The Local Norway

What unites and divides the Nordic countries?

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 16:59:59 +0100

Since the onset of the pandemic, the idea of a 'Nordic unity' has been difficult to sustain. Why do we speak of Northern Europe as a separate entity and, if these countries are so similar, what explains the divergences in approach to the coronavirus crisis?

Nazi warship found off Norway coast after 80 years

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 21:16:56 +0200

A Nazi cruiser torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Norway in 1940 has been found by chance at a depth of 490 metres (535 yards) during a subsea power cable inspection, the finders said on Thursday.

Norwegian World War 2 hero dies aged 99

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 18:50:54 +0100

Norwegian war veteran, writer and historian Ragnar Leif Ulstein has died at the age of 99.

1,000-year-old ship found underneath ground on Norwegian island

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 14:53:25 +0100

A ship likely to have built by the Vikings has been found by Norwegian researchers using georadar.

Here’s how to view a Google map of Oslo in the 1700s

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 17:18:29 +0200

Imagine if you could somehow drop a historic map on top of Google maps to see how a place has changed over the centuries.

'Think like a vagabond': Tales from the world's northernmost pilgrimage

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 18:00:00 +0200

Stretching from the Swedish to the Norwegian coast, St Olavsleden is a hiking route and pilgrimage following in the footsteps of a Norwegian king. The Local spoke to some of those who have made the journey who told us what it meant to them, and shared their tips for anyone hoping to embark on the trail.

How Norwegian trees have revealed the story of Germany's biggest WWII battleship

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 13:18:41 +0200

Tree rings and forest composition provide unlikely evidence of a WWII battle which sought refuge off Norway's northern coast.

TV series to tell story of Scandinavian Star disaster

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 17:29:50 +0100

A six-episode series about the 1990 Scandinavian Star ferry disaster will be produced, in a collaboration between Nordisk Film and Danish Documentary, it was announced in a press statement on Friday.

Who were the first Scandinavians? Ancient DNA sheds light on mysterious origins

Mon, 15 Jan 2018 14:04:22 +0100

Jan Apel, senior archaeology lecturer at Lund University, explores the origins of the first Scandinavians in this piece first published by The Conversation.

Adventurer who was Thor Heyerdahl’s 'last crewmate' dies aged 89

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 18:16:55 +0100

Pilot, sailor and adventurer Norman Baker, the last living person to have sailed on legendary Norwegian anthropologist and explorer Thor Heyerdahl’s raft voyages, has died at the age of 89 after his light aircraft crashed in the United States.

Discover Fetsund Timber Booms and the Øyeren River Delta

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 13:38:21 +0200

Less than half an hour from Oslo centre, the Fetsund Timber Booms Museum and the Øyeren River Delta combine fascinating history and unique nature. A fun and educational day trip, says our travel editor Marie Peyre.

Bergen for first-timers... and return visitors

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 21:33:30 +0200

Whether you are travelling to Bergen for the very first time, or have visited before - Norway's second largest city has something to enchant and surprise everyone. By our travel editor Marie Peyre.

A trip back in time: Blaafarveværket and the Cobalt Mines

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 10:26:53 +0200

Interested in Norwegian art and history? Blaafarveværket and the Cobalt Mines at Modum make for a great day trip from Oslo, says our travel editor Marie Peyre.

Israel honours Norwegians for helping Jews flee in World War 2

Thu, 26 Jan 2017 13:30:59 +0100

Israel on Thursday paid tribute to four Norwegians who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War 2.

Take a virtual journey through Oslo's past

Tue, 05 Jul 2016 16:31:32 +0200

The Norwegian capital has grown significantly over the past 100 or so years, but a new project on Oslo's history shows that some things have hardly changed at all.

Norwegian ‘witch’ books stolen by Nazis found

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 11:23:09 +0100

Books belonging to former SS leader Heinrich Himmler were recently recovered in a warehouse outside Prague.

Atomic bombs, Nazis and Norwegian heroes

Wed, 02 Mar 2016 10:09:34 +0100

In his new book Winter Fortress, best selling author Neal Bascomb tells the story of how a ragtag group of Norwegian men helped prevent Nazi Germany from developing the deadliest weapon in the world, the nuclear bomb.

Reddit helps Norway library identify incredibly rare atlas

Mon, 18 Jan 2016 15:23:16 +0100

One of the world's rarest atlases had unknowingly been hidden away in the National Library of Norway for six decades before a reference librarian and his fellow map aficionados on Reddit uncovered the truth.

Norway airs marathon 'Slow TV' history lecture

Fri, 28 Feb 2014 23:24:00 +0100

Norway's national television channel on Friday launched its latest "Slow TV" extravaganza, broadcasting a marathon 200-minute lecture on Norwegian history to mark the bicentenary of the country's constitution.

English spellcheck 'to blame for statue typos'

Fri, 27 Dec 2013 18:12:00 +0100

A row has broken out after it emerged that a monument in Oslo to Norwegian wartime resistance fighters was covered in typos. The designer says her use of English spellcheck is partly to blame.