Kelsi Schuelke
“People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.” -- Edmund Burke
It is the prolific seafaring warriors, the Vikings, that I have to thank for a large part of my history. My maternal ancestors trace back to Oslo Norway. It was there in 1050 that the Vikings founded Oslo and established it as a major trade center. In Norse, “Viking” means piracy. The Viking Age began in the 700’s; they were raiders more than disciplined soldiers. Their narrow boats allowed them to access countries by rivers and terrorize, takeover, and establish trade throughout Europe. It is also likely the Vikings who discovered the Americas more than 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Shortly after founding Oslo, the Vikings converted to Christianity and assimilated into different civilazations. This ended the Viking Warrior culture.
Norway was then conquered by Canute, King of England and Denmark in 1028. Hostile fighting and changes in Monarchs continued until 1349 when the Black Plague struck Norway. Two-thirds of the population died. Denmark, Sweden, and Norway were united under one Monarch until the 1500’s. It was not until 1814 that the Norweigian Constitution was written. In 1905 Norway declaired complete independence and Prince Karl was crowned King Haakon VII of Norway.
King Haakon was from the Glucksburg Dynasty which has carried into modern day Norway. In 1914 WWI began and Norway remained neutral. WWII began in 1939 and Norway again claimed neutral. But in 1940 Germany invaded Norway and the royal family and government fled to Britain to set up government in exile. Between 1942 and 1943 767 Jews were deported to Auschwitz. Nearly 1100 fled to Sweden.
In 1945, German forces surrendered and Nazi-occupation ended. The royal family returned to Norway. It was then that Norway joined the United Nations. Today Norway is ranked the wealthies country in the world and the Norweigian Krone is one of the most solid...