The Norwegian Year of Cultural Heritage 2009 or (in Norwegian) Kulturminneåret 2009 was aimed at highlighting the diversity and importance of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
's cultural heritage for all sectors of the community. Under the theme of ''Cultural Heritage in Everyday Life'', the arrangements were intended to involve both ordinary citizens and professionals at local, regional and national levels.
Two approaches
With a view to broadening the appreciation of cultural memory, two complementary approaches were developed. One focused on the development of
cultural heritage in Norway, building on existing cultural trends and processes, in order to provide a better understanding of how key aspects of today's heritage have evolved over the years. The second priority was to enhance cultural heritage documentation by providing a basis for both small local projects and large institutional assignments.
Activities
The many activities in support of the Year included exhibitions, cultural tours, school projects and, especially at the local level, incentives for the creation of a wide variety of
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
articles on
local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small ...
and culture.
One of the special projects was centred on
Bergensbanen
The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Oslo, w ...
, the Oslo to Bergen railway, which celebrated its centenary in 2009.
Memory institution
A memory institution is an organization maintaining a repository of public knowledge, a generic term used about institutions such as libraries, archives, heritage (monuments & sites) institutions, aquaria and arboreta, and zoological and botanical ...
s were working with railway enthusiasts and the Norwegian Railway Museum to provide opportunities for towns and villages along the line to investigate how the railway affected their communities.
In collaboration with kulturnett.no an important aspect of tangible or intangible cultural memory was highlighted for special attention each week.
Coordination
The Norwegian Cultural Heritage Association, an umbrella organisation promoting the role of cultural heritage, was the central coordinator for implementing the Year of Cultural Heritage. The Association ensured close collaboration with the ministries responsible for the
environment and for
cultural affairs as well as with the
Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities
The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities ( no, KS) is an employers' organisation in Norway.
It was founded in 1972 as a merger between the Union of Norwegian Cities (''Norges Byforbund'', founded in 1903) and the Norwegian Ass ...
, the
Directorate for Cultural Heritage, the Archive, Library and Museum Authority and the Museum Association.
Museums Fordundet site (Norwegian)
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External links
Riksantikvaren - Directorate for Cultural Heritage
References
{{Reflist
Culture of Norway
2009 in Norway