Norway is one of Europe's cultural giants, producing world-class writers, composers and painters in numbers far out of proportion to its size. Norwegian artists and performers also excel in the realms of popular culture, from dark and compelling crime fiction to musical strands as diverse as jazz, electronica and heavy metal. And when it comes to architecture, Norway is as known for its stave churches as it is for the zany contemporary creations that are also something of a national speciality.
In the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, three figures – playwright Henrik Ibsen, composer Edvard Grieg and painter Edvard Munch – towered over Norway's cultural life like no others and their emergence came at a time when Norway was forging its path to independence and pushing the creative limits of a newly confident national identity. More than just artists, Ibsen, Grieg and Munch are an expression of the Norwegian soul. In the 20th century three Norwegian writers – products of Norway's golden age of cultural expression – won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Nowhere else in Europe does a tradition of folk tales and legends survive to quite the extent it does in Norway. Although many of these tales have been committed to paper, their essence is that of an oral tradition that has passed down through the generations.
Norwegian folk tales, often drawing on the legends of medieval Norse literature, are populated by an impossibly rich imaginary cast of mythical characters. The antics of these fantasy characters, as well as the princesses and farm boys that managed to outwit them, are as essentially Norwegian as the fjords and Vikings. But it is only due to the work of Peter Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in the early 1800s that they were ever written down at all. Inspired by the popular work of the Grimm brothers, the two men began with what they knew best: the folk tales told in the woods and valleys surrounding Oslo. Comic, cruel, moralistic, ribald and popular from the moment they were published, these stories set the tone for some of Norway's greatest authors, including Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.
The tales, most often illustrated with the distinct sketches of Erik Werenskiold and ending with the words 'Snipp. Snapp. Snute. Så er eventyret ute' (a Norwegian rhyme signifying 'The End'), remain popular and easy to find.
Born in Skien in southern Norway, Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828–1906) became known internationally as 'the father of modern drama', but to Norwegians he was the conscience of a nation. Norwegians are extremely proud of Ibsen, but from 1864 until 1891 he lived in disenchanted exile, decrying the small-mindedness of Norwegian society of the day. The enormously popular Peer Gynt (1867) was Ibsen's international breakthrough. In this enduring epic, an ageing hero returns to his Norwegian roots after wandering the world and is forced to face his own soul.
His best-known plays include The Doll's House (1879), the highly provocative Ghosts (1881), An Enemy of the People (1882), Hedda Gabler (1890) and, his last drama, the semi-autobiographical When We Dead Awaken (1899).
Throughout his life, Ibsen was always more than a chronicler of Norwegian society and saw himself as the very reflection of 19th-century Norwegians: 'He who wishes to understand me must know Norway. The magnificent but severe natural environment surrounding people up there in the north forces them to keep to their own. That is why they become introspective and serious, they brood and doubt – and they often lose faith. There, the long, dark winters come with their thick fogs enveloping the houses – oh, how they long for the sun!'
The late 19th and early 20th centuries were the golden age of Norwegian literature. Although most of the attention centres on Henrik Ibsen, it was Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910) who in 1903 became the first Norwegian writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Bjørnson's work included vignettes of rural life (for which he was accused of romanticising the lot of rural Norwegians). His home at Aulestad is open to visitors.
Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920. Hamsun's elitism, his appreciation of Germanic values and his idealisation of rural life led him to side with the Nazis in WWII. Only now is his reputation being rehabilitated and he is widely recognised as belonging to the tradition of Dostoevsky and Joyce. To find out more, visit the Hamsunsenteret, the museum in Hamarøy dedicated to his life.
Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) became the third of Norway's Nobel Literature laureates in 1928 and is regarded as the most significant female writer in Norwegian literature. Undset began by writing about the plight of poor and middle-class women. Bjerkebæk, her former home in Lillehammer, is open to the public.
One of the best-known modern Norwegian writers is Jan Kjærstad (b 1953), whose The Seducer (2003) combines the necessary recipe for a bestseller – a thriller with a love affair and a whiff of celebrity – with seriously good writing. It won the 1999 Nordic Prize for Literature among other international prizes. Other Norwegian winners of the prestigious Nordic Prize include Per Petterson (b 1952) and Lars Saabye Christensen (b 1953). Another world-renowned author is Jostein Gaarder (b 1952), whose first best-selling novel, Sophie's World (1991), sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Dag Solstad (b 1941) is the only Norwegian author to win the Norwegian Literary Critics' Award three times.
In the crime-fiction genre, Gunnar Staalesen, Karin Fossum, and the master, Jo Nesbø, have devoted international followings.
Karl Ove Knausgaard (b 1968) is the most extraordinary Norwegian literary phenomenon of recent times. Although he wrote two critically acclaimed novels, in 1998 (Out of this World) and 2004 (A Time for Everything), it was his six-part Min Kamp (My Struggle) series of intensely autobiographical novels, written between 2009 and 2011, that truly took the literary world by storm. The first five books sold more than half a million copies in Norway, with millions more sold around the world.
Knausgaard's work has been compared to that of Marcel Proust, and while the critical acclaim has been near universal, the series has attracted great controversy. Partly that derives from the title – Min Kamp is the Norwegian translation for Hitler's Mein Kampf. More enduringly, Knausgaard has been criticised for the unsparing portrayal of the private lives of his family members (including his father, ex-wife and grandmother), and he is now estranged from many of them.
The first five books in the series have been translated into English as A Death in the Family, A Man in Love, Boyhood Island, Dancing in the Dark and Some Rain Must Fall.
The 19th century was an extraordinarily rich time for Norwegian music. It was at this time that Edvard Grieg, who is regarded as one of history's greatest composers, emerged. Of arguably equal importance was the virtuoso violinist Ole Bull, known throughout Europe as the 'Nordic Paganini'. Bull is credited with critically encouraging the careers of Edvard Grieg and Henrik Ibsen, bringing the Hardanger folk fiddlers to Bergen concert halls, and reviving Europe-wide interest in Norwegian folk music.
There are fine philharmonic orchestras in Oslo, Bergen (dating from 1765), Trondheim and Stavanger; the Norwegian Opera Company (established in 1958) is based in Oslo.
Norway's renowned composer Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) was so disappointed with his first symphony that he scrawled across the score that it must never be performed! Thankfully, his wishes were ignored. Grieg was greatly influenced by Norway's folk music and melodies and his first great signature work, Piano Concerto in A minor, has come to represent Norway as no other work before or since.
Two years after the concerto, Grieg, encouraged by luminaries such as Franz Liszt, collaborated with Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, setting the latter's poetry and writing to music. The results – Before a Southern Convent, Bergliot and Sigurd Jorsalfar – established Grieg as the musical voice of Norway. This was followed by a project with Henrik Ibsen, setting to music Ibsen's wonderful novel Peer Gynt. The score found international acclaim and became Grieg's – and Norway's – best-remembered classical work. According to his biographer, Aimer Grøvald, it was impossible to listen to Grieg without sensing a light, fresh breeze from the blue waters, a glimpse of grand glaciers and a recollection of the mountains of western Norway's fjords.
Folk music is a central pillar of Norwegian music, and the Hardanger fiddle – which derives its distinctive sound from four or five sympathetic strings stretched out beneath the usual four strings – is one of Europe's best-loved folk instruments.
Some of the hottest folk acts include Tore Bruvoll and Jon Anders Halvorsen, who perform traditional Telemark songs (Nattsang); the live Norwegian performances of Bukkene Bruse (heavy on the Hardanger fiddle; Spel); Rusk's impressively wide repertoire of music from southeastern Norway (Rusk); Sigrid Moldestad and Liv Merete Kroken, who bring classical training to bear on the traditional fiddle (Spindel); and Sinikka Langeland, whose Runoja draws on ancient runic music. In 2009 Alexander Rybak, a Norwegian composer, fiddler and pianist of Belorussian descent, won the Eurovision Song Contest.
The haunting music of the Sami people of northern Norway is enjoying a revival. Recent Sami artists such as Aulu Gaup, Sofis Jannock, Mari Boine and Nils Aslak Valkeapää have performed, recorded and popularised traditional and modern versions of the traditional joik (personal songs). Boine in particular has enjoyed international air-time and her distinctive sound blends folk-rock with joik roots.
Modern Norwegian music is about far more than A-ha – yes, they're still around and released their 10th studio album Cast in Steel in 2015 – with Norwegian artists excelling at everything from jazz and electronica to that peculiarly Norwegian obsession, black metal.
Norway has a thriving jazz scene, with world-class festivals held throughout the year all over the country.
Jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek is one of the most enduring Norwegian jazz personalities and is one of the biggest names on the international stage, quite apart from his fame within Norway. His work draws on classical, folk and world-music influences and he has recorded 30 albums, some including collaborations with renowned artists across a range of genres. His daughter, Anja Garbarek, is seen as one of the most exciting and innovative performers on the Norwegian jazz scene, bringing pop and electronica into the mix.
Other well-known performers include pianists Bugge Wesseltoft and Ketil Bjørnstad, saxophonist Trygve Seim, guitarist Terje Rypdal and female jazz singers Solveig Slettahjell, Sidsel Endresen and Karin Krog. Supersilent, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble and the cutting-edge Jaga Jazzist rank among Norway's best-loved jazz groups.
Norway is at once one of Europe's most prolific producers, and most devoted fans, of electronica. Although much of the energy surrounding Norwegian electronica has shifted to Oslo in recent years, the so-called Bergen Wave was largely responsible for putting Norway on the world electronica circuit in the first years of the 21st century. Tromsø band Röyksopp (www.royksopp.com) in particular took the international electronica scene by storm with its debut album Melody A.M. in 2001 and the group has never really left the dance-floor charts since. The Bergen Wave was not just about electronica; it also produced internationally acclaimed Norwegian bands Kings of Convenience (www.kingsofconvenience.eu) and Ephemera (www.ephemera.no).
In recent years Oslo has taken up the electronica mantle with Sunkissed, spun by G-Ha and Olanskii. It remains the hottest thing to hit Norwegian dance music since Röyksopp.
Metal is a genre that Norway has taken to heart and Bergen tends to be the home city for much of the action. Two venues famous throughout Europe are Hulen, an almost mythical venue among European heavy and indie rock fans; and Garage, another iconic rock-heavy venue.
Norway is particularly known for its black-metal scene which, for a time in the early 1990s, became famous for its anti-Christian, Satanist philosophy. A handful of members of black-metal bands were involved in the burning down of churches such as the Fantoft Stave Church near Bergen. Among the better-known (or more notorious) Norwegian black-metal bands are Darkthrone, Mayhem, Enslaved, Gorgoroth, Satyricon and Arcturus.
Nineteenth-century Norway gave birth to two extraordinary talents: painter Edvard Munch and sculptor Gustav Vigeland, whose work adorns Oslo's public spaces.
One lesser-known early-20th-century talent whose work is finally receiving the acclaim it deserves is the mystical/expressionist Nikolai Astrup (1880–1928). A UK tour of his works in 2016 was a popular and critical success and you can see his work at KODE in Bergen.
Of the crop of contemporary Norwegian artists, Olav Jensen, Anne Dolven, Ørnulf Opdahl, Bjørn Tufta, Håvard Vikhagen, Odd Nerdrum and Anders Kjær have all created a minor stir with their return to abstract and expressionist forms. Their works often feature harsh depictions of the Norwegian landscape. Norwegian sculptors who've distinguished themselves include Bård Breivik, Per Inge Bjørlo and Per Barclay.
Perhaps in a category all his own, New York–based Bjarne Melgaard (b 1967) was described by London's Evening Standard newspaper in 2014 as 'the most famous Norwegian artist since Edvard Munch'. Known for his bad-boy, conceptual art, Melgaard shot to international fame with his 2014 fibreglass sculpture Chair. Conceived as a comment on the politics of race and gender, it depicted a black woman on her back with the seat cushion on her thighs and created a storm of controversy.
Edvard Munch (1863–1944), Norway's most-renowned painter, was a tortured soul: his mother and elder sister died of tuberculosis and his younger sister suffered from mental illness from an early age. Munch's first great work, The Sick Child, was a portrait of his sister Sophie shortly before her death. In 1890 he produced the haunting Night, depicting a lonely figure in a dark window. The following year he finished Melancholy and began sketches of what would become his best-known work, The Scream, which graphically represents Munch's own inner torment.
In 1892 Munch buried himself in a cycle of angst-ridden, atmospheric themes collectively entitled Frieze of Life – A Poem about Life, Love and Death. Beyond the canvas, his obsession with darkness and doom cast a long shadow over his life. Alcoholism, chronic emotional instability and a tragic love affair culminated in the 1907 work Death of Marat, and, a year later, he checked into a Copenhagen mental-health clinic for eight months.
After leaving the clinic, Munch settled on the coast at Kragerø. It became clear that Munch's post-clinic work was to be altogether different, dominated by a sunnier, more hopeful disposition dedicated to humans in harmony with their landscape.
Norway has a small, but internationally respected, film industry. Pioneering the industry's claims to international recognition were the Oscar-nominated Nils Gaup and Arne Skouen. Other directors to catch the international eye include Marius Holst, Berit Nesheim, Anja Breien and Jens Lien.
The only Norwegian feature film to win an Academy Award was Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki for Best Documentary Feature in 1951. In 2006 The Danish Poet, which was directed by Norway's Torill Kove and narrated by Liv Ullmann, won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, and became the second Norwegian production to receive an Academy Award.
Norway's architects have clearly been inspired by the country's dramatic landscapes, while recognising the need to build structures capable of withstanding the harsh dictates of Norway's climate. The results are often stunning: from rustic turf-roofed houses, whose design dates back almost two millennia, to Norway's signature stave churches, soaring religious architecture, and creative adaptations of Sami symbols and some Arctic landforms.
Timber and stone are the mainstays of traditional Norwegian architecture; nowhere is this more evident than in the former mining village of Røros, where many of the colourful timber houses date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. For an overview of Norwegian architectural styles down through the centuries, it's worth making a detour to Lillehammer to visit Maihaugen, or any of the excellent folk museums dotted around the country.
In the far north, where both wood and stone were in short supply, the early nomadic Sami ingeniously built their homes out of turf, which provided excellent insulation against the cold. The temporary shelter that the Sami used on their travels is popularly known as the lavvo (although it has different names in various Sami dialects). Less vertical (and hence more stable in the winds of the high Arctic) than the North American teepee, the lavvo was held aloft by a tripod of three notched poles with a cover of reindeer skins (and later canvas).
The lavvo formed at once a centrepiece of Sami life and a refuge from the elements. The lavvo also holds considerable modern symbolism for the Sami: in the early 1980s the Oslo police bulldozed a Sami lavvo that had been set up outside Norway's parliament building to protest against a proposed dam that would have inundated Sami herding lands. These events provided a catalyst for a reassessment of Sami rights and led indirectly to the foundation of the Sami Parliament. The stunning modern Sami Parliament building in Karasjok was inspired by the traditional lavvo form.
Seemingly conceived by a whimsical childlike imagination, the stave church is an ingenious adaptation to Norway's unique local conditions. Originally dating from the late Viking era, these ornately worked houses of worship are among the oldest surviving wooden buildings on earth, albeit heavily restored. Named for their vertical supporting posts, these churches are also distinguished by detailed carved designs and dragon-headed gables resembling the prows of classic Viking ships. Of the 500 to 600 that were originally built, only about 20 of the 28 that remain retain many of their original components.
Due to the need to rebuild quickly after WWII, Norway's architecture was primarily governed by functionalist necessity (the style is often called funkis in the local vernacular) rather than any coherent sense of style. Nowhere is this exemplified more than in the 1950, red-brick Oslo Rådhus. As the style evolved, functionality was wedded to other concerns, such as recognising the importance of aesthetics in urban renewal (for example, in Oslo's Grünerløkka district), and ensured that the country's contemporary architectural forms once again sat in harmony with the country's environment and history.
Tromsø's Ishavskatedralen (Arctic Cathedral), designed by Jan Inge Hovig in 1965, mimics Norway's glacial crevasses and auroral curtains. Another beautiful example is the Sami Parliament in Karasjok, where Arctic building materials (birch, pine and oak) lend the place a sturdy authenticity, while the use of lights to replicate the Arctic night sky and the structure's resemblance to a Sami lavvo are extraordinary. Alat's Northern Lights Cathedral is weird and wonderful, and the creative interpretation of historical Norwegian shapes also finds expression at the Viking Ship Sports Arena in Hamar, while Oslo's landmark new opera house powerfully evokes a fjord-side glacier.