Norway is located in northern Europe and has a population of over 5 million people. The capital and largest city is Oslo. Norway has strong national symbols including its flag and traditional folk costumes. Typical Norwegian foods include brown cheese, breads, fish, and potatoes. During the Viking Age, many Norwegians emigrated to places like Iceland and Ireland and founded cities. The town of Otta is located north of Lillehammer and has historical significance from the Battle of Kringen in 1612 where a woman named Pillar-Guri helped signal an ambush of Scottish troops.

1. NORWAY
Geography
Symbolism
Food in Daily Life
Otta - Curiosities
A brief summary of the Viking age

2. • Sovereign: King Harald V
• Government: Constitutional monarchy

3. Monetary unit: Norwegian krone

4. Norway is situated in the western part of
the Scandinavian peninsula.
It extends about 1,770 km from the North
Sea along the Norwegian Sea to more
than 483 km above the Arctic Circle.
Nearly 70% of Norway is uninhabitable
and covered by mountains, glaciers,
moors, and rivers.
Geography

5. Population (2014 census): 5,147,792
Life expectancy: 81.6
Capital and largest city: Oslo (915,000)
Other large cities:
 Bergen (270,600)
 Stavanger (197,852)
 Trondheim (170,242)
Geography

6. The flag, folk costumes, the land (or landscape),
and the home are the major symbols of national
unity.
The flag (a red background with blue stripes
outlined in white) is owned and flown not only by
public agencies but by many private individuals.
Symbolism

7. On Constitution Day (17 May), citizens
appear at public celebrations
carrying small flags and wearing red,
white, and blue streamers pinned to
their clothing.
Symbolism

8. Folk or national costumes (bunad) are
owned by large numbers of both men and
women.
Based on local traditional peasant apparel,
women's costumes include elaborate skirts,
blouses, jackets, stockings, and shoes
adorned with silver pins and decorations.
The design and colors of the costumes vary
according to locality so that each large
fjord or valley has a distinctive costume.
Symbolism

9. The national anthem affirms a love for
the land and the importance of the home
as symbols of nationhood. Festive days in
this home-centered society often feature
a public celebration followed by
gatherings of families and relatives in
people's homes.
Symbolism

10. Half the nation's families have access to nearby ski
huts, cabins, or boats, and virtually everyone engages
in outdoor pursuits such as skiing, hiking, and boating.
In a variety of ways, Norwegians aim to preserve rather
than transform the local natural landscape.
Homes are comfortable refuges and are
decorated to express the identity of the
family. This attachment to place is also
apparent in people's relationship to nature.
Symbolism

11. Food in Daily Life
The food considered by many to be most typically
Norwegian is brown cheese that is thinly sliced
with a cheese plane (a Norwegian invention) and
eaten on bread.

12. Breakfasts (frokost) usually consists of coffee, breads (including flatbread or crisp bread),
pickled or smoked fish, cold meats, perhaps boiled eggs, and milk products such as
cheese, butter, yogurt, and varieties of sour milk.
Food in Daily Life

13. Noon meal (lunsj) may consist
of an open-faced sandwich of
bread, cheese, paté, or cold
meat, perhaps accompanied
by a piece of fruit and coffee.
Food in Daily Life

14. The traditional late afternoon meal
(middag) consists on fish and meat (pork,
beef, lamb, chicken, and whale) and
boiled potatoes, usually served with
gravy or melted butter. Root vegetables
such as carrots often supplement
potatoes. Beer or wine is drunk
occasionally in the evening.
Food in Daily Life

15. The Viking Age was characterized by emigration to
other lands by the Viking sailors.
A brief summary of the Viking age

16. According to tradition, Harald Hårfagre unified the
Vikings in 872 (BC), after the Battle of Hafrsfjord in
Stavanger , becoming the first king of the united
Norway.
A brief summary of the Viking age

17. According to some historical records, many Norwegians left the country to live in Iceland,
the Faroe Islands , Greenland and parts of Britain and Ireland . Modern Irish cities of
Dublin, Limerick and Waterford were founded by Norwegian settlers.

18. Later, Nordic mythology was replaced by Christian in tenth and eleventh
centuries. This is largely attributed to the missionary kings Olav Tryggvasson
and Olav the Holy. In the mid-tenth century, Haquino, the Good became the
first Christian king of Norway, marking the end of the Viking age.

19. Otta

20. Situated 110 kilometers North from
Lillehammer, it spans the valley floor
where Ottadalen branches of
Gudbrandsdal and the largely glacial
fed, most of its 4000 km2 watershed
being in a very arid region, the river
Otta merges into Gudbrandsdalslågen
North-east lies the massif Rondane,
which areas became the first national
park in Norway in 1962, and has several
mountains over 2000 metres.
Otta

21. Curiosities
Pillar-Guri or Pillarguri is a semi legendary
figure who, according to oral tradition, was a
woman from Sel, Norway, who played a key
role in the Battle of Kringen in August 1612.
Otta

22. • Sweden and Denmark-Norway were actively engaged in the Kalmar War. Hence a
peasant militia force of around 500 decided to ambush the Scots at Kringen (the
narrowest part of the valley). The terrain chosen by the Norwegians made that
ambush very effective.
• The Norwegian victory over the Scots is celebrated in Otta and Dovre to this day.
Otta

23. • Guri is a common Norwegian woman's name which has origins in the Old
Norse word for good. Prillar refers to the horn Guri was supposed to have used.
• According to the oral tradition, Pillarguri placed herself on a promontory on the
other side of the river to the advancing Scottish troops. She either played her horn to
distract them and then moved a piece of clothing to signal the ambush, or she
commenced playing as the signal.
Otta

24. • A statue depicting Pillarguri is located
in the community of Otta, Norway.
The Pillarguri prize is awarded in
conjunction with the annual Pillarguri
Festival at Otta. She was also
reproduced on a memorial erected in
1912 in connection with the 300-year
anniversary of the battle. Pillarguri is
also depicted on the municipal coat of
arms of Sel in Oppland county, Norway.
Otta

25. Work done by:
Maria Monteiro
Diogo Vidas
Camila Lázaro
Maria Miguel