e Fiord, the longest, runs into the heart of the
country 100 m.; off the northern coast lie the Loffodens, while the
Skerries skirt the E. The country forms a strip of irregular and
mountainous coast-land 1160 m. long, which narrows down at its least
breadth to 25 m.; 70 per cent, of the surface is uncultivable, and 24 per
cent, is forest; the lakes number 30,000, of which Lake Wenner (2136 sq.
m.) is the largest; immense glaciers are found in the great mountain
barrier, and innumerable rivers run short and rapid courses to the
Atlantic and to the Skager-Rak in the S.; the Glommen, flowing into
Christiania Fiord, is the largest (400 m.). The climate of the W. coast
districts is tempered by the Gulf Stream; inland there is a great
decrease in the rainfall, but much intenser cold is experienced. The
wealth of the country lies in its forests and fisheries, mines and
shipping; only 2 per cent, of the land-surface is under cultivation, and
2.8 per cent is utilised for grazing; the copper, iron, and silver mines
are declining. Christiania (the capital) is the centre of the industrial
area; the shipping almost equals that of the United States, and ranks
third in the world. The Norwegians are intensely democratic (titles and
nobility were abolished in 1821), and although under a king, who also
includes Sweden in his dominions, they enjoy democratic home rule, no
members of the Storthing (Parliament) being paid. Education is free and
compulsory, and the bulk of the people are Lutherans. The monetary unit
is the _Krone_ (= 1/11/2). Norway, originally inhabited by Lapps and Gothic
tribes, was first unified by Harold Haarfager (A.D. 863-930), and
subsequently welded into a Christian kingdom by his descendant St. Olaf
(1015). From 1536 it was held as a conquered province by Denmark up to
1814; in that year it was ceded to Sweden, and received national rights
and a free constitution.

NORWICH, 1, an ancient cathedral city and capital of Norfolk (101),
situated on the Wensum, immediately above its junction with the Yare, 114
m. NE. of London; its beautiful woodland surroundings have won it the
name of "the city in an orchard"; chief of its many fine buildings is the
cathedral, a handsome Norman structure, founded in 1096; of the old
Norman castle only the keep now stands, crowning a central hill; its
celebrated triennial musical festivals began in 1824; textile fabrics are
still an important manufacture, but have been superseded in i