—
Jimmy Carr, The Most Offensive Joke In The WorldDenmark (Danish: Danmark), officially known as the Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark), is a country in Northern Europe, bordered by Germany to the south, Sweden to the east, and Norway to the north. Denmark is divided territorially between its only main landmass, the Jutland peninsula, and the islands of the Danish straits, which is where the capital of Copenhagen is located. Said capital also has a bridge that connects across the sea to Sweden. A democratic constitutional monarchy, it is a member of NATO and The European Union, but retains its own currency, the krone.note Although a separate currency, the krone is pegged to the Euro. After the United Kingdom exited the EU, Denmark is the only EU country who has no obligation to use the Euro, because it was one of the signatories of the 1992 treaty that envisaged the creation of the Euro, which it ultimately chose not to adopt.
Denmark has one of the oldest known national flags, the Dannebrog, which dates back to the 14th century at least. The flag is flown (and miniature paper flags used for decoration) at festive occasions such as birthdays and Christmas. Danes tend to perceive their flag as an icon of joy and celebration first, and only secondarily as a symbol for their country. They may have trouble grasping why displaying a flag in celebration could be interpreted as a nationalist gesture. The Danish anthem, "Der er et yndigt land", or "There is a lovely country", is one of the very few to include references to ancient (Viking) religions. Its poetry is also quite beautiful.
The Danes (as the Vikings were usually known at the time) struck terror into much of Northern Europe from the 9th to the 11th centuries. They made a particularly strong mark on the British Isles, ruling half of Englandnote The "Danelaw", which encompassed all of East Anglia, half of Mercia, and most to all of Northumbria and much of Scotland and Ireland in the 9th and 10th centuries. The Danish kings even managed to grab hold of the throne of all England from 1016 through 1042 (the Danish king who managed it, known in English as "Canute" and in Danish as "Knud", is one of only two monarchs in each country to get the epithet "the Great"note For reference, the other Danish "Great" is Valdemar I, who reigned in the 12th century, while the other English/British "Great" is of course Alfred the Great, who reigned about 150 years before Canute/Knud.). Since then, however, Denmark has generally been content to trade peacefully, barring the odd scuffle with their neighbor and nemesis, Swedennote there have been 11 Dano-Swedish wars between 1521 and 1814. For a while during the 15th century, the Union of Kalmar united Denmark, Norway and Sweden under one king, but it couldn't last. Sweden left and Norway decided to join Denmark properly.
More wars with Sweden followed, with Denmark-Norway losing more than winning, leading Sweden to gradually chip away at their territory, most importantly annexing the Skåne/Scania area from Denmark. Denmark's defeats caused the Danish nobility, the supposed defenders of the realm, to gradually lose their popularity and political standing. Eventually in 1660, after yet another lost war to Sweden, the Danish state was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, and trust in the nobility had bottomed out with both the Danish burghers and the clergy. Leveraging their increased power in the Danish society, they decided to strike a deal with King Frederik III to have their privileges expanded, in exchange for the nobility having theirs curtailed, and their support for reforming the government into an absolute monarchy, modelled somewhat after the French King Louis XIV's own absolutist reformation of the Kingdom of France, where the king was the ultimate head of the state, and the inheritance of the crown to the king's oldest son was uncontestednote Up until this point, any prospective King of Denmark could not be crowned without the approval of Rigsrådet (the Council of the Realm), a gathering of the most powerful Danish nobles, who would usually impose a so-called "Håndfæstning" upon the king-to-be, a signed agreement in which the monarch would give several concessions to the nobility, before he could ascend the throne with their blessing. The new agreement did completely away with both Rigsrådet and Håndfæstningen as institutions. The agreement was eventually ratified in the King's Law of 1665, thereby making Denmark the only European kingdom where absolute monarchy was enshrined in a constitutional document.
Denmark, headed by their subsequent kings, would from here on out attempt to navigate a path of relative neutrality in European politics. Denmark enjoyed a prolonged time of peace as a result, but this period came crashing down with The Napoleonic Wars. King Frederik VI had attempted to stay in a state of armed neutrality alongside Sweden and Russia, but he ended up being forced to decide much of Denmark's future fate when the United Kingdom posed an impossible ultimatum: the full surrender of the Danish fleet into the hands of the British. Frederik VI rejected this ultimatum, and had, as such, no real option than to throw his lot in with Napoléon Bonaparte and the French side. This resulted in two major humiliations for Danish military power. The first was Slaget på Reden/The Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801 where the English fleet, under the command of Horatio Nelson, delivered a crushing defeat to the Danish fleet, which up until then been the undefeated pride of the nation. The second was when the English fleet would return to Danish waters in the late summer of 1807, where it proceeded to bomb the city of Copenhagen itself. This is generally considered the first recorded historical instance of a state-sanctioned terror bombardment against a civilian population.
With Napoleon and the French Empire's ultimate defeat, Denmark was decisively on the losing side, and thus ended up negotiating a separate peace settlement with Sweden and the United Kingdom known as the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. Per the agreement, Denmark was to cede control over the territory of Norway to Sweden, thus ending the existence of the realm of Denmark-Norway, and cede the territory of Heligoland to the United Kingdom. Denmark was, however allowed to keep control over the North Atlantic territories of Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, even though they had historically up until that point been considered Norwegian dependencies.
The modern Danish state was born in 1848, as a part of the liberal revolutions that swept through Europe at the time, though in Denmark it happened through a Velvet Revolution. Hoping to avoid the violent revolutions that had rocked much of Europe, the recently crowned Frederick VII met in March with representatives from the Danish national-liberal movement and made an agreement to peacefully end the absolute monarchy. This agreement was eventually ratified through the formal signing of a constitution on the 5th of June 1849, reforming the Danish state into a constitutional monarchy with a democratically elected parliament, and a substantial list of constitutionally guaranteed civil rights, chiefly freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association.
Unfortunately for Denmark, the advent of modern nationalism was also a consequence of the revolutions of the 1840s, and this was especially felt in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein in the southernmost parts of Denmark, which were — due to various Binding Ancient Treaties — not formally a part of the Danish state proper, but rather a part of the realm of the Danish Crown. Schleswig especially was split by a predominantly culturally Danish population in the Northern Schleswig/Southern Jutland area which desired to be a full and equal part of Denmark, and a predominantly culturally German population in Southern Schleswig who began agitating to leave Denmark, and some even arguing for the formation of a free republic with their fellow Germans in Holstein. Like most countries do when faced with secessionism, Denmark cracked down, which provoked the German Republicans to rise in rebellion. What Denmark didn't count on, however, was the other German states, most prominently the military powerhouse of Prussia, interfering on the rebels' side, which sparked the First Schleswig War. Denmark eventually managed to hold on and thanks to international mediation, headed by Russia, England, and France, Prussia eventually withdrew from the war. Denmark then proceeded to strike down the rebellion and win the war in 1851.
However, the nationalistic disagreements that had sparked the conflict in the first place had not been resolved by the peace settlement, only temporarily tabled, as France, England, and Russia, themselves monarchies and very much against the changing winds at the time, forced Denmark to restore the pre-war status quo. Denmark made continued attempts to forcibly "Danify" southern Schleswig and Holstein, but this predictably only managed to spark even more local resistance. And in 1863, the conflict was reignited, when the Danish government once again made movements to alter the status of the duchies through an amendment of the Danish constitution, despite this being a willful breach of international treaties drafted after the war. Many historians have considered it a stupid move in hindsight, but to the Danish government it really did look like a good idea of the time, as the Minister President of Prussia Otto von Bismarck had implied that his country would not interfere this time. But this was a carefully planned deception on Bismarck's behalf — done by deliberately using highly ambiguous language. Bismarck, in fact, wanted a war for internal political reasons. In early 1864, Bismack's trap sprung shut, when Prussia and its ally, Austria, declared the Second Schleswig War. Alone and facing an enemy who was superior in both manpower and technology, Denmark would suffer a couple of humiliating and traumatic defeats in the spring of 1864, and was ultimately forced to cede Schleswig and Holstein to Prussia and Austria (who then almost immediately afterwards proceeded to fight a war over the spoils).
Effectively reduced to a rump state through the traumatic loss of what was seen as part of their core territories, and having learned the hard way that warfare was no longer a viable way to enforce its political goals, Denmark now began gradually rebuilding itself into a modern nation-state, under the motto "Hvad udad tabes, skal indad vindes" ("What is lost outwards must be gained inwards"). Knowing that Denmark military-wise was but a small fish in a large pond, squeezed in-between the ambitions of Germany, Sweden and the UK, the Danish foreign policy in the late 19th century and the early 20th century became focused on trade with the greater powers and careful attempts at maintaining neutrality.
Denmark ultimately managed to remain neutral throughout World War I. The largest naval battle ever, the Battle of Jutland, happened in the North Sea off the country's coasts. In the aftermath of the war, the President of the United States Woodrow Wilson's enforcement of his famous Fourteen Points, chiefly amongst these securing national self-determination and democracy amongst the people of Europe, resulted in the Northern Schleswig area choosing to rejoin with Denmark in 1920 through a plebiscite and an amicable agreement between the Danish government and the Weimar Republic.
Despite maintaining its neutrality at the onset of World War II, Denmark was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940 in one of the quickest and shortest invasions in history. An invasion that lasted a total of six hours before the Danish king and government agreed to surrender. However, as a result of the Danish government's quick capitulation, Denmark was subjected to a "peaceful" occupation and the Danish government was allowed to remain in power. The Germans even allowed the government to continue to govern the country as long as they cooperated with the German occupation. Despite this, the Danes were opposed to the German antisemitic polices and the Danish resistance were able to arrange a covert evacuation of virtually the entire Jewish population of the country before the Nazis could get their hands on them, with most being sent to neutral Sweden.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the Nazi occupation, Denmark's by-now semi-independent overseas territories of Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands found themselves invaded and occupied by the allied forces (despite this technically being a violation of their own neutrality), first by the British and later by the Americans, to prevent them from falling to the hands of the Nazis. The local Icelandic government, which had long desired true independence from Denmark, used the situation to initiate a public plebiscite on whether to terminate their personal union with Denmark. The results were very decisive, with 97% of the voters in favor of ending the union, thus making Iceland an independent republic in 1944.
Back home, the collaboration eventually started to strain as the tide of the war increasingly turned against Germany and the Danish population grew evermore discontented with the occupation. Finally, in the summer of 1943, several strikes and other acts of civil disobedience in defiance towards the Germans rocked several major Danish cities. This resulted in the German occupational forces issuing an ultimatum to the Danish government in August 1943, demanding that that the Danish police assisted them in cracking down on the dissidents (which they, granted, already had been doing, only now they were told to significantly stepped up their game) and the government instated a long list of draconian laws, such as tighter censorship of the press with German oversight, curfews, and death penalty in cases of sabotage. The Danish government instead flat out refused these demands. In response, the Germans officially dissolved the Danish government and instituted martial law. The Danish cabinet, meanwhile, handed in their collective resignation to King Christian X. The King, however, never formally ratified this resignation, meaning that the government de jure continued until the end of the occupation. Instead, without any sitting ministers to defer to, the various head of departments in the Danish ministries assumed the daily governmental operation of Denmark in a construction named "Departementschefstyret" (roughly translates to "the head-of-department administration").
Meanwhile, the German occupational forces responded by tightening their control over the Danish population, greatly strengthening the local Gestapo forces in attempt to stem up the growth of the Danish resistance which saw increasing public support. In September 1944, the Nazis would perform a large-scale purge against the Danish police force (whom they had long considered too autonomous to be trusted), arresting and deporting about 2000 police officers to concentration camps, while drastically reducing the legal powers of was left of the force afterwards. In their stead, the more obedient organisation "Hilfspolizei" (known in daily speech as "HIPO-korpset"), a construction under the control of the German Ordnungspolizei, was instead instated with the primary objective of keeping the Danish population in line through terror and assisting the Gestapo in cracking down on Danish resistance activities.
Denmark would remain occupied for the entire duration of the war until the German forces in the northern occupied territories surrendered to Bernard Law Montgomery in May 1945. Although, this was not entirely the end. On the eastern isle of Bornholm, the local German commander, Gerhard von Kamptz, stubbornly refused to stand down, leading to the island being first bombed, then invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union. Because of the chaos of the aftermath of the war, the Danish government was not able to initiate negotiations with the Soviet government until early 1946. But despite initial Danish misgivings, the Soviets turned out to be very amenable to handing Bornholm back note Notably, the only concession the Soviet wanted in return was a signed agreement that any Danish military garrison on the isle would remain of a limited size and that "foreign powers" weren't allowed to influence the daily administration of the island, so an agreement was quickly negotiated and the last remaining part of Denmark could thus ultimately celebrate its "final liberation" in April 1946, almost a year after the rest of the country.
As mentioned before, Denmark is made up of a peninsula (Jutland, or Jylland to the Danes), and a whole bunch of islands.note Jutland north of Aalborg is also an island in its own right, but due to historical reasons and the narrowness of the dividing strait, this is rarely acknowledged. The biggest island is Zealand (Sjælland), on which stands Copenhagen (København). The country is notable for its flatness; average elevation stands at 34 m, barely beating The Netherlands's 30 m, while the highest point in the country itself is a television tower called the Rø Transmitter◊, which stands on a hill giving it a 431.3 m height, while the highest natural point is a hill called Møllehøj (170.86 m), with a milestone marking it for good measure. The "mountainous Scandinavia" that most people associate when they think about the region actually characterizes Norway and the Lapland parts of Sweden and Finland better. So, if you ever see any film depicting Denmark with mountains, waterfalls, boreal forests, and the like, suffice to say you've been lied to.
Like the United Kingdom, Denmark has the concept of constituent countries, which make up the much-larger "Kingdom of Denmark". Other than the continental part, the Kingdom includes the Faroe Islands and Greenland, both of which have received home rule and thus function as independent countries except in the matters of foreign affairs. It also formerly included Iceland until 1918, when it became a separate Kingdom with a shared royal house with Denmark (not unlike the Commonwealth), followed by a British/American invasion in 1940 to prevent it falling into German hands, after which Iceland decided to ditch the Danish king and become a republic. If you are wondering how Denmark gained these far-off territories, the answer is that it did not; all of these territories were originally Norwegian, and the Danish got to keep them in exchange for giving up Norway to Sweden in the 1814 Treaty of Kiel.
Denmark is famous as the home of LEGO, and the LEGOLAND theme park in Billund, central Jutland (also home to The LEGO Group's headquarters) is one of the country's major tourist attractions; in parodies, it's common to jokingly depict LEGO as Denmark's currency. Denmark is also a major producer of dairy goods and pork and bacon - "Danish Bacon" is one of the premium brands in Britain. Several varieties of cheese have their origins in Denmark, of which Havarti is probably the best-known. Another one of its main tourist attractions is the annual Roskilde Festival, which has been held since 1971. In 1969 it became the first country in the world to legalise hardcore Pornography, which contributed to attracting a certain kind of tourist.
The second most recent notable event to take place in Denmark is the massive controversy over some cartoons. Danish-born British comedienne Sandi Toksvig commented that she never thought she would see anyone burning Danish flags, such was the cozy, inoffensive reputation of the country (and why would you burn an icon of joy and celebration anyway? - disregarding that it is accepted that the only way to get rid of an old flag without dishonoring it, is to burn it). The first most recent notable event was the 2009 United Nations Climate Change conference (also known as the COP 15).
The current monarch of Denmark is King Frederik X, and the current prime minister is Mette Frederiksen. Frederik X is a descendant of King Christian IX who is known as the "father-in-law of Europe" because, similar to Queen Victoria, many of his children married into other royal families across Europe.note His oldest son and successor Frederick VIII married Princess Louise of Sweden. The other children are: Alexandra, Queen consort of the United Kingdom; George I of Greece (who was voted to replace the deposed and exiled king Otto I. Hence why the Greek princes and princesses descended from him would be known as "Prince/Princess [insert name here] of Greece and Denmark", with the exception of crown princes and crown princesses whose title would simply be "Crown Prince/Princess of Greece"); Maria Feodorovna, Empress consort of Russia; Thyra, Crown Princess of Hanover; while his youngest child Prince Valdemar married French Princess Marie of Orleans. Other descendants of Christian IX in the modern era other than Frederik X include his mother Queen Margrethe II, Charles III of the United Kingdom and his late parents, Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh; Philippe of Belgium; Harald V of Norway, Felipe VI of Spain; Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; Constantine II of Greece; Queen Anne-Marie of Greece; and Queen Sofia of Spain.
For the Danish Defence, see Danes With Drakens.
Denmark in fictional media:Famous Danes:
Politics of Denmark If you are a Libertarian, this is not the place for you. Denmark has some of the highest tax rates in the world. The population is largely content with this as it supports a large welfare state, public health care and education for every citizen. But Denmark also has some of the strictest immigration laws in Europe, which have gotten progressively stricter in recent years and which effectively limit the state's largesse. If you are a non-European, please notice that in Denmark, like most of Europe, the word "liberal" generally means being center/right-oriented, as opposed to being left-oriented as it is in the US.
Political Parties
There are other parties with no parliamentary representation, but on the ballot for the general election. In addition, there are 4 parties from Greenland and the Faroes each with 1 seat represented in Parliament.
See also: The Danish FlagPopularly known as the
Dannebrog, the Danish flag is reputedly one of the oldest national flags in the world still in use. While its historical origins are unclear (the only thing most accounts agree on is that it was a papal banner), popular tradition attributes it to a turning point of the
Battle of Lyndanisseof 1219 for the conquest and conversion to Christianity of the same-named town (modern-day Tallinn,
Estonia) — initially fighting a losing battle against pagan Estonians, the Danes prayed desperately until the flag came down from heaven, which they interpreted as a sign of divine favor and inspired them to victory.
Coat of arms of DenmarkThe coat of arms is the oldest coat of arms of a country as it was first documented in 1194 and went through several modifications, the last being on 5 July 1972. It is based on a seal used by King Canute VI with a crown added.
The Danish national anthemsDer er et yndigt land,
det står med brede bøge
nær salten østerstrand
Det bugter sig i bakke, dal,
det hedder gamle Danmark
Det bugter sig i bakke, dal,
det hedder gamle Danmark
Der sad i fordums tid
de harniskklædte kæmper,
udhvilede fra strid
Så drog de frem til fjenders mén,
nu hvile deres bene
Så drog de frem til fjenders mén,
nu hvile deres bene
Det land endnu er skønt,
thi blå sig søen bælter,
og løvet står så grønt
Og ædle kvinder, skønne møer
og mænd og raske svende
Og ædle kvinder, skønne møer
og mænd og raske svende
Hil drot og fædreland!
Hil hver en danneborger,
som virker, hvad han kan!
Vort gamle Danmark skal bestå,
så længe bøgen spejler
Vort gamle Danmark skal bestå,
så længe bøgen spejler
sin top i bølgen blå
—
There is a lovely land
with spreading, shady beech-trees,
Near salty eastern shore
Its hills and valleys gently fall,
its name is ancient Denmark,
Its hills and valleys gently fall,
its name is ancient Denmark,
There in the ancient days
sat armoured giants rested
Between their bloody frays
Then they went forth the foe to face,
now found in stone-set barrows,
Their final resting place.
Then they went forth the foe to face,
now found in stone-set barrows,
Their final resting place.
This land is still as fair,
the sea is blue around it,
And peace is cherished there
Strong men and noble women still
uphold their country's honour
With faithfulness and skill.
Strong men and noble women still
uphold their country's honour
With faithfulness and skill.
Hail king and fatherland!
Hail citizens of honour,
who do the best they can
Our ancient Denmark shall remain,
as long as beech tops mirror
in waves of blue their chain!
Our ancient Denmark shall remain,
as long as beech tops mirror
in waves of blue their chain!
—
Kong Christian stod ved højen mast
i røg og damp;
hans værge hamrede så fast,
at gotens hjelm og hjerne brast.
Da sank hvert fjendtligt spejl og mast
i røg og damp.
Fly, skreg de, fly, hvad flygte kan!
hvo står for Danmarks Christian
hvo står for Danmarks Christian
Niels Juel gav agt på stormens brag.
Nu er det tid.
Han hejsede det røde flag
og slog på fjenden slag i slag.
Da skreg de højt blandt stormens brag:
Nu er det tid!
Fly, skreg de, hver, som véd et skjul!
hvo kan bestå mod Danmarks Juel
hvo kan bestå mod Danmarks Juel
O, Nordhav! Glimt af Wessel brød
din mørke sky.
Da ty'de kæmper til dit skød;
thi med ham lynte skræk og død.
Fra valen hørtes vrål, som brød
den tykke sky.
Fra Danmark lyner Tordenskjold;
hver give sig i himlens vold
hver give sig i himlens vold
Du danskes vej til ros og magt,
sortladne hav!
Modtag din ven, som uforsagt
tør møde faren med foragt
så stolt som du mod stormens magt,
sortladne hav!
Og rask igennem larm og spil
og kamp og sejr før mig til
og kamp og sejr før mig til
min grav!
—
King Christian stood by the lofty mast
In mist and smoke;
His sword was hammering so fast,
Through Gothic helm and brain it passed;
Then sank each hostile hulk and mast,
In mist and smoke.
"Flee!" shouted they, "flee, he who flee!
Who stands for Denmark's Christian,
Who stands for Denmark's Christian,
In battle?"
Niels Juel gave heed to the tempest's roar,
"Now is the hour!"
He hoisted the red flag once more,
And struck upon the foe, blow after blow,
They shouted loud, through the tempest's roar,
"Now is the hour!"
"Flee!" shouted they, "for shelter flee!
Of Denmark's Juel, who can defy,
Of Denmark's Juel, who can defy,
In strife?"
North Sea! a glimpse of Wessel rent
Thy murky sky!
Then champions to thine arms were sent;
Terror and Death glared where he went;
From the waves was heard a wail, that rent
Thy murky sky!
From Denmark thunders Tordenskiold,
Let each to Heaven commend his soul,
Let each to Heaven commend his soul,
And fly!
Path of the Dane to fame and might!
Dark-rolling wave!
Receive thy friend, who, scorning flight,
Goes to meet danger with despite,
Proudly as thou the tempest's might,
Dark-rolling wave!
And amid pleasures and alarms,
And war and victory, be thine arms,
And war and victory, be thine arms,
My grave!
——
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