In 2014 it will be 200 years since the Norwegian Constitution was signed and numerous events will take place around the country.
Exhibit at the Norwegian Folk Museum
What is it that connects the Napoleonic Wars with the Norwegian Constitution? The exhibition “1814 – The Game for Denmark and Norway” explains the reasons for and the consequences of the events that took place during 1814, the “Year of Miracles”. In collaboration with the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg in Denmark, Norwegian Folk Museum, in Oslo, tells one of Norwegian history’s most exciting stories. The exhibition opened on January 15 and will last to the end of July 2014.
The exhibition was officially opened by H.M. Queen Sonja on Tuesday January 14, the date when King Frederik VI of Denmark was forced to surrender Norway to the King of Sweden. The Bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution in 2014 will raise awareness of what the Norwegian Constitution means today, and what role it will play in our future democracy.
1814 is a memorable year in Norwegian history, a year that has become a national symbol. The exhibition “1814 – The game of Denmark and Norway” put the events of 1814 in a historical context and is an extensive exhibition that offers a unique cavalcade of items. Several of these, such as the anointing robes of Christian Frederik, Jakob Bull Kielland’s uniform, and a series of magnificent paintings will be on display for the very first time in Norway. Nearly 300 items, 65 of which have been borrowed from the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg, relate the story of what happened before, during and after 1814. This story is told both from a national and an international perspective. Through the exhibit visitors will become acquainted with the different players in the events that unfurled in 1814.
The Norwegian Constitution of May 17, 1814, occupies a special place in Norwegian history. Not only did it lay a foundation for democratic development, it was also instrumental in providing Norway with status as an independent country. So this was the year of miracles in Norway. “1814 – The Game for Denmark and Norway” is Norwegian Folk Museum’s largest and most important contribution to the Bicentenary Year of 2014.