Union between Sweden and Norway

Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway (Swedish: Svensk-norska unionen; Norwegian: Den svensk-norske union), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden and Norway under a common monarch and common foreign policy from 1814 to 1905, before Sweden accepted Norway's leaving the union.

The states kept separate constitutions, laws, legislatures, administrations, state churches, armed forces, and currencies; the kings mostly resided in Stockholm, where foreign diplomatic representations were located. The Norwegian government was presided over by viceroys: Swedes until 1829, Norwegians until 1856. That office was later vacant and then abolished in 1873. Foreign policy was conducted through the Swedish foreign ministry until the dissolution of the union in 1905.

Norway had been in a closer union with Denmark, but Denmark-Norway's alliance with Napoleonic France caused the United Kingdom and Russia to consent to Sweden's annexation of the realm as compensation for the loss of Finland in 1809 and as a reward for joining the alliance against Napoleon. By the 1814 Treaty of Kiel, the King of Denmark-Norway was forced to cede Norway to the King of Sweden. But Norway refused to submit to the treaty provisions, declared independence, and convoked a constituent assembly at Eidsvoll.

Å, Sweden

Å is a small village and a parish in Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden. It has a population of about 200.

There are also at least 12 other places in Sweden called Å, most of them only a farm or a few houses. Å is pronounced "Aw", or phonetically [o:].

Å, which means stream or small river, is a contender for the title of shortest place-name in the world — although other places named Å as well as Ö and Y can make the same claim. As a consequence, many tourists have ventured to the village for the sole purpose of either taking photos of or stealing the place-name sign.

The parish of Å is rich in ancient remains, of which the oldest date from the Stone Age.

Coordinates: 58°29′47″N 16°30′06″E / 58.49638°N 16.50166°E / 58.49638; 16.50166

Sweden (album)

Sweden is an album by the Mountain Goats released on Shrimper Records in 1995.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by John Darnielle, except where noted. 

Notes

Despite the title, cover, Swedish alternative titles, and the humorous mini-essay about "The Swedish conspiracy" in the liner notes (written by Paul Lukas, though he was only credited a year later in the liner notes to the band's next release Nothing for Juice), none of the lyrics are explicitly about Sweden itself. Various other locations, such as Seoul, Korea, California, Queens, New York City, Bolivia and Denmark are however all mentioned in the songs. "Duke Ellington" (which appears on the rarities compilation Protein Source of the Future...Now! and the Harriet records compilation The Long Secret), which does mention Sweden, is described as "one of two pieces written for the song-cycle Sweden and intentionally left off of the album".

Personnel

References

Australian rules football in Sweden

Australian rules football in Sweden has been played since 1993, with the game currently played in Helsingborg, Malmö, Lund, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Karlstad, Falun, Norrtälje and Uppsala. A national governing body was formed in 2007 under the name Svenska Australiska Fotbollsförbundet or AFL Sweden.

History

Australian rules football began in Sweden in late 1993 with the creation of the Helsingborg Saints for play in the Danish Australian Football League. They continued as the only Australian rules club in Sweden (excepting the short-lived Lund Bulldogs in 1995) until 2002, when the DAFL was restructured and the Saints were divided into three new clubs, the Port Malmö Maulers, Helsingborg West Raptors and Lund Magpies. After 2005, the three Scania teams became feeders for the South Sweden Saints (changed name back to Helsingborg Saints in 2008), who competed in the DAFL Premier League and reached the 2005 Grand Final.

In 2003 a new club was formed, the Göteborg Berserkers, followed by the Stockholm Dynamite in 2004. The three centres for footy in Sweden continued to operate largely independently of each other, with the Dynamite creating its own three team local league, the Stockholm region Australian Football Federation.

Norway

Norway (ⁱ/ˈnɔːrweɪ/ NAWR-way; Norwegian:  Norge (Bokmål) or  Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a sovereign and unitary monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula plus the island Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land. Until 1814, the Kingdom included the Faroe Islands (since 1035), Greenland (1261), and Iceland (1262). It also included Shetland and Orkney until 1468.

Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of 5,109,059 people (2014). The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden (1,619 km or 1,006 mi long). Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, and the Skagerrak Strait to the south, with Denmark on the other side. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea.

Norway Pavilion at Epcot

The Norway Pavilion is a Norway-themed pavilion that is part of the World Showcase, within Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Its location is between the Mexican and Chinese Pavilions.

Layout

The 58,000-square-foot (5,400 m²) Norway Pavilion is designed to look like a Norwegian village. The village includes a detailed Stave church, and the exterior of its main table-service restaurant, Restaurant Akershus, resembles its namesake in Oslo. The exhibit showcases 4 styles of Norwegian architecture: Setesdal-style, Bergen-style, Oslo-style and Ålesund-style.

Much of the pavilion is taken up by interconnected shops. These shops are decorated with large wooden trolls and sell assorted Norwegian goods, including clothing, candy, and statuettes of Norse gods and trolls. The courtyard of the pavilion contains the entrance to Maelstrom, a boat ride into Norway's past and present. Kringla Bakeri og Kafé is a bakery, featuring assorted Norwegian pastries, such as cream horns and open-faced salmon sandwiches. The courtyard contains the entrance to Restaurant Akershus, featuring a hot and cold buffet and "Princess Storybook Dining."

Norway (song)

"Norway" is a song by American dream pop band Beach House, from their third studio album, Teen Dream. The song was released on January 18, 2010, with "Baby" as its B-side. The song was released as a free download on the band's site on November 17, 2009, before its commercial release.

Track listing

Reception

"Norway" received very positive reviews from contemporary music critics. The song was chosen upon release as Pitchfork Media's "Best New Track". Aaron Leitko stated that, "'Norway', the lead track from Teen Dream, the duo's Sub Pop debut, raises the temperature a few degrees. A percussive intro yields to an explosion of twinkling guitars and a chorus of woozy backing vocals. The core elements of Beach House's sound-- the drum machine, the thrift store keyboards-- are still present; they're just a few ticks faster. This makes a big difference. As it turns out, Beach House goes from dour to exuberant in just a few BPM." Leitko continues by saying, "Legrand, whose vocals have been saddled with Nico comparisons, can finally breathe a sigh of relief, too. The 1960s chanteuse's shadow is nowhere to be found here. 'You let us in the wooden house/ To share in all the wealth,' sings Legrand over a carsick slide guitar riff. No, 'Norway' is radiant with the sunshiny 70s pop vibes. It's Stevie Nicks territory, for sure. Climate change has come to Beach House, and the weather suits them beautifully."