Wikipedia
Hvaler is a municipality that is a group of islands in the southwestern part of Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skjærhalden, on the island of Kirkeøy. The only police station in the municipality is located in Skjærhalden. Hvaler was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).
Hvaler (also known as Maria) is a Norwegian drama written by Arne Berggren, produced by Rubicon TV for TV 2. The first season of the series was shown on TV 2 from September to December 2008, while the second season was shown from September to November 2010. Recording of the first season took place in Hvaler during the period May to October 2008, while the second season was recorded in 2009.
The series won the award for best miniseries (Best Mini-series) during the Seoul International Drama Awards 2009, under the name of Maria.