Today is celebrated as Norwegian Independence Day, an important day for North Dakotans large Norwegian population. It is also an important day to recognize Henrik Wergeland, a man whose influence is largely responsible for the celebration of Norway’s independence on this day.

Wergeland was born on June 17, 1808 in Kristiansand, Norway. His father Nikolai had been a member of Norway’s Constitutional Convention that declared the country’s independence from Sweden in 1814. Growing up amid a flurry of patriotic activity, Wergeland harbored a great amount of nationalistic fervor from an early age. Wergeland began attending the University of Christiania in 1825 and graduated with a degree in theology in 1829. He became a patriotic free-lance writer, and quickly published several poems, dramas, and political satires. His dare-devil writing style made him both a powerful political and literary force in Norway by the age of twenty-one.

Wergeland used his influence to alleviate the plight of Norway’s peasant class. He also established several libraries and led the cause to set aside May 17 as a national holiday of independence. Near the end of Wergeland’s life, his poetry developed to become some of Norway’s most prized literature. He became Norway’s national poet before his death in 1845.

Annually, Norwegian children decorate the grave and various statues of Wergeland on May 17, but few North Dakotans know that we also have our very own statue of the poet to decorate right here in North Dakota. In 1906, several Norwegian residents of Abercrombie, North Dakota commissioned a bronze statue of Wergeland by Gustav Vigeland, Norway’s leading sculptor. Upon its completion, installation of the life-size work in the small town of Abercrombie drew objection from several Norwegian groups in the state who hoped to place the sculpture in a more accessible location. Several cities bid for the statue, including Grand Forks, Chicago, St. Paul, and Minneapolis, but Fargo won the honor. The statue was dedicated in Fargo’s Island Park on June 17, 1908, the centennial jubilee of Wergeland’s birthday. Over 3,500 spectators attended the event, and several area businessmen even closed their doors early to attend.

Sources:
Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, June 6, 1908: p. 8
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/wergelan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Wergeland
http://www.fargo-history.com/other/island-park2

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