Great Norwegian Encyclopedia
The Great Norwegian Encyclopedia or Store Norske Leksikon (SNL) is an online encyclopedia in Norwegian. It is one of the most popular Norwegian websites with over two million visitors each month. SNL was created in 1978 when two publishing houses, Aschehoug and Gyldendal, merged their encyclopedias. Before 1978, they had published their own encyclopedias.  The online version of SNL was launched in 2000 and became free to use in 2009. In 2010, Kunnskapsforlaget, the company that owned SNL, announced that they would close the online encyclopedia due to lack of funds. In 2011, two groups called Fritt Ord and Sparebankstiftelsen DNB bought the encyclopedia. In 2014, they made an association with members from universities and non-profit groups. In 2016, they hired a new chief editor, Erik Bolstad.