his painting The Scream

9. Right: Gatas Parlament Down: Royksopp Right: The Scream Down Right: Mayhem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZeMrZPxylI&feature=related

10. Language and Customs • Norwegian is a Northern Germanic language spoken by 95% of the population and 5% speak dialects of Norwegian or other languages. • The language is similar to Swedish, German, and Danish • There are two official written forms of the Norwegian language • Bokmal and Nynorsk are the names of the two written forms but the Norwegian language is the term for the spoken form • They’re used in schools, churches, on TV, radio, and in administrations • Bokmal (written form) is used by 85-90% of the population • In school the children are taught English as a second language.

11. Language and Customs Cont.. • Norwegian alphabet (norsk alfabet) Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj a be se de ee ff ge hå I je/jådd Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt kå ell em enn o pe ku ærr ess te Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz Ææ Øø Åå u ve dåbbelt eks y sett æ ø å http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/alphabets/alphabet_no.mp3

12. Architecture • Embraced functionalism. • Fueled by the Stockholm Exhibition in 1930. • One important architect is Sverre Fehn.

13. Architecture (cont.) • Contemporary architecture is much more varied. • More concern for aesthetics. • Contemporary architects try to minimize materials.

14. Architecture (cont.) • Some old buildings remain. • Remnants of Rococo can still be seen in the country side.

15. Architecture (cont.) • Gothic and renaissance architecture is also present in Norway.

16. Architecture (cont.) • Once very unique form of Norwegian architecture is Stave architecture.