Norway Proper as a geographic term in 20th and 21st century usage generally refers to those parts of the Kingdom of Norway that are located on the

Scandinavian Peninsula The Scandinavian Peninsula ( sv, Skandinaviska halvön; no, Den skandinaviske halvøy (Bokmål) or nn, Den skandinaviske halvøya; fi, Skandinavian niemimaa) is a peninsula located in Northern Europe, which roughly comprises the mainlands ...

. Before the 20th century the term was often used in English as synonymous with South Norway, the oldest and most densely populated part of the kingdom that historically formed its core territory, and excluded the more recently colonised and sparsely populated

Northern Norway Northern Norway ( nb, Nord-Norge, , nn, Nord-Noreg; se, Davvi-Norga) is a geographical Regions of Norway, region of Norway, consisting of the two northernmost counties Nordland and Troms og Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainlan ...

. Norway Proper in this original sense included the regions (''stiftamt'') of Akershus or Christiania, Christianssand, Bergen and Trondheim. Since the mid 20th century the term has generally referred to both South Norway and Northern Norway, and excluded dependencies and special jurisdictions of the Kingdom of Norway located outside of the Scandinavian Peninsula, such as the unincorporated territories of

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...

and

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: larger nort ...

, and the dependent territories of Bouvet Island,

Peter I Island Peter I Island ( no, Peter I Øy) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea, from continental Antarctica. It is claimed as a dependency of Norway and, along with Bouvet Island and Queen Maud Land, composes one of the three No ...

and Queen Maud Land, all of which became part of the Kingdom of Norway in the 20th century. The term Norway Proper always excluded historical dependencies and territories of Norway outside of Scandinavia, such as

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

and the joint colonies of Denmark-Norway such as the Danish West Indies, the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, and the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

. The term Norway Proper is attested in English at least since the 18th century."Norway," in Frederick Barlow (ed.), ''The Complete English Dictionary'', Vol. 2, 1773 Regions of Norway

References

Geography of Norway

Peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

Metropolitan or continental parts of states {{norway-geo-stub

See also

References