MINNEAPOLIS — Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon visited Minnesota on Tuesday as part of a tour marking the 200th anniversary of organized emigration from his homeland to the United States, highlighting the deep connections between the two countries.

The Upper Midwest has some of the largest concentrations of Scandinavian Americans in the U.S., and Minnesota has well over 800,000 residents who claim Norwegian ancestry, according to state demographers. That’s more than any other state. Nearly 5 million North Americans have Norwegian roots.

The crown prince began the day in Minneapolis at Norway House, which brings contemporary Norway to the U.S. through arts, commerce and culture. He was greeted by a large crowd, including women, girls and boys wearing colorful traditional bunad costumes, and others clad in more modern Norwegian sweaters.

“For generations, the United States and Norway have stood side by side,” he said at a business summit. “Building on this partnership, we can continue to develop solutions that are sustainable, innovative and future-oriented.”

Haakon also cut a ribbon to open Norway House’s new Saga Center. It’s an immersive, interactive exhibit for families to explore their connections with Norway, where they can also navigate 3D outdoor and urban landscapes to learn about the country’s friluftsliv (outdoor life) and byliv (city life).

Haakon then went to the state Capitol in nearby St. Paul to meet with Gov. Tim Walz, who said his state takes deep pride in its Norwegian heritage, calling it “foundational to what we are as Minnesotans.”

The crown prince noted that a third of Norway’s population left in the first 100 years of mass emigration, with 800,000 heading to the U.S.

“Some people, analysts have had a theory that everyone with any initiative left for the United States in that period,” Haakon told reporters, jokingly.