The Beautiful Borgund Stave Church in Norway, Built From Wood Without a Single Nail From the Late 12th Century

Norway became a Christian nation during the tenth and eleventh centuries, following the age of the Vikings. No sooner had the new religion taken hold than a period of church building began which lasted for several centuries.

The Borgund Stave Church (Norwegian: Borgund Stavkyrkje) was built sometime between 1180 and 1250 AD outside of what is now Lærdal, Norway at the end of the longest fjord (Sogn fjord) in the country. It is one of the oldest and best preserved stave churches in Norway.

Built by the same people that built Viking longboats many of the construction techniques are similar. Norway has a long history of wood construction, probably due to large forests and rough terrain. It was one of a few countries that refused to build their early churches out of stone and instead chose wood to build places of worship.

The stave churches were built of a special type of fir called “malmfuru” (no longer available) which was very hard, with great size and straight trunks. The closest approximation to this favored fir in North America is the Douglas fir of the Pacific Northwest. It is of Douglas fir the Chapel in the Hills is constructed.

Although simple in appearance the techniques used to build the church are intricate and a marvel of engineering. The name Stavkirke comes from the use of staves (the large pillers) used to support the church structure. The church was built on a foundation of flat stones used to elevate the foundation beams from the ground and moisture. The walls were made from vertical planks topped with four more beams to support the roof.

The first churches would have had simple peaked roofs. The typical stave church became taller and taller, with a series of roofs, each one offset and becoming smaller as the church reached toward the sky. To support all this, an intricate system of beams and additional staves became necessary. In addition to the main body of the church, very often there was built a covered passageway, or “ambulatory,” entirely around the outside of the structure. This provided additional protection to the foundation from the harsh weather found in the region.

The only metal used was on the ornate door furnishings and locks. Instead of nails, they used wooden dowel pins. This may very well be one of the reasons why some stave churches have stood for over eight hundred years. The wooden dowels allow the building to expand and contract with the changes in temperature and humidity, instead of being rigidly held in place with iron hardware.

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A Norwegian University Student’s Secret Street Photography From 1890s Oslo

Known mostly as an accomplished mathematician and physicist from Norway, Carl Størmer (Fredrik Carl Mülertz Størmer) also enjoyed a very unusual side hobby at the time. With a bulky camera hidden in his clothes, Størmer walked around Oslo, Norway and secretly capture candid moments of passersby. As his subjects were always caught in their natural states, Størmer’s photography stands in striking contrast to portraiture of the era that largely consisted of serious and grave images against decorative settings.

Most of his photos were taken in the 1890s by using a C.P. Stirn Concealed Vest Spy Camera, which he got in 1893 when he was a 19-year-old student at the Royal Frederick University (now, University of Oslo). “It was a round flat canister hidden under the vest with the lens sticking out through a buttonhole,” he told the St. Hallvard Journal in 1942. “Under my clothes, I had a string down through a hole in my trouser pocket, and when I pulled the string the secret camera took a photo.”

Størmer tended to capture people exactly at the time they were greeting him on the street. “I strolled down Carl Johan, found me a victim, greeted, got a gentle smile, and pulled.” He described. “Six images at a time and then I went home to switch [the] plate.” In total, the Norway's very first paparazzi took a total of about 500 of these black-and-white photos.

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Norway After Liberation: Historical Photos of German Prisoners of War in Norway, 1945

The German occupation of Norway began on 9 April 1940 after German forces invaded the neutral Scandinavian country of Norway. It ended on 8 May 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht.

Civil rule was effectively assumed by the Reichskommissariat Norwegen (Reich Commissariat of Norway), which acted in collaboration with a pro-German puppet government, while the Norwegian King and legitimate government continued to operate in exile from London.

This period of military occupation is in Norway referred to as the “war years” or “occupation period”.

German prisoners of war from Elverum camp being processed prior to embarkation from Norway to Germany. Here prisoners play cards to pass the time at the embarkation camp at Mandal prior to boarding boats for Germany.

German prisoners of war being processed prior to embarkation from Norway to Germany. Here prisoners rest at the embarkation camp at Mandal prior to boarding boats for Germany.

German prisoners of war at Elverum camp being processed prior to embarkation from Norway to Germany. Here prisoners repack their belongings after the interrogation and search processes.

German prisoners of war at Elverum camp being processed prior to embarkation from Norway to Germany. Here prisoners prepare to move to the embarkation camp at Mandal.

German prisoners of war from Elverum camp prepare for embarkation from Norway to Germany. Before leaving the embarkation camp at Mandal a final screening of prisoners was carried out by walking the prisoners past two Gestapo men and one ‘Quisling’ woman who were to identify any of their former colleagues trying to pass themselves off as ordinary German soldiers.

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Captured German Kar98k Rifles at Stavanger, Norway, After the Surrender of Germany in 1945

Storeroom at Solar aerodrome, Stavanger, holding some of the estimated 30,000 rifles taken from German forces in Norway after their surrender.

(Photo: Imperial War Museums)

In Operation Doomsday, the British 1st Airborne Division acted as a police and military force during the Allied occupation of Norway in May 1945, immediately after the victory in Europe during the Second World War. The division maintained law and order until the arrival of the remainder of Force 134, the occupation force. During its time in Norway, the division was tasked with supervising the surrender of the German forces in Norway, as well as preventing the sabotage of vital military and civilian facilities.

The German Instrument of Surrender was delivered on May 8 to General Franz Böhme, the commander of all German forces stationed in Norway, and the 1st Airborne Division landed near Oslo and Stavanger between May 9 and May 11. The majority of the transport aircraft carrying the division landed safely, but three planes crashed with a number of fatalities. The division encountered little of the expected German resistance.

Operational duties included welcoming back King Haakon VII of Norway, looking after Allied ex-prisoners of war, arresting war criminals and supervising the clearing of minefields. The division was also able to confirm the deaths of the British airborne troops that had taken part in Operation Freshman, an unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the German atomic weapons program in November 1942. The division returned to Britain at the end of August and disbanded two months later.

30 Amazing Photos Show Norwegian Weddings From the Early 20th Century

Sogn og Fjordane was a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the county administration was in the village of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality. The largest town in the county was Førde.

Although Sogn og Fjordane has some industry, predominantly hydroelectricity and aluminium, it is predominantly an agricultural area. Sogn og Fjordane is also home to the Urnes Stave Church and the Nærøyfjord, which are both listed by UNESCO as world heritage sites.

The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences has campuses in Sogndal and Førde.

Here below is a set of amazing photos from Fylkesarkivet i Vestland that shows weddings in Sogn og Fjordane in the 1900s and 1910s.

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Small Town Life of Sunnfjord, Norway in the Early 20th Century Through Amazing Photos

Sunnfjord is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, Flora, Førde, Gaular, Jølster, Naustdal, and the southernmost parts of Bremanger. It covers an area of about 4,476 square kilometres (1,728 sq mi) and has a population about 8% of the population of Vestland county.

Life of Sunnfjord, Norway in the early 20th century

The central geographical characteristic of the Sunnfjord region are the fjords: Dalsfjorden and Førdefjorden. It is a tourist region, with waterfalls, fishing, white-water rafting, glaciers, hiking, and scenery–including Jostedalsbreen National Park.

The area was the site of the largest air battle over Norway during World War II, and a museum is dedicated to the event in Naustdal. There are two airports in Sunnfjord: Førde Airport, Bringeland, just outside the town of Førde, and Florø Airport, just outside the town of Florø. The European route E39 highway passes through the region, going north and south.

These amazing photos from Fylkesarkivet i Vestland were taken by Norwegian photographer Olai Fauske that show small town life of Sunnfjord, Norway in the 1900s and 1910s.

A group of people gathered outside Bakkeselet mountain hut at Brulandsstølen mountain farm

A game of croquetAdd caption

A group of people gathered outside Steinaselet mountain hut at Halbrendsstølen monutain farm

A halibut was caught close to Bjønnaholmen in the fjord Førdefjorden

A man and a horse portrayed at Teigen in Førde. The house in the background is Kristian Ulltang's kome "Nøysomhet" (moderation). Photographer Olai Fauske was UIltangs neighbour

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34 Wonderful Color Photos of Norway in the Early 1960s

Norway is a Nordic country in Northern Europe whose mainland territory comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula; Mainland Norway and the remote island of Jan Mayen as well as the archipelago of Svalbard form Metropolitan Norway.

Norway has a total area of 385,207 square kilometers (148,729 sq mi). The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden (1,619 km or 1,006 mi long), 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. The maritime influence also dominates Norway's climate with mild lowland temperatures on the sea coasts, whereas the interior, while colder, is also a lot milder than areas elsewhere in the world on such northerly latitudes.

This beautiful country is also considered one of the most livable places in the world.

These wonderful color photos of this beautiful country were taken by nickphoto21 during his trip to Norway in 1960 and 1961.

A Norwegian fjord, 1960

At the foot of a branch of the glacier, Norway, 1960

Balestrand. Kvikne's Hotel, 1960

Balestrand. Ship Fanaraaken, 1960

Bergen Harbour, 1960

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Street Scenes of Trondheim, Norway in 1893 Through Amazing Photos

Trondheim is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway, the third most populous municipality in Norway, although the fourth largest urban area. It lies on the south shore of Trondheim Fjord at the mouth of the River Nidelva.

The city functions as the seat of the County Mayor of Trøndelag county, but not as the administrative centre, which is Steinkjer. This is to make the county more efficient and not too centralized, as Trøndelag is the second largest county in Norway.

These amazing photos from Municipal Archives of Trondheim captured street scenes of Trondheim in 1893.

Corner Dronningens and Tordenskiolds

A bark in the Nidelva

Corner Munkegata / Strandgaten

Corner Nordre street / Dronningens street

Dampkjøkkenet

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Milkmaid’s Day Off: The Story Behind the Norway’s All-Time Best-Selling Postcard

Texting and emailing have diminished the popularity of the postcard as a way of staying in touch while traveling. But predictions of its demise are premature. Top-selling post cards still are popular, not least because they offer sender anonymity. In Norway, the best seller postcard by far is Seterjentens fridag (Milkmaid’s day off), featuring a black-and-white photo taken in 1932. More than two million have been sold.

(Photo: photographer said to be Fredric Hanche / courtesy of Normanns Kunstforlag)

The real-life story of Seterjentens fridag reflects Norwegian folklore. Milkmaid Anne Skår (1913–1991) was born at Borgund in Lærdal in Sogn og Fjordane County. At age 12, she began assisting at a summer pasture farm. At age 19, she was a qualified milkmaid working one at Galdestølen, on the road in Mørkedalen on the way up to the Hemsedal massif. The work was hard, the days long and the pay low, just NOK 25 ($5.80 at the exchange rate of the time) a month.

Like other farms of the time, Galdestølen literally was on the road, which ran between the cowshed on one side and the farmhouse on the other side. One day, a sow kept at the farm stubbornly stood in the middle of the road, refusing to move. Traffic on the road was negligible, but milkmaid Anne knew that the sow couldn’t just stand there, blocking the road. Persuasive calls and pushing didn’t budge the animal. So Anne tried the ultimate trick of jumping on its back, to ride it like a horse. A tourist staying in a nearby cabin saw and photographed the curious sight of a milkmaid riding a sow. And the rest is history!

The Galdestølen farm is now abandoned, but its buildings still stand in Sogn og Fjordane County, just to the southeast of Riksvei 52 (National road 52) between Borlaug on the European E16 highway and Breidstolen to the southeast.

(via The Norwegian American)

Global Warming Evidence: Shocking Then & Now Photos Reveal What 100 Years of Climate Change Has Done to Arctic Glaciers

In the early 1900s, Arctic glaciers were nature's most mysterious and undiscovered wonders. Over 100 years of research, exploration, and exploitation later, the glaciers have become a haunting testament to the effects of climate change.

Christian Åslund, a Swedish photographer who works with Greenpeace, compiled a collection of images taken in Svalbard during the early part of the 20th century and positioned them alongside his own group of images taken in the same location.

The shocking photos are being used to promote National Geographic's #MyClimateAction campaign. The campaign itself is aiming to raise awareness about climate change, and to encourage protest against oil drilling in the melting Arctic.

A lot can happen in 100 years. A lot. Just look at the current state of the Arctic glaciers now compared with what they looked like roughly 100 years ago.

(Photos: Christian Åslund/Norwegian Polar Institute, via Mpora)

30 Wonderful Color Photos of Norway in the 1960s

A delightful set of photo postcards made in Norway in the 1960s. Wonderfully, nearly all the cards in the set include a cheerful red car (of various makes), merrily making its way through the Norwegian countryside.

The postcards thus evoke a series of personal snapshots of one person's road-trip. Of course, in a sense, they are: the car(s) belonged to the photographer.

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