ESTONIA - Scandinavia - page 1052

asty that would produce the current monarchs of Sweden—and, by intermar-
riage, of Norway and Denmark.
The French Revolution (and Napoleon) spread the idea throughout Europe
that people should embrace their ethnic roots and demand self-rule. Norwe-
gians—having been ruled for centuries by Danes, and now Swedes—met at
Eidsvoll Manor (outside Oslo—see here ) , drafted a constitution with a parlia-
ment, elected a king, and demanded independence. Though the country was
still too weak to make this a political reality, the date of May 17, 1814, has be-
comethecountry'sFourthofJuly,celebratedtodaywithplentyofflag-waving
and folk costumes by Norwegians both in and out of Norway.
Culturally (if not politically), nationalism flourished, producing artists like
J. C. Dahl, who captured the beauty of the Norwegian countryside and the
simpledignityofitspeople.(YoucanseehisworksatOslo'sNationalGallery,
here . ) Playwright Henrik Ibsen realistically portrayed the complexities of a
changing Norwegian society. And composer Edvard Grieg used music to con-
veythemajestyofthelandscapenearhishomeinBergen(Troldhaugen, here ) .
In Denmark, nationalism inspired the German-speaking majority in the
provinces of Schleswig and Holstein to call for autonomy (1848-1851). The
region was finally taken by force from Denmark by Prussia (1864) and incor-
porated into the new state of Germany. The resulting nationwide sense of hu-
miliation and self-critique actually spurred a cultural golden age. Philosoph-
er Søren Kierkegaard captured the angst of an age when traditional certain-
ties were crumbling. Storyteller Hans Christian Andersen ( The Ugly Duck-
ling, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Little Mermaid, and others) gained
a Europe-wide reputation. And sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, who studied
and worked in Rome, decorated Copenhagen with his realistic, Neoclassical
statues (at Copenhagen's Cathedral of Our Lady, here ; and the Thorvaldsen's
Museum, here ) .
Throughout the 1800s, Scandinavia was modernizing. The Industrial Re-
volution brought trains, factories, and larger cities. While some got rich, mil-
lions of poor farmers were forced to emigrate from Sweden, Norway, and Fin-
land to America between 1850 and 1920, due to the changing economy, over-
population, and famine. (The House of Emigrants museum in Växjö, Sweden,
tells their story—see here . ) As in other European countries, Scandinavia saw