Tag: geography

Norway

The Svalbard Treaty, signed in 1920, recognizes Norway’s sovereignty over the archipelago while granting equal commercial rights to signatories.  The treaty restricts military use and establishes a visa-free zone, with 48 parties to the treaty as of 2024.

Svalbard is located in the Arctic Ocean, north of mainland Europe. The largest island, Spitsbergen, is home to the largest settlement, Longyearbyen. Spitsbergen, the original name of the archipelago, comes from Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz, who described the pointed mountains (Dutch, spitse bergen) he saw on the west coast of the main island in 1596.

On 9 February 1920 The Svalbard Treaty (originally the Spitsbergen Treaty) was signed, recognising ___’s sovereignty over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.

What nation’s name fills the blank in the above statement?

The answer will be posted later today.