Music of Norway from the public in which music developed steadily especially in more affluent urban areas. Moreover, around the 1750s private or semi-public music societies started appearing in several cities, given an opportunity for the wealthier population to enjoy. In 1814, Sweden entered into a union with Norway, and the Swedish royal family spent time in Norway's capital, Christiania (Oslo). At their royal court, music flourished. National romanticism, a movement that was prevalent throughout Europe, touched Norway as well, and began to affect classical musicians and classical music in the country. The violinist Ole Bull (1810–1880) was the first major Norwegian musician.
Counties of Norway each "len" was designated an "amt" (plural "amt") and the "lenmann" was titled "amtmann", from German "Amt" (office), reflecting the bias of the Danish court of that period. After 1671 Norway was divided into four principal "amt" or "stiftsamt" and there were nine subordinate "amt": From 1730 Norway had the following "amt": At this time there were also two counties (grevskap) controlled by actual counts, together forming what is now Vestfold county: In 1760 Norway had the following "stiftamt" and "amt": From 1919 each "amt" was renamed a "fylke" (plural "fylke(r)") (county) and the "amtmann" was now titled "fylkesmann" (county