Denmark

Coordinates: Template:Coor dm The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark) is the smallest and southernmost and oldest of the Nordic countries. Located north of Germany (its only land neighbour), southwest of Sweden, and south of Norway, it lies at Template:Coor dms in Scandinavia in northern Europe, but not on the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Denmark borders the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, and consists of a peninsula named Jutland (Jylland) attached to Northern Germany, the islands of Funen (Fyn), Zealand (Sjælland), Bornholm (Bornholm) and many smaller islands, often referred to as the Danish Archipelago.

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy and is part of the European Union. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are Crown territories of Denmark, each with political home rule.

Etymology

The etymology of Denmark is uncertain because there are so few old sources, and the experts have two interpretations of the name. Both groups say -mark is a wild forest (uninhabited territory or lawless no-man's land). Den-mark means: 1. An occupied hollow in a wild forest or: 2. A forest or border by the Danes.

The old border of Norway was to the north was Finmark, and Sami/Lapp was at that time named Fin. An inhabitant of Norway might have misunderstood or named Denmark in the same way (as in the land of the Danes).

History

Template:Main Image:Johan Thomas Lundbye 001.jpg The earliest Danish archaeological findings date back to 130-110,000 BC in the Eem interglacial period.<ref>Michaelsen (2002), p. 19</ref> People have continually lived in Denmark since around 12,500 BC and agriculture made inroads around 3900 BC.<ref name="foreign ministry">Poul Otto Nielsen, Denmark - History - Prehistory, Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs</ref> The Nordic Bronze Age (1800-600 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 southwards into Germania. The Roman provinces maintained trade routes and relations with native tribes in Denmark, attested by finds of Roman coins. 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.<ref name="foreign ministry" /> The first Danish people came to Denmark between the Pre-Roman and Germanic Iron Age<ref>Busck and Poulsen (ed.) (2002), p. 20</ref>, in the Roman Iron Age (AD 1-400).

Prior to the arrival of Danish settlers, 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, the descendants of populations known to be there from sources in ancient history (such as Tacitus and Ptolemy). A large part of the Jutes were known as the Angles and the Saxons. They vacated Jutland en masse to take up residence in the land now named after them, England.

The exact origin of Denmark has been lost in history, but a short note<ref>Jordanes, The Origin and Deeds of the Goths, translation by Charles C. Mierow, April 22, 1997</ref> about the Dani in "The Origin and Deeds of the Goths" from 551 CE by historian Jordanes is thought to be an early mention of a Danish people.<ref>Busck and Poulsen (ed.) (2002), p. 19</ref> The Danevirke defence structures were built in several phases from the 3rd century forth, and the sheer size of the construction efforts in 737 are contributed to the emergence of a Danish king.<ref>Michaelsen (2002), pp. 122-123</ref> The new runic alphabet was first used at the same time, and Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded around 700.

Image:Viking ship in Stockholms strom.jpg Until the 10th century the Danes were known as Vikings, together with Norwegians and Swedes, colonising, raiding and trading in all parts of Europe. Viking explorers first discovered Iceland by accident in the ninth century, en route to the Faroe Islands.

At various times the King of Denmark has ruled parts of England and Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, France, especially Normandy and the Virgin Islands, Tranquebar in India, Estonia and what is now Northern Germany. Skåne, Blekinge and Halland were part of Denmark for most of its early history, but were lost to Sweden in 1658. The union with Norway was dissolved in 1814, when Norway entered a new union with Sweden (until 1905).

The Danish liberal and national movement gained momentum in the 1830s, and after the European Revolutions of 1848 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy on June 5 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. Following 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. In 1920, following the plebiscite, Northern Schleswig was recovered by Denmark.

Despite its continued neutrality Denmark was invaded by Germany (Operation Weserübung), on April 9, 1940. Though accorded self-rule (which ended in 1943 due to a mounting resistance movement), Denmark remained militarily occupied throughout World War II. The Danish sympathy for the Allied cause was strong; 1,900 Danish police officers were arrested by the Gestapo and sent, under guard, to be interned in Buchenwald. After the war, Denmark became one of the founding members of NATO and, in 1973, joined the European Economic Community (later, the European Union).

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Denmark

Denmark is the oldest monarchy in continental Europe. In 1849, it became a constitutional monarchy with the adoption of a new constitution. The monarch is formally head of state, a role which is mainly ceremonial, since executive power, while exercised by the monarch, is exercised through the cabinet ministers, with the prime minister acting as the first among equals (primus inter pares). Legislative power is vested in both the monarch and the Danish parliament, known as the Folketing, which consists of no more than 179 members. Judicial power rests with the court.

Elections for parliament must be held at least every four years, but the prime minister can call an earlier election. Should parliament succeed in a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister the entire government resigns. The country is often run by minority governments.

Denmark practices universal suffrage and in all matters women are considered equal to men by Danish law (except that they are not drafted, but they may choose to serve on a voluntary basis).

The death sentence was abolished in Denmark in 1930. It was briefly reintroduced after World War II, by popular demand. 46 people were executed for war crimes, after which the death sentence saw no use for years. In 1978 it was abolished again. It is illegal under Danish law to extradite citizens to countries where the citizen would face the death sentence.

Counties

Main article: Counties of Denmark

Denmark is divided into 13 counties (amter, singular: amt), and 271 municipalities (kommuner, singular kommune). Three municipalities have county privileges - Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Bornholm. The coming Danish Municipal Reform will replace the counties with five new regions and reduce the number of municipalities to 98. The new municipalities will take over most of the responsibilities of the former counties. Most of the new municipalities will have a population of at least 20,000 people. The reform will be implemented on 1 January 2007. Image:DenmarkNumbered.png

1. Copenhagen (København) (municipality)
2. Frederiksberg (municipality)
3. Copenhagen (København)
4. Frederiksborg
5. Roskilde
6. West Zealand (Vestsjælland)
7. Storstrøm
8. Funen (Fyn)
9. South Jutland (Sønderjylland)
10. Ribe
11. Vejle
12. Ringkjøbing
13. Viborg
14. North Jutland (Nordjylland)
15. Aarhus (Århus)
16. Bornholm (regional municipality)

Copenhagen County comprises the municipalities of metropolitan Copenhagen, except Copenhagen Municipality and Frederiksberg Municipality. Bornholm Regional Municipality comprise the five former municipalities on the island Bornholm and the island's former county.

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

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 2003 immigrants made up 6.2% of the total population.

Danish is spoken in the entire country, although a small group near the German border also speaks German. Many Danes are fluent in English as well, particularly those in larger cities and the youth, who are taught English in school.

Of the religions in Denmark, according to official statistics from January 2002, 84.3% 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 2% are Muslims.

Geography

Image:Da-map.png

Main article: Geography of Denmark

Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland (Jylland) and 405 named islands. Of these, 323 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 Small Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen. Ferries connect one to the smaller islands.

The country is mostly flat with little elevation; the highest natural point is Møllehøj, at 170.86 metres (560.6 ft). The climate is temperate, with mild winters and cool summers. Main cities are the capital Copenhagen (on Zealand), Aarhus, Aalborg (on Jutland) and Odense (on Funen).

Economy

Main article: Economy of Denmark

Template:Factbook section Image:DanishKroners.jpg

This thoroughly modern 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.

The Danish economy is highly unionized; 75% of its labour force<ref> [1]</ref> are members of a union in the Danish Confederation of 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 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 12 other EU members in the euro. Even so, the Danish currency remains pegged to the euro.

For the past two 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."

Culture

Main article: Culture of Denmark

Perhaps the most famous Dane is actually an English mythical figure: Hamlet, the title character of William Shakespeare's famous play, which was set in the real castle of Kronborg in Helsingør, north of Copenhagen. 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. Image:KarleboL.jpg

Among other prominent Danes are:

See also: List of Danes

• Lars Von Trier, film director
• Morten Andersen, NFL kicker
• Bille August, film director
• Vitus Bering, explorer and navigator
• Karen Blixen, also known as Isak Dinesen, author
• Niels Bohr, physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
• Victor Borge, entertainer, pianist
• Tycho Brahe, astronomer
• Canute the Great, king of Denmark, Norway and England
• Ole Kirk Christiansen, inventor of LEGO
• Helena Christensen, supermodel
• René Dif, member of the pop band Aqua
• N.F.S. Grundtvig, poet, hymnalist, educationalist
• Gus Hansen, professional poker player
• Piet Hein, a scientist, mathematician, inventor, author, and poet (polymath)
• Anders Hejlsberg, computer scientist, inventor of the C# programming language
• Georg Jensen, designer
• Søren Kierkegaard, existentialist philosopher
• Tom Kristensen, seven times winner of 24 hours of Le Mans
• Michael Laudrup, footballer, winner of Confederations Cup 1995
• Rasmus Lerdorf, computer programmer and the author of the first version of the PHP web programming language
• Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, transport and business mogul
• Peter Naur, a pioneer in computer science and Turing award winner
• Asta Nielsen, silent film actress
• Connie Nielsen, actress
• Brigitte Nielsen, actress
• Carl Nielsen, composer
• Bjarne Riis, professional road bicycle racer, winner of the 1996 Tour de France
• Peter Schmeichel footballer (goalkeeper), winner of European Football Championship 1992, Confederations Cup 1995 and UEFA Champions League 1999
• Allan Simonsen, 1977 European Footballer of the Year
• Bjarne Stroustrup, computer scientist, inventor of the [[C++]] programming language
• Niels Stensen, 1638-1686, Scientist: Anatomy (Stensen's duct) and Geology
• Lars Ulrich, musician, member of heavy metal band Metallica
• Jørn Utzon, architect
• Hans Christian Ørsted, physicist, discoverer of electromagnetism
• Ole Rømer, physicist, first measurement of the speed of light

Miscellaneous topics

• Courts of Denmark
• Communications in Denmark
• Danish colonization of the Americas
• Danish Orders of Chivalry
• Education in Denmark
• Fællesrådet for Danmarks Drengespejdere
• Foreign relations of Denmark
• Holidays in Denmark
• Islam in Denmark
• Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
• List of Danish monarchs - Danish monarchs family tree
• List of towns in Denmark
• Military of Denmark
• Rescue of the Danish Jews
• Stamps and postal history of Denmark
• Support Denmark Movement
• Tourism in Denmark
• Transportation in Denmark
• Trees of Denmark

See also

• Cuisine of Denmark
• Culture of Denmark
• List of Danish painters
• List of notable Danish people
• List of people on stamps of Denmark
• Music of Denmark
• Religion in Denmark

References

• Template:Da icon Busck, Steen and Poulsen, Henning (ed.), "Danmarks historie - i grundtræk", Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2002, ISBN 87-7288-941-1
• Template:Da icon Michaelsen, Karsten Kjer, "Politikens bog om Danmarks oldtid", Politikens Forlag (1. bogklubudgave), 2002, ISBN 87-00-69328-6

Footnotes

<references/>

External links

Template:Portal Template:Sisterlinks

• In-depth description of Denmark published by the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• The Danish Monarchy
• The Danish constitution - PDF format
• Danish military history
• Denmark on MovingPlanets
• Danish Newspapers
• Official Portal of Denmark
• Official travel and tourism site
• Human rights reports from Amnesty International
• List of Danish cities from world-gazetteer.com
• Old Denmark in Cyberspace - Information about Denmark and the Danes
• Online charts and maps by the Danish survey authority
• Satellite image of Denmark at NASA's Earth Observatory
• Denmark - Geography and the Environment

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