Norway is a beautiful northern European country with a rich history and culture. Here are some interesting facts that you may not have known about Norway and the Norwegian people. Norway was a part of Sweden until 1905 when the union broke and Norway seceded.

Norway is officially known as 'Kingdom of Norway'.  Norway’s political system is a Constitutional monarchy. The Norwegian constitution written in 1814 is one of the most liberal in the world, guaranteeing everyone a role in the running of the state. The royal family in Norway can trace its lineage back a long way to the founding.

The longest road tunnel in the world is in Norway. It is called the Laerdal Tunnel. It was opened for traffic in November 2000. It is over twenty four kilometers long and even has three large caves where drivers can stop to rest. Among the top ten longest road tunnels in the world, there are two other Norwegian tunnels; Gudvanga and Folgefonn.

The northern parts of Norway experience midnight sun during the summer. This is a time when the sun does not set! At midnight the sun can be seen over the horizon. The reason this happens is because these parts of Norway are above the Arctic Circle. In the extreme cases the midnight sun can last for over a month! During the winter, these areas experience a time during which the sun does not shine. It is dark the whole day round, called polar night. If you are lucky, you might also experience the beautiful sight of the aurora borealis, or the northern light, which can be seen north of the arctic circle.

In Norway, education for citizens is free from an age of six years to college. From six to sixteen years of age, education is compulsory. As a result of this policy, the national literacy rate in Norway is over 99%! Norwegians are very educated people and many of them continue the learning process until they die!

Norwegians love reading newspapers and have the world’s highest per capita newspaper reading rates.

Norwegians drink more coffee per capita than any other nation in the world. Coffee in Norway is a social drink. Norwegians will invite each other out ‘for a coffee’ when they want to talk.

Norwegians are peace loving people; many peace initiatives around the world are funded and organized by Norway. The first United Nations Secretary General, Trygve Lie, was a Norwegian. It's also the country that house the Nobel peace committee.

The official Norwegian language is Norwegian which is either Bokmål or Nynorsk. The highest mountain in Norway is Galdhopiggen it stands at over 2,400m above sea level.

The largest glacier in Europe is in Norway. It is called Jostedalsbreen with an area of 480 km² and is nearly 600 meters thick. It is visited by thousands of tourists every year.

For over 50 years, the city of Oslo (the capital of Norway) has provided the Christmas tree which stands in Trafalgar square in London.

The Vikings came from Norway. They sailed all over Western Europe attacking towns and taking away property. The cities of Limerick, Dublin, and Waterford in Ireland were founded by Norwegian settlers long ago. Norwegians have always been very good at sea travel and travelled to these places to establish settlements. Most famous Viking travel was made by Leiv Eiriksson, who actually discovered "Vine land", or Newfoundland around year 1000, long before Christopher Columbus.

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