History of the Jews in Norway
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 788 | |
| Languages | |
| Norwegian, Hebrew, Yiddish | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Swedish Jews, Finnish Jews, Danish Jews, other Ashkenazi Jews |
The Jews in Norway are one of the country's smallest ethnic and religious minorities. The largest synagogue is in Oslo. A smaller synagogue in Trondheim (63° 25' N) is the world's second northernmost synagogue.
Although there likely were Jewish merchants, sailors and others who entered Norway during the Middle Ages, no efforts were made to establish a Jewish community. Through the Early Modern period Norway, still devastated by The Black Plague, was ruled by the originally German House of Oldenburg in Denmark and later the French House of Bernadotte in Sweden, Norway thus prohibited Jews by royal edict from Copenhagen or Stockholm.
1492
The first known mention of Jews in public documents relates to the admissibility of so-called “Portuguese Jews” (Sephardim) who had been expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492 and 1497. Some of these were given special dispensation to enter Norway.
1641
Christian IV of Denmark-Norway gave Jews limited rights to travel within the kingdom, and in 1641, Ashkenazi Jews were given equivalent rights.
1687
Christian V rescinded these privileges in 1687, specifically banning Jews from Norway, unless they were given a special dispensation. Jews found in the kingdom were jailed and expelled, and this ban persisted until 1851.
1814
In 1814, Norway formulated its first constitution that included in the second paragraph a general ban against Jews and Jesuits entering the country. Portuguese Jews were exempt from this ban, but it appears that few applied for a letter of free passage. When Norway entered into the personal union of Sweden-Norway, the ban against Jews was upheld, though Sweden at that point had several Jewish communities. On 4 November 1844, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice declared: "...it is assumed that the so-called Portuguese Jews are, regardless of the Constitution’s §2, entitled to dwell in this country, which is also, to [our] knowledge, what has hitherto been assumed."
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