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202 years ago, Norway was at war with Sweden. The Swedish Crown Prince Karl Johan had made a pact with Tsar Alexander I that Russia would support a Swedish invasion of Norway, with the end goal being the acquisition of the northern territory (Norway) from the Denmark-Norway union.

Early in 1814, that goal appeared to be in hand. The threat of invasion into Denmark led the Danish King Frederik VI to cede Norway to the King of Sweden as a part of the Treaty of Kiel on the 14th of January.

Norway wanted none of this. Led by Price Christian Frederik of Denmark-Norway, a Norwegian independence movement began to grow amongst the people. The movement continued to gain steam (and maybe some steem 😉 ) and culminated in a constitutional convention that commenced on 10 April at Eidsvoll in eastern Norway.

The result of this convention is a landmark moment in Norwegian history. On May 17th, 1814, Christian Frederik was unanimously selected as the King of Norway, with a new Constitution subsequently signed. This day is now known as Constitution Day (Grunnlovsdag) in Norway and is celebrated as the national holiday.

Celebrating 17.mai at Karl Johans Gate in 2016.

But that was not the end of the question of Norwegian independence. Failed negotiations to get the powers of Europe (and Sweden in particular) to recognize Norway as an independent nation led Sweden to commence an invasion of Norway in July of that year in an attempt to exert their authority over Norway.

The initial Swedish invasions from the south met with little resistance as they conquered the fortified city of Frederikstad and pushed northward. The Norwegians were forced to retreat to their fortresses along the river Glomma, which spans more than 600 kilometers through eastern Norway, a little ways in from the border with Sweden.

It was at a small town called Spydeberg along this river that Norway was able to make its stand. In the Battle of Langnes, Norway successfully resisted Swedish advances, and shortly thereafter, a cease-fire agreement was reached. The terms: Norway would enter into a union with Sweden, but Sweden would recognize the authority of the Norwegian Constitution.

And so this is how it remained, until 1905 when Norway gained full independence.

But why am I telling this story now? It has to do with the first episode of our new web series, starting in less than 24 hours, so stay tuned to find out!

Adventure Every Day is a travel & exploration channel started by Oliver Koch and Mike Voellmecke. In addition to the Steemit blog, we post weekly short films of our adventures to our Adventure Every Day YouTube channel. You can also find us on Facebook, and be sure not to miss Oliver's incredible photography on Instagram.