Scandinavia--Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland--is blessed with five distinct, yet related, cultures.

Learn about the stories behind the legends, about the countries, and most of all about the people.

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"We sailed our ships to any shore that offered the best hope of booty; we feared no fellow on earth..."
Saga of Arrow-Odd

What is Gjetost?
A town in Sweden.
Brown goat cheese.
The word for "hello" in
       Danish.

Roasted fish.
The word for ghost in
       Swedish.

Correct answer?
OSLO - Norway

Clustered around the head of the 68-mile-long Oslofjord, Oslo is probably the most spacious city in the world. Its 175-square-mile metropolitan area consists of over 75 percent forests and five percent water. Its fine deep harbor, Pipervika, stretches into the heart of the city and from it leave ferries to Denmark and Germany.

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Feature: Stavanger
Featured City: Oslo
Food: The Great NordicDiet
          Swedish Semla
          Norwegian Cuisine
          Canned Sardines
History: The Round Tower
Arts:   Vigeland Park, Oslo
          Georg Jensen
People: Henrik Ibsen    
News: Happiest Countries          

Find out how to contribute to this site

 
 

Welcome to All Scandinavia where you'll find news of Scandinavia,
interesting articles, little-known facts, tasty recipes, and colorful images.

STAVANGER—NORWAY'S SECRET
by Bob Brooke

At first glance, Gamle Stavanger, or Old Stavanger, the area of town closest to the water, looks like a transplanted, salty New England village, with its cobblestone streets lined with one and two-story wooden houses faced with white clapboard. The air smells salty, too, since the town lies along the Norway’s southwest coast.

Related Article: The King of Canned Fish

Read more                                                                                      
THE GREAT NORDIC DIET
by Bob Brooke

Nutritional experts say a traditional Nordic diet is just as healthful as a Mediterranean one. In fact, it includes a lot of the same ingredients—fish, fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads. According to a study that conducted in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland by the Nordiska ministerrådet (the Nordic Council of Ministers), a healthy, Nordic diet will decrease cardiovascular diseases and the risk for Type 2 Diabetes,.

Read more                               Read articles about and discover recipes for traditional Scandinavian cooking.
SCULPTING THE HUMAN CONDITION
by Bob Brooke

Many artists have tried to interpret the pathos that is the human condition. In many ways, Gustav Vigeland, the Norwegian sculptor, succeeded. His lasting legacy is a monumental lifetime work that occupies a 75-acre park in Oslo. Vigeland once said, "I was a sculptor before I was born. I was driven and lashed onward by powerful forces outside myself. There was no other path, and no matter how hard I might have tried to find one, I would have been forced back again."


Read more                              Read more about the arts of Scandinavia
 

Finns are much older than Finland, itself. Excavations in Ristola, near Lahti, confirm that hundreds of people lived there 10,000 years ago. The earliest settlers migrated to southern Finland from present-day Estonia about 8,000 years ago.

HENRIK IBSEN is Norway's  most famous playwright, known for three of the most widely performed plays in the world—Hedda Gabler, A Doll's House, and Peer Gynt. He also wrote many others, as well as over 300 poems. Today, his statue stands guard in front of the National Theater in Oslo.

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News from Norway
from The Norway Post
News from Denmark

from The Local - Denmark
News from Sweden
from The Local - Sweden
News from Finland
from Finnish News Agency STT
News from Iceland
from The Iceland Review
All news is in English
.


 

THE VIKINGS:
THE NORTH ATLANTIC SAGA

In the early Middle Ages, driven by famine at home and the promise of wealth to be had in other lands, the Vikings set out from Scandinavia to conquer parts of England, Ireland, France, Russia, and even Turkey. Bolstered by their successes, the Vikings pushed westward, eventually crossing the North Atlantic and founding settlements in Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland in Canada.
Read more          Go to the Book Shop >

Did the Vikings discover America? Find out more.

And stay tuned for a new section on the Vikings on this site---coming soon.

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