Zip up your warmest jacket, because Norway's fjords, Vikings, polar nights, and waffles are waiting.
These Norway trivia questions travel from Oslo to the Arctic, with stops for history, mythology, explorers, art, food, science, and world-class winter sports.
Norway on the Map
Q: What is the capital of Norway?
A: Oslo.
Q: On which European peninsula is most of Norway located?
A: The Scandinavian Peninsula.
Q: Which three countries share land borders with mainland Norway?
A: Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
Q: What currency does Norway use?
A: The Norwegian krone.
Q: What are Norway's two official written standards of Norwegian?
A: Bokmål and Nynorsk.
Q: What Indigenous people traditionally inhabit northern Norway and neighboring regions?
A: The Sámi.
Q: What is the highest mountain in Norway?
A: Galdhøpiggen.
Q: What is Norway's longest and deepest fjord?
A: Sognefjord.
Q: Which UNESCO-listed fjord is famous for the Seven Sisters waterfalls?
A: Geirangerfjord.
Q: What sea lies off Norway's western coast?
A: The Norwegian Sea.
Q: What sea lies north of Norway?
A: The Barents Sea.
Q: What Arctic archipelago is under Norwegian sovereignty?
A: Svalbard.
Q: Which island in Svalbard is home to Longyearbyen?
A: Spitsbergen.
Q: What phenomenon keeps the sun above the horizon in the far north during summer?
A: The midnight sun.
Q: What winter phenomenon keeps the sun below the horizon in the far north?
A: Polar night.
Oslo and Norway's Famous Cities
Q: At the head of which fjord is Oslo located?
A: Oslofjord.
Q: What medieval fortress overlooks Oslo's harbor?
A: Akershus Fortress.
Q: What white waterfront building invites visitors to walk on its roof?
A: Oslo Opera House.
Q: Which Oslo museum is devoted to The Scream's creator?
A: The Munch Museum.
Q: Which park displays more than 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland?
A: Vigeland Sculpture Park.
Q: Where is the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony held?
A: Oslo City Hall.
Q: What famous ski jump overlooks Oslo?
A: Holmenkollen.
Q: What is Oslo's main ceremonial street called?
A: Karl Johans gate.
Q: Which city is known for the colorful Bryggen wharf?
A: Bergen.
Q: What trading league established an important office at Bryggen?
A: The Hanseatic League.
Q: Which cathedral in Trondheim is built over the burial site of Saint Olav?
A: Nidaros Cathedral.
Q: Which northern city is a major base for viewing the aurora borealis?
A: Tromsø.
Q: Which coastal city is known for Art Nouveau architecture rebuilt after a 1904 fire?
A: Ålesund.
Q: Which city is widely called Norway's oil capital?
A: Stavanger.
Q: Which former mining town is a UNESCO World Heritage site?
A: Røros.
Vikings and Norse Society
Q: What 793 raid is often used to mark the beginning of the Viking Age?
A: The raid on Lindisfarne.
Q: Which king is traditionally credited with unifying Norway?
A: Harald Fairhair.
Q: What type of ship enabled Viking raiding and exploration?
A: The longship.
Q: What writing system did Norse people use?
A: Runes.
Q: What word described a Norse assembly for law and government?
A: Thing.
Q: Which Viking explorer is associated with reaching Vinland in North America?
A: Leif Erikson.
Q: Who was Leif Erikson's father?
A: Erik the Red.
Q: Which land did Erik the Red establish a Norse settlement on?
A: Greenland.
Q: What well-preserved Viking ship was found in a burial mound near Tønsberg?
A: The Oseberg ship.
Q: What other famous burial ship was excavated in southeastern Norway?
A: The Gokstad ship.
Q: Which Norwegian king died at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030?
A: Olav Haraldsson, later Saint Olav.
Q: What wooden medieval churches are a distinctive Norwegian architectural form?
A: Stave churches.
Q: Which stave church, named for its village, is one of Norway's best preserved?
A: Borgund Stave Church.
Q: What social class included free farmers and craftspeople in Norse society?
A: Karls.
Q: What social class consisted of enslaved people in Norse society?
A: Thralls.
Gods, Giants, and Norse Mythology
Q: Who is the one-eyed chief of the Norse gods?
A: Odin.
Q: Which thunder god wields Mjölnir?
A: Thor.
Q: What is Mjölnir?
A: Thor's hammer.
Q: Which trickster god is the parent of several monsters?
A: Loki.
Q: What is the name of the world tree?
A: Yggdrasil.
Q: What realm is home to the Aesir gods?
A: Asgard.
Q: What realm is home to humans?
A: Midgard.
Q: What hall receives many warriors who die in battle?
A: Valhalla.
Q: Who chooses warriors from battlefields and brings some to Odin's hall?
A: Valkyries.
Q: What final catastrophic battle is foretold in Norse mythology?
A: Ragnarök.
Q: What giant wolf is destined to kill Odin at Ragnarök?
A: Fenrir.
Q: What world-encircling serpent is Thor's great enemy?
A: Jörmungandr.
Q: Which goddess is associated with love, fertility, and seiðr magic?
A: Freyja.
Q: Which god gives his name to Tuesday in English?
A: Tyr.
Q: What rainbow bridge connects Midgard and Asgard?
A: Bifröst.
Union, Independence, and World War
Q: What 14th-century pandemic killed a large share of Norway's population?
A: The Black Death.
Q: What 1397 union joined Norway, Denmark, and Sweden under one monarch?
A: The Kalmar Union.
Q: Which country ruled Norway in a long union that ended in 1814?
A: Denmark.
Q: What treaty transferred Norway from Danish to Swedish rule in 1814?
A: The Treaty of Kiel.
Q: Where was Norway's constitution signed on May 17, 1814?
A: Eidsvoll.
Q: What does Norway celebrate on May 17?
A: Constitution Day.
Q: Which country shared a monarch with Norway from 1814 to 1905?
A: Sweden.
Q: In what year did Norway peacefully dissolve its union with Sweden?
A: 1905.
Q: Which Danish prince became Norway's King Haakon VII?
A: Prince Carl of Denmark.
Q: On what date did Nazi Germany invade Norway?
A: April 9, 1940.
Q: Which collaborator's surname became a word for traitor?
A: Vidkun Quisling.
Q: What industrial site was targeted to disrupt Nazi heavy-water production?
A: Vemork.
Q: In what year was Norway liberated from occupation?
A: 1945.
Q: Which military alliance did Norway help found in 1949?
A: NATO.
Q: Did Norway join the European Union after referendums in 1972 and 1994?
A: No.
Oil, Exploration, and Big Ideas
Q: What major North Sea oil field was discovered in 1969?
A: Ekofisk.
Q: What national investment fund saves petroleum revenue for future generations?
A: The Government Pension Fund Global.
Q: Which explorer led the first expedition to reach the South Pole?
A: Roald Amundsen.
Q: In what year did Amundsen reach the South Pole?
A: 1911.
Q: Which explorer crossed Greenland on skis and later became a diplomat?
A: Fridtjof Nansen.
Q: What ship did Nansen deliberately freeze into Arctic sea ice?
A: Fram.
Q: What museum in Oslo preserves the Fram?
A: The Fram Museum.
Q: Which explorer sailed the Kon-Tiki raft across the Pacific in 1947?
A: Thor Heyerdahl.
Q: What material was the Kon-Tiki raft mainly built from?
A: Balsa wood.
Q: What Arctic facility stores backup seeds from around the world?
A: The Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
Q: Near which settlement is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault located?
A: Longyearbyen.
Q: Which humanitarian explorer gave his name to a passport for stateless refugees?
A: Fridtjof Nansen.
Q: Which former Norwegian prime minister led the commission that popularized sustainable development?
A: Gro Harlem Brundtland.
Q: Which Nobel Prize is awarded in Norway rather than Sweden?
A: The Nobel Peace Prize.
Q: Who selects the Nobel Peace Prize winner?
A: The Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Norwegian Art, Books, and Traditions
Q: Who painted The Scream?
A: Edvard Munch.
Q: Which composer wrote music for Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt?
A: Edvard Grieg.
Q: Which playwright wrote A Doll's House?
A: Henrik Ibsen.
Q: Which playwright wrote Hedda Gabler?
A: Henrik Ibsen.
Q: Which novelist won the 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature?
A: Sigrid Undset.
Q: What medieval trilogy is Sigrid Undset's best-known work?
A: Kristin Lavransdatter.
Q: Which crime novelist created detective Harry Hole?
A: Jo Nesbø.
Q: Which Norwegian band recorded “Take On Me”?
A: a-ha.
Q: What animation technique made the “Take On Me” video famous?
A: Pencil-sketch rotoscoping.
Q: What is a bunad?
A: Traditional Norwegian festive clothing.
Q: What decorative folk-painting style features flowing flowers and scrolls?
A: Rosemaling.
Q: What fairy-tale creatures are deeply rooted in Norwegian folklore?
A: Trolls.
Q: Which folklorists collected Norwegian tales in the 19th century?
A: Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe.
Q: What knitted sweater pattern is named for a Norwegian valley?
A: Setesdal pattern.
Q: What outdoor-life philosophy is expressed by the word friluftsliv?
A: Open-air living.
Food and Winter Sports
Q: What sweet brown cheese is a Norwegian specialty?
A: Brunost.
Q: What thin flatbread can be made with potatoes?
A: Lefse.
Q: What dried cod dish is softened before being cooked?
A: Lutefisk.
Q: What mutton-and-cabbage stew is Norway's national dish?
A: Fårikål.
Q: What fermented trout dish is called rakfisk?
A: Salted, fermented trout.
Q: What is klippfisk?
A: Dried, salted cod.
Q: What spice-flavored spirit is traditionally served with Norwegian holiday meals?
A: Aquavit.
Q: Which berry prized in northern Norway has a golden-orange color?
A: Cloudberry.
Q: What heart-shaped treat is often served with jam and sour cream?
A: Norwegian waffles.
Q: Which winter sport is so central to Norway that a saying claims Norwegians are born with skis?
A: Cross-country skiing.
Q: What sport combines cross-country skiing with rifle shooting?
A: Biathlon.
Q: Which city hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics?
A: Oslo.
Q: Which Norwegian town hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics?
A: Lillehammer.
Q: What long cross-country ski race commemorates a medieval rescue journey?
A: Birkebeinerrennet.
Q: Which Norwegian chess grandmaster became world champion in 2013?
A: Magnus Carlsen.
The Fjord Is Yours
If you navigated every fjord, saga, and ski trail, that score is worthy of a victory waffle. Keep exploring with our Greece trivia or visit famous people trivia for more world-changing names.
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