Denmark

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The Kingdom of Denmark (Danmark, IPA: ['dɑnmɑɐ̥g̊]) is the smallest and southernmost of the Nordic countries. Located north of its only land neighbour, Germany, southwest of Sweden, and south of Norway, it is located at 56° N 10° E in northern Europe. The national capital is Copenhagen. Denmark is regarded as a Scandinavian country, although it is not located on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The kingdom of Denmark (Danmarks Rige) includes Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland, which borders northern Germany, plus a large number of islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Vendsyssel-Thy, Lolland and Bornholm as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has historically controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea, and these waters are also known as the Danish straits.

Denmark became a constitutional monarchy in 1849 after having been an absolutist state since 1660 and has been a parliamentary democracy since 1901. Having existed for more than 1000 years, the Danish monarchy is the second oldest in the world, right after the Japanese. Denmark is a part of the European Union. The Kingdom of Denmark also encompasses two off-shore territories, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, both of which enjoy wideranging home rule. Since the mid-20th century, Danish society has been partly defined by the "Scandinavian Model" of public services. According to a study published by UNESCO and the CIA, Denmark ranks as the "happiest" nation on earth.^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Prehistoric Denmark 1.2 Pre Christian Denmark 1.3 Medieval Denmark 1.4 Recent history 2 Politics 3 Geography 4 Administrative divisions 5 Economy 6 Transport 7 Demographics 8 Education 9 Culture 10 Food 11 Military 12 See also 13 Footnotes 14 References 15 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of Denmark

[edit] Prehistoric Denmark

The earliest Danish archaeological findings date back to 130,000–110,000 BC in the Eem interglacial period.^[2] People have inhabited Denmark since about 12,500 BC, and agriculture has been in evidence since around 3,900 BC.^[3] The Nordic Bronze Age (1,800–600 BC) in Denmark was marked by burial mounds, which left an abundance of findings, including lurs and the Sun Chariot.

During the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BC – AD 1), native groups began migrating south. The Roman provinces maintained trade routes and relations with native tribes in Denmark, and Roman coins have been found in Denmark. Evidence of strong Celtic cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark and much of northwest Europe, and is among other things reflected in the finding of the Gundestrup cauldron.^[3] The first Danish people came to Denmark between the Pre-Roman and Germanic Iron Age,^[4] in the Roman Iron Age (AD 1–400).

Before the arrival of precursors to the Danes, who came from Scandinavia and spoke an early form of north Germanic, most of Jutland and part of the islands had been vacated or partly vacated by the earlier Jutes, who settled in Britain together with the Angles and the Saxons to form the Anglo-Saxons.

The exact origin of Denmark has been lost in history, but a short note^[5] about the Dani in "The Origin and Deeds of the Goths" from 551 AD by historian Jordanes is believed by some to be an early mention of the Daner,^[6] one of the ethnos from which are descended the modern Danish people. The Danevirke defence structures were built in several phases from the 3rd century forth,^[7] and the sheer size of the construction efforts in 737 are attributed to the emergence of a Danish king.^[7] The new runic alphabet was first used at the same time, and Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded about 700.

[edit] Pre Christian Denmark

Main article: Viking age

From the 8th to the 10th century, the Danes were known as Vikings. Together with Norwegians and Swedes, they colonised, raided and traded in all parts of Europe. Viking explorers first discovered Iceland by accident in the 9th century, on the way towards the Faroe Islands and eventually came across "Vinland" (Land of wine) also known today as Newfoundland, in Canada. The Danish Vikings were most active in British Isles and Western Europe. They temporarily conquered and settled parts of England (known as the Danelaw), Ireland, France and founded Normandy. More Anglo-Saxon pence of this period have been found in Denmark than in England. As attested by the Jelling stones, the Danes were united and Christianised about 965 by Harald Bluetooth. It is believed that Denmark became Christian for political reasons so as not to get invaded by the rising Christian power in Europe, Germania, which was an important trading area for the Danes. In that case Harald built six fortresses around Denmark called Trelleborg and built a further Danevirke. In the early 11th century Canute the Great won and united Denmark, England and Norway for almost 30 years.^[8]

[edit] Medieval Denmark

Throughout the High and Late Middle Ages, Denmark also included Skåneland (Skåne, Halland and Blekinge) and Danish kings ruled Danish Estonia, as well as the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Most of the latter two now form part of northern Germany. In 1397, Denmark entered the Kalmar Union with Norway and Sweden. The union was a personal union with the individual states maintaining their nominal independence. Scandinavia remained unified under this arrangement until Sweden broke away in 1523. The Protestant Reformation came to Scandinavia in the 1530s, and following the Count's Feud civil war, Denmark converted to Lutheranism in 1536. Later that year, Denmark entered into a union with Norway.

[edit] Recent history

Two centuries of wars with Sweden followed. King Christian IV attacked Sweden in the 1611-13 Kalmar War but failed to accomplish his main objective of forcing Sweden to return to the union with Denmark. The war led to no territorial changes, but Sweden was forced to pay a war indemnity of 1 million silver riksdaler to Denmark, an amount known as the Älvsborg ransom.^[9] Christian used this money to found several towns and fortresses, most notably Glückstadt (founded as a rival to Hamburg), Christiania (following a fire destroying the original city), Christianshavn, Christianstad, and Christiansand. Christian also constructed a number of buildings, most notably Børsen, Rundetårn, Nyboder, Rosenborg, a silver mine and a copper mill. Inspired by the Dutch East India Company, he founded a similar Danish company. Christian had planned to claim Sri Lanka as a colony but the company only managed to acquire Tranquebar on India's Coromandel Coast. In the Thirty Year's War, Christian tried to become the leader of the Lutheran states in Germany, but suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Lutter resulting in a Catholic army under Albrecht von Wallenstein occupying and pillaging Jutland. Denmark managed to avoid territorial concessions, but Gustavus Adolphus' intervention in Germany was seen as a sign that the military power of Sweden was rising and the power of Denmark falling. In 1643, Swedish armies invaded Jutland and in 1644 Skåne. In the 1645 Treaty of Brømsebro, Denmark surrendered Halland, Gotland, the last parts of Danish Estonia, and several provinces in Norway. In 1657, king Frederick III declared war on Sweden and marched on Bremen-Verden. This led to a massive Danish defeat and the armies of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden conquered both Jutland, Funen and much of Zealand before signing the Peace of Roskilde in February 1658 which gave Sweden control of Skåne, Blekinge, Trøndelag and the island of Bornholm. Charles X Gustav quickly regretted not having destroyed Denmark completely and in August 1658 he began a two-year long siege of Copenhagen but failed to take the capital. In the following peace settlement, Denmark managed to maintain its independence and regain control of Trøndelag and Bornholm.

Denmark tried to regain control of Skåne in the Scanian War (1675-79) but this attempt was a failure. Following the Great Northern War (1700-21), Denmark managed to restore control of the parts of Schleswig and Holstein ruled by the house of Holstein-Gottorp in 1721 and 1773, respectively. In the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark originally tried to pursue a policy of neutrality and trade with both France and the United Kingdom and joined the League of Armed Neutrality with Russia, Sweden and Prussia. The British considered this a hostile act and attacked Copenhagen in both 1801 and 1807, in one case carrying off the Danish fleet, in the other, burning large parts of the Danish capital. This led to the so-called Danish-British Gunboat War, but the British control of the waterways between Denmark and Norway proved disastrous to the union's economy and in 1813, Denmark-Norway went bankrupt. The Danish-Norwegian union was dissolved by the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. Norway entered a new union with Sweden which lasted until 1905. Denmark kept the colonies of Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland. Apart from the Nordic colonies, Denmark ruled over Danish India (Tranquebar in India) from 1620 to 1869, the Danish Gold Coast (Ghana) from 1658 to 1850, and the Danish West Indies (the U.S. Virgin Islands) from 1671 to 1917.

The Danish liberal and national movement gained momentum in the 1830s, and after the European Revolutions of 1848 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy on 5 June 1849.

After the Second War of Schleswig (Danish: Slesvig) in 1864, Denmark was forced to cede Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia, in a defeat that left deep marks on the Danish national identity. After this point Denmark adopted a policy of neutrality, as a result of which Denmark stayed neutral in World War I. After the defeat of Germany, the Versailles powers offered to return the then-German region of Schleswig-Holstein to Denmark. Fearing German irredentism, Denmark refused to consider the return of the area and insisted on a plebiscite concerning the return of Schleswig. The two Schleswig Plebiscites took place on 10 February and 14 March, respectively. On 10 July 1920, after the plebiscite and the King's signature (9 July) on the reunion document, Northern Schleswig (Sønderjylland) was recovered by Denmark, thereby adding 163,600 inhabitants and 3,984 km². The reunion day (Genforeningsdag) is celebrated every year 15 June on Valdemarsdag.

Despite its continued neutrality, Denmark was invaded by Germany (Operation Weserübung), on 9 April 1940. Though accorded self-rule (which ended in 23 August 1943 because of a mounting resistance movement, which was upsetting the German military leadership), Denmark remained militarily occupied throughout World War II. The Danish sympathy for the Allied cause was in general strong, but in spite of this fact the economical cooperation between Germany and Denmark continued throughout the war. In 1944, 1,900 Danish police officers were arrested by the Gestapo and sent to the concentration camp Buchenwald, from which many never returned alive. During the war, Iceland claimed independence and in 1948 the Faroe Islands gained home rule. After the war, Denmark became one of the founding members of the United Nations and NATO and, in 1973, along with Britain, joined the European Economic Community (later, the European Union). In 1979, Greenland gained home rule.

[edit] Politics

Main article: Politics of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, with executive power with Queen Margrethe II as head of state. This executive power is exercised on behalf of the monarch by the prime minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, including the prime minister, and other ministers collectively make up the government. These ministers are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be supreme (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors).

While the monarch is head of state and theoretically holds all executive power, it is the prime minister who is head of government. The government is answerable chiefly to Parliament; however, ministers do not have to come from Parliament, though it is the modern day custom.

The Folketing is the national legislature. It has the ultimate legislative authority according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, however questions over sovereignty have been brought forward because of Denmark’s entry into the European Union. In theory however, the doctrine prevails. Parliament consists of 179 members elected by proportional majority. Parliamentary elections are held at least every four years, but it is within the powers of the prime minister to call one sooner. On a vote of no confidence the parliament may force the entire government to resign.

Compared to most other Western European countries, the Danish political system has traditionally emphasised coalitions. In some cases this has been in the form of majority coalitions, although most Danish post-war governments have been minority coalitions, ruling with more or less stable parliamentary support.

Since November 2001, the Danish Prime Minister has been Anders Fogh Rasmussen from the party Venstre, a center-right liberal party. Apart from a 10 year period defined by economic reform and change of foreign policy during the 1980s, historically, the Social Democrats have led post-war Danish governments, although the Social Democratic influence has never been as strong as in Sweden.

[edit] Geography

Main article: Geography of Denmark

Denmark's northernmost point is Skagens point (the north beach of the Skaw) at 57° 45' 7" northern latitude, the southernmost is Gedser point (the southern tip of Falster) at 54° 33' 35" northern latitude, the westernmost point is Blåvandshuk at 8° 4' 22" eastern longitude, and the easternmost point is Østerskær (Eastern Skerry) at 15° 11' 55" eastern longitude. This is in the archipelago Ertholmene 18 kilometres northeast of Bornholm. The distance from east to west is 452 km (over 280 mi), from north to south 368 km (228 mi).

Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland (Jylland) and 443 named islands.^[10] Of these, 76 are inhabited, with the largest being Zealand (Sjælland) and Funen (Fyn). The island of Bornholm is located somewhat east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges; the Øresund Bridge connects Zealand with Sweden, the Great Belt Bridge connects Funen with Zealand, and the Little Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen. Ferries or small aircraft connect to the smaller islands. Main cities are the capital Copenhagen (on Zealand), Århus, Aalborg and Esbjerg (on Jutland) and Odense (on Funen). Along with Equatorial Guinea it is one of two countries in the world with its mainland on a continent and its capital city on an island.

The country is mostly flat with little elevation; the country's average height above sea level is only 31 metres (101 feet) and the highest natural point is Møllehøj, at 170.86 metres (560.6 ft). Other hills in the same area southwest of Århus are Yding Skovhøj at 170.77 metres (560.3 ft) and Ejer Bavnehøj at 170.35 metres (558.9 ft).^[11] The area of inland water is: (eastern Denmark) 210 km² (81 sq mi); (western D.) 490 km² (189 sq mi).

Denmark is split into 443 named islands which results in a long coastline, 7,314 kilometres (4,544 mi).^[12] A perfect circle enclosing the same area as Denmark would have a circumference of only 742 kilometres (461 mi). Another feature that shows the close connection between the land and ocean is that no location in Denmark is farther from the coast than 52 kilometres (32.3 mi). The size of the land area of Denmark cannot be stated exactly since the ocean constantly erodes and adds material to the coastline, and because of human land reclamation projects (to counter erosion). On the southwest coast of Jutland, the tide is between 1 and 2 metres (3 to 6.5 feet), and the coastline moves outward and inward on a 10 kilometres (6 mi) stretch.^[13]

The climate is in the temperate zone. The winters are not particularly cold with mean temperatures in January and February of 0.0 °C and the summers are cool with mean temperature in August 15.7 °C.^[14] There is a lot of wind, which is stronger during the winter and weaker during the summer. Denmark has an average of 170 rainy days. The greatest rainfall comes in September, October and November.^[15]

Because of Denmark's northern location, the length of the day with sunlight varies greatly. There are short days during the winter with sunrise coming around 8 a.m. and sunset 3:30 p.m., as well as long summer days with sunrise at 3:30 a.m. and sunset at 10 p.m.^[16] The shortest and longest days of the year have traditionally been celebrated. The celebration for the shortest day corresponds roughly with Christmas (Danish: jul) and modern celebrations concentrate on Christmas Eve, 24 December. The Norse word jól is a plural, indicating that pre-Christian society celebrated a season with multiple feasts.^[17] Christianity introduced the celebration of Christmas, resulting in the use of the Norse name also for the Christian celebration. Efforts by the Catholic Church to replace this name with kristmesse were unsuccessful. The celebration for the longest day is Midsummer Day, which is known in Denmark as sankthansaften (St. John's evening).^[18] Celebrations of Midsummer have taken place since pre-Christian times.^[19]

[edit] Administrative divisions

Main articles: Regions of Denmark and Municipalities of Denmark

For the administrative divisions used until 2006, see Counties of Denmark.

Denmark is divided into five regions (Danish: regioner, singular: region) and a total of 98 municipalities. The regions were created on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform to replace the country's traditional thirteen counties (amter). At the same time, smaller municipalities (kommuner) were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 to 98. The most important area of responsibility for the new regions is the national health service. Unlike the former counties, the regions are not allowed to levy taxes, and the health service is primarily financed by a national 8% (sundhedsbidrag) tax combined with funds from both government and municipalities. Each Regional Council consists of 41 elected politicians elected as part of the 2005 Danish municipal elections.

Most of the new municipalities have a population of least 20,000 people, although a few exceptions were made to this rule.

Greenland and the Faroe Islands are also parts of the Kingdom of Denmark, but have autonomous status and are largely self-governing, and are each represented by two seats in the parliament.

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Denmark

This thoroughly modern services market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus and zero net foreign debt. Also of importance is the sea territory of more than 105,000 km² (40,000+ sq mi).

The Danish economy is highly unionised; 75% of its labour force are members of a trade union.^[20] Most trade unions take part in the organised umbrella system of trade unions, the biggest umbrella organisation being the so-called LO, the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions. However, an increasingly larger part of the labour force choose not to become members of a trade union or to become members of one of the trade unions outside the organised system (often referred to as the yellow, in Danish gule, trade unions).

Relationships between unions and employers are cooperative: unions have a day-to-day role in managing the workplace, and their representatives sit on most companies' board of directors. Rules on work schedules and pay are negotiated between unions and employers, with minimal government involvement. The unemployment rate February 2007 was 3.9%, for a total of 106,900 persons. The number of unemployed is forecast at 65,000 in 2015. The number of people in the working age group, less disability pensioners etc., will grow by 10,000 to 2,860,000, and jobs by 70,000 to 2,790,000.^[21] Parttime jobs included.^[22] Because of the present high demand for but lacking supply of skilled labour, especially regarding factory, transport, building and construction jobs, in addition to hospital nurses and physicians, the annual average working hours have risen, especially compared with the economic downturn 1987 – 1993.^[23]

Denmark's national currency, the krone (plural: kroner), is de facto linked to the Euro through ERMII.^[24] Currently (March 2007) exchanges with American dollars at a rate of about USD 0.18 per krone (about 5.60 kroner per dollar).

The government has been very successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (EMU), but Denmark, in a September 2000 referendum, reconfirmed its decision not to join the then 12 of the 15 other EU members in the euro (UK and Sweden being the others of the EU not to do so).

The welfare model is the general term for Denmark to organise and finance their social security systems, health services and education. The principle behind the welfare model is that benefits should be given to all citizens who fulfil the conditions, without regard to employment or family situation. The system covers everyone; it is universal. And the benefits are given to the individual, so that e.g. married women have rights independently of their husbands.

In the area of sickness and unemployment, the right to benefit is, however, always dependent on former employment and at times also on membership of an unemployment fund, which is almost always -but need not be- administered by a trade union, and the payment of contributions; however the largest share of the financial burden is still carried by the central government and financed from general taxation, not in the main from earmarked contributions.

The State is involved in financing and organising the welfare benefits available to the citizens to a far greater extent than in other European countries. For that reason the welfare model is accompanied by a taxation system which is both broadly based (25% VAT and excise) and with high income tax rates (minimum tax rate for adults is 38%, and 60% if you fail to provide your tax card to your employer). The tax freeze introduced by the Anders Fogh Rasmussen government has ended the upward drift in municipal income tax rates, but the number of people in the top income tax bracket still grows. This of course is also true for the number of people in the lowest income tax bracket.

The benefits given are more generous than in the British Beveridge model — and in combination with the taxation system this brings about a greater redistribution than in the Bismarck model, which is aimed rather at maintaining the present status.

For the past three years Denmark has ranked first on the Economist Intelligence Unit's "e-readiness" list. "A country's 'e-readiness' is a measure of its e-business environment, a collection of factors that indicate how amenable a market is to Internet-based opportunities."

[edit] Transport

Main article: Transport in Denmark

Enormous investment has been made in recent decades in building road and rail links between Copenhagen and Malmö, Sweden (the Øresund Bridge), and between Zealand and Funen (the Great Belt Fixed Link).

The main railway operator is Danske Statsbaner (Danish State Railways) for passenger services and Railion for freight trains. The railway tracks are maintained by Banedanmark. Copenhagen has a small Metro system and an extensive S-tog electrified suburban railway network.

Denmark's national airline (together with Norway and Sweden) is Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) and Copenhagen Airport is the country's largest airport, and also the biggest hub in Scandinavia.

A ferry link to the Faroe Islands is maintained by Smyril Line. Other international ferry services are mainly operated by DFDS (to Norway and the UK) and Scandlines (to Germany and Sweden).

Danes without a car usually ride their bicycles or a bus to school and work.

[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Denmark

The majority of the population is of Scandinavian descent, with small groups of Inuit from Greenland, Faroese, and immigrants. According to official statistics in 2005, immigrants and their descendants made up 461,614 people, or 8.5% of the total population. A large number of these immigrants come from South Asia, and The Middle East.^[25] During recent years, anti-immigrant sentiment has surfaced in Denmark as is the case also in many other parts of Europe.^[26]

Danish is spoken throughout the country, although a small group near the German border also speak German. Many Danes are fluent in English as well, particularly those in larger cities and youths, who are taught two or more foreign languages in school.

Regarding religions in Denmark, according to official statistics from January 2006, 83.0% of Danes are members of the Lutheran state church, the Danish People's Church (Den Danske Folkekirke), also known as the Church of Denmark. The rest are primarily of other Christian denominations, and about 4% are Muslims, due to immigration of Muslim population to the country. Denmark has freedom of religion, and there are numerous small religious societies and communities in addition to the official church.

As in most countries, the population is not distributed evenly. Although the land area east of the Great Belt only makes up 9,622 km² (3,715 sq mi), 22.7% of Denmark's land area, it has 45% (2,445,168) of the population. The average population density of this area is 254 inhabitants per km² (658 per sq mi). The average density in the west of the country (32,772 km²/12,653 sq mi) is 91/km² (236 per sq mi) (2006).

The median age is 39.8 years with 0.98 males per female. 98.2% of the population is literate (age 15 and up). 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.), which reflects a coming drop in worker to retiree ratio. The annual average population growth is 0.33%.^[27]

Population 1 January 2007 was 5,447,084, which equals 128.48 inh./km² land area or 332.78 inh./sq mi. land area (16,368 sq mi) Censuses merely for population numbers are not conducted; they are based on the computerised, day-to-day updated Central Office of Civil Registration.

[edit] Education

Main article: Education in Denmark

The Danish education system is sophisticated and offers free access to public school, high school and most kinds of higher education (universities etc.). About 99% of the general population attend elementary school (lasting 9 to 10 years); 86% attend secondary school and 41% pursue further education.

Primary school in Denmark is "den Danske Folkeskole" (translated: "the Danish Public School"). It goes from 0-10th grade (10th grade is optional). In Denmark one can also go to "Friskole"/"Privatskole" or "free school"/private school: schools that are not under the municipalities. An example is "Rudolf Steiner Skolerne" or "Waldorf Schools". The most special kind of school in Denmark is "Efterskole". If translated directly from Danish it becomes "afterschool". The "afterschool" is an optional school that goes from an 8-10th grade, and it's like a boarding school, but pupils mostly attend afterschools for one year only, although some schools allow for the pupils to stay there for two years. Most pupils attend the school in 10th grade, but many do it in 9th grade instead. On many of these schools there is emphasis on a particular subject, for example sports or languages. One of the big differences between a boarding school and an "afterschool" is the freedom; the pupils have more freedom at a boarding school.

Perhaps the most important Danish contribution to education is the "folkehøjskole", introduced by N.F.S. Grundtvig in the 1800s. Literally translated as "people's high school", the folkehøjskole is a social education structure without tests or grades, putting its emphasis not on demonstrable achievement but rather on communal learning, self-discovery, and learning how to think.^[28] Many young Danes attend a folkehøjskole for a few months or a year after they graduate from the Gymnasium, which is a school comparable to High School and the first year of College in the US, before going on to university. However, the folkehøjskoles, as "schools for the people", are also resources for lifelong learning. Some folkehøjskoles have particular focus areas, such as sports, music, or environmental protection. Most, however, offer a broad liberal arts education.

However, following graduation from "Folkeskolen", there are several other opportunities including the before mentionen "Gymnasium" (comparable to High School), but also HF (similar to Gymnasium, but one year shorter), HTX (with focus on Mathematics and engineering), HHX (with focus on trading and business) and so on.

[edit] Culture

Main article: Culture of Denmark

Perhaps the most famous Dane is actually a fictional character, Hamlet, the title character of William Shakespeare's famous play, which was set in the real castle of Kronborg in Helsingør. The play was inspired by an old Danish myth of the Viking Prince Amled of Jutland, and his quest for vengeance against his father's killer. Another widely known Dane is Hans Christian Andersen, in Denmark referred to as H. C. Andersen, a writer mostly famous for such fairy tales as "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", and "The Ugly Duckling". Also playwright Ludvig Holberg, Karen Blixen (pen name: Isak Dinesen), Nobel laureate author Henrik Pontoppidan, and the Philosopher Søren Kirkegaard are renowned world wide. Also Niels Bohr, the famous physicist who developed the first working model for the atom and the quantum theory concept of complementarity.

The most popular sport in Denmark is football (soccer). The lengthy coastline also provides good opportunity for sailing and other water sports. The "Around Zealand Regatta" is a yacht race that begins in Helsingør and continues for 2–3 days. Because of the level terrain, another common sport is cycling, and of late Copenhagen has been nicknamed the "City of Cyclists" for the frequent use of bicycles for transportation and the designated roadtracks for cyclists. Indoor sports such as badminton, handball and various forms of gymnastics are also popular because of the lengthy winters.

Denmark has also been noticed internationally on the music scene, with acts like Aqua, Whigfield, Michael Learns to Rock, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy and D-A-D in the 90's, as well as acts like Junior Senior, Safri Duo, Mew, Infernal, The Raveonettes and Tina Dickow in the millennium. Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich, is Danish as well. Also the heavy metal musician King Diamond (Kim Bendix Petersen) was born and raised in Hvidovre, Copenhagen. However the country also has a large national music scene, and in 2001, Copenhagen hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, and again in 2006, it hosted the MTV European Music Awards.

Denmark has a long tradition of acting and film, and has bred many names on the international acting scene, historically as well as today. Modern figures include Mads Mikkelsen, Connie Nielsen, Jesper Christensen, Brigitte Nielsen, Sven-Ole Thorsen, Viggo Mortensen, and many others. Perhaps the biggest Danish film maker of all time was Carl Theodor Dreyer. Modern film makers known internationally include Lars von Trier, Bille August, Thomas Vinterberg, Susanne Bier and Ole Bornedahl.

[edit] Food

Main article: Cuisine of Denmark

The cuisine of Denmark, like that in the other Scandinavian countries (Sweden and Norway), as well as that of northern Germany, its neighbor to the south, is traditionally heavy and rich in fat, consisting mainly of carbohydrates, meat and fish. This stems from the country's agricultural past, as well as its geography and climate of long, cold winters.

Traditional Danish food includes frikadeller (fried meatballs, often served with potatoes and various sorts of gravy), karbonader/krebinetter (another sort of fried meatballs), steaks and so on. Mostly eaten with potatoes, which used to be very popular in Denmark. Fish are also eaten a lot, especially on the west coast of Jutland. Today, to save time and money, the younger generations increasingly eat pasta and pizza.

Especially on Christmas Eve (24 December) a Danish variety of rice pudding, risalamande (rice with almond), is eaten: stirred cold rice porridge and whipped cream with vanilla flavour with only one hidden almond. The person with the almond receives a small prize (mandelgave(literally almond gift)).^[29]

[edit] Military

Main articles: Military of Denmark and Military history of Denmark

The armed forces of Denmark are known as the Danish Defence Force (Danish: Det Danske Forsvar). During peacetime, the Ministry of Defence (FM) in Denmark employs, in four branches, 15,450 in the army, 5,300 in the navy, 6,050 in the air force and more than 55,000 in the Home units following completion of their conscript service. Women are eligible to volunteer for military service as of 1962, though the first woman in the military appeared in 1971. There are 955,168 males and 935,643 females aged between 18 and 49 fit for military service. (2005 est).^[27]

[edit] See also

• StatBank - Denmark's national statistical database
• List of Danes - List of well-known Danes

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• (Danish) Busck, Steen and Poulsen, Henning (ed.), "Danmarks historie - i grundtræk", Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2002, ISBN 87-7288-941-1
• (Danish) Michaelsen, Karsten Kjer, "Politikens bog om Danmarks oldtid", Politikens Forlag (1. bogklubudgave), 2002, ISBN 87-00-69328-6
• (Swedish) Nationalencyklopedin, vol. 4, Bokförlaget Bra Böcker, 2000, ISBN 91-7024-619-X

[edit] External links

Find more information on Denmark by searching Wikipedia's sister projects
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• Official travel and tourism site
• In-depth description of Denmark published by the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Encyclopaedia Britannica's Denmark country page
• Official Portal of Denmark
• History of Denmark: Primary Documents
• List of Danish cities from world-gazetteer.com
• Old Denmark in Cyberspace - Information about Denmark - the Danes
• Satellite image of Denmark at the NASA Earth Observatory
• Summary vital statistics about Denmark covering 1901 and forwards from Statistics Denmark
• Various statistics from Statistics Denmark statistikbanken.dk
• Newest releases from Statistics Denmark (Danish, English)
• Ministry of the Environment National Survey and Cadastre (Danish, English)
• Sea territory

Geographic locale

v • d • e Countries of Europe Albania · Andorra · Armenia2 · Austria · Azerbaijan1 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus2 · Czech Republic · Denmark3 · Estonia · Finland · France3 · Georgia1 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan1 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands3 · Norway3 · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia1 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain3 · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey1 · Ukraine · United Kingdom3 · Vatican City 1 Has majority of its territory in Asia.  2 Entirely in Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe.  3 Has dependencies or similar territories outside Europe. v • d • e Baltic Region Baltic States: Estonia • Latvia • Lithuania Baltic countries: Denmark • Finland • Germany • Poland • Russia • Sweden v • d • e Countries and territories bordering the North Sea Continental Europe  Belgium  Denmark  France  Germany  Netherlands Others  England (UK)  Norway  Scotland (UK)

International organizations

v • d • e International relations of Denmark Geographical and geopolitical: Europe (Western Europe) • European Union • Council of Europe • IHO • IPU • OAS (observer) Historical and cultural: Arctic Council • IOC • IOM • ISO • Nordic Council Economic and social development: AfDB • AsDB • BIS • EBRD • IADB • ICC • ICRM • IFRCS • ITUC • NIB • OECD • Paris Club • WCO • WTO Security: CBSS • EAPC • ICCt • Interpol • NATO • OSCE • PCA • WEU (observer) • ZC Technology and research: Australia Group • CERN • EIB • ESA • IAEA • IEA • NEA • NSG • OPCW United Nations: UN branches: MONUC • UNCTAD • UNHCR • UNMEE • UNMIL • UNMOGIP • UNOMIG • UNTSO UN Specialized Agencies: FAO • ICAO • IFAD • ILO • IMF • IMO • ITU • UNESCO • UNIDO • UPU • WHO • WIPO • WMO • World Bank Group (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA) v • d • e European Union Austria • Belgium • Bulgaria • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom v • d • e Member states of the Council of Europe Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Macedonia1 · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · United Kingdom 1 Otherwise known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) v • d • e Nordic Council Denmark · Finland · Iceland · Norway · Sweden Associate members: Åland · Faroe Islands · Greenland v • d • e  North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Belgium · Bulgaria · Canada · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Turkey · United Kingdom · United States Candidate countries: Albania · Croatia · Republic of Macedonia (as former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia[1])