Some of Scandinavian man's earliest traces can be found in Norway. In the Middle Ages, following the colonizing escapades of the Norwegian Vikings, Norway's territory was more than twice its present size, and outposts included Iceland, Greenland and fragments of Britain. Many of the most interesting sights have their origins in those times. Later, Norway ceded many of its overseas possessions to Denmark and, until it declared its independence in 1905, Norway's political fortunes were closely, and often uncomfortably, linked first with Denmark and, in the 19th century, with Sweden.

Most of the population, however, had to struggle hard for a livelihood in remote valleys and fjords, that what went on beyond their particular mountain was of academic importance. Many excellent open-air museums illustrate this past way of life. It could take weeks to reach the nearest town, involving arduous journeys by horse and/or boat. Out of such journeys came the first simple staging posts for rest and worship. Some of Norway's most famous hotels and interesting churches developed from these humble origins. Remoteness bred a high degree of selfsufficiency and gave rise to many of the skills and art forms which survive today. The timber-built stave churches, for example, of which about 25 survive from the 12th or 13th century, are unique to Norway.

The beautiful rustic art of rose painting, which reached its peak in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and embellishes interiors and furniture in several regions, has many local variations. The rose, incidentally, is only one motif of this art form which also includes geometric patterns, figures and even landscapes. Folk music, ballads and dancing have their roots in early medieval times, and trolls, battles and other heroic deeds are recurrent themes. Later influences came from mercenaries returning from the war in Poland around 1600, and the `polsdans' evolved into a special Norse folk dance–a hybrid of old and new with many regional variations.