Denmark - dĕnˈmärk, Dan. Danmark, officially Kingdom of Denmark, kingdom (1995 est. pop. 5,199,000), 16,629 sq mi (43,069 sq km), N Europe. It borders on Germany in the south, the North Sea in the west, the Skagerrak in the north, and the Kattegat and the Øresund in the east.
Copenhagen is Denmark's capital, largest city, and chief industrial center. In addition to the capital, other important cities include Ålborg,
Århus,
Esbjerg, Frederiksberg and Gentofte (suburbs of Copenhagen), Lyngby,
Odense, and
Roskilde.
Land and People The southernmost of the Scandinavian countries, Denmark proper includes most of the
Jutland peninsula; several major islands, notably
Sjælland,
Fyn,
Lolland,
Falster,
Langeland,
Als,
Møn,
Bornholm, and
Amager; and about 450 other islands. The
Faeroe Islands and
Greenland, in the North Atlantic, are self-governing dependencies within the Danish realm. A part of the European plain, the country is almost entirely low-lying, and more than 65% of its land area is cultivated. The North Atlantic Drift (a warm ocean current) usually ensures a relatively mild climate, but occasionally ice closes the Baltic Sea, thus cutting off warmer waters and making the winter quite severe. In addition to Denmark's Scandinavian majority, there are Eskimo, Faeroese and German minorities. Almost all the inhabitants of Denmark speak Danish (there are several dialects), and Faeroese, Greenlandic (an Eskimo dialect), and German are also spoken. The great majority of Danes belong to the established Lutheran Church; there are small minorities of other Protestants and Roman Catholics. Denmark has an excellent system of public education, developed largely in the 19th cent. There are universities at Århus, Copenhagen, and Odense. Economy Once essentially an agricultural country and still possessing a visibly rural landscape, Denmark after 1945 greatly expanded its industrial base so that by the 1990s industry contributed over 25% of the gross domestic product and agriculture less than 5% (Denmark's other traditional industries of fishing and shipbuilding have also declined). Financial and other services, trade, transportation, and communication are also important. The main commodities raised are livestock (pigs, cattle, and poultry), root crops (beets, kohlrabi, and potatoes), and cereals (barley, oats, and wheat). There is a large fishing industry, and Denmark possesses a commercial shipping fleet of considerable size. The leading manufactures include food products (especially meat and dairy goods), chemicals, machinery, metal products (made almost entirely from imported raw materials, since Denmark has practically no mineral resources), electronic and transport equipment, beer, textiles, and paper and wood products. Tourism is also an important industry. Denmark's main exports are agricultural and industrial machinery, teak and oak furniture, meat, fish, and metals and metal manufactures; the chief imports are machinery, metals, motor vehicles, and fuels. The country's leading trade partners are Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, and other European Union countries as well as the United States. Denmark suffered severe economic problems throughout the 1980s, and in the 1990s it had a high unemployment rate, large public-sector expenses, and a massive foreign debt. However, tight fiscal and monetary policies combined with an increasing export base held some promise of economic recovery. Government Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, governed according to the 1953 constitution. Legislative power is vested in the monarch (who is also head of state) in conjunction with the unicameral Folketing (parliament) of 179 elected members. Executive power is exercised by the monarch through his or her ministers, led by the prime minister, who is the head of government. The cabinet of ministers is responsible to the Folketing and must have the support of the majority of that body. Administratively, Denmark proper is divided into 14 counties and one city, Copenhagen. The reigning monarch is Queen Margaret (Margrethe) II, who succeeded her father, King Frederick IX, upon his death in 1972. In the period following 1945, the Social Democratic party has been the leading political party. History Ancient History to 1448 The Danes probably settled Jutland by c.10,000 b.c. and later (2d millennium b.c.) developed a Bronze Age culture there. However, little is known of Danish history before the age of the
Vikings (9th–11th cent. a.d.), when the Danes had an important role in the Viking (or Norse) raids on Western Europe and were prominent among the invaders of England who were opposed by King Alfred (reigned 871–99) and his successors. St. Ansgar (801–65) helped convert the Danes to Christianity;
Harold Bluetooth (d. c.985) was the first Christian king of Denmark. His son,
Sweyn (reigned c.986–1014), conquered England. From 1018 to 1035, Denmark, England, and Norway were united under King
Canute (Knut). The southern part of Sweden (Skåne, Halland, and Blekinge) was, with brief interruptions, part of Denmark until 1658. After Canute's death, Denmark fell into a period of turmoil and civil war. Later,
Waldemar I (reigned 1157–82) and
Waldemar II (reigned 1202–41) were energetic rulers who established Danish hegemony over N Europe. With the end of the Viking raids and the development of a strong and independent church, the nobles were able to impose their will on the weaker kings. In 1282, Eric V (reigned 1259–86) was forced to submit to the Great Charter, which established annual parliaments and a council of nobles who shared the king's power. This form of government persisted until 1660. Waldemar IV (reigned 1340–75) again brought Danish power to a high point, but he was humiliated by the
Hanseatic League in the Treaty of Stralsund (1370). Waldemar's daughter, Queen
Margaret, achieved (1397) the union of the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish crowns in her person (see
Kalmar Union). Sweden soon escaped effective Danish rule, and with the accession (1523) of Gustavus I of Sweden the union was dissolved. However, the union with
Norway lasted until 1814. Denmark and Norway In 1448,
Christian I became king and established on the Danish throne the house of Oldenburg, from which the present ruling family (Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg) is descended. He also united (1460)
Schleswig and
Holstein with the Danish crown. The Reformation (early 16th cent.) gradually gained adherents in Denmark, and during the reign of
Christian III (1534–59) Lutheranism became the established religion. In the late 16th and early 17th cent., Denmark had a brilliant court, with a brisk intellectual and cultural life; the astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) was a major figure, and the Danish Renaissance style of architecture (strongly influenced by that of the Low Countries) was developed. The division of power in Denmark between the king and the nobles seriously handicapped the country's attempt to gain supremacy in the Baltic region. Denmark was involved in numerous wars with Sweden and other neighbors; the participation of
Christian IV (reigned 1588–1648) in the
Thirty Years War (1618–48) and the wars of
Frederick III (reigned 1648–70) with Sweden caused Denmark to lose its hegemony in the north to Sweden. The Danish-Swedish Treaty of Copenhagen (1660) confirmed most of the Danish losses imposed by the Treaty of Roskilde (1658). The wars weakened the nobility by reducing its numbers and strengthened the monarchy by increasing the power and importance of the royal army. Frederick III and
Christian V (reigned 1670–99), aided by their minister Count
Griffenfeld, were able to make the kingdom an absolute monarchy with the support of the peasants and townspeople. Denmark maintained an imperial status by continuing to rule over Iceland and by establishing (late 17th cent.) the Danish West Indies (see
Virgin Islands). In the
Northern War (1720–21) against Charles XII of Sweden,
Frederick IV (reigned 1699–1730) gained some financial awards and the union of ducal Schleswig with royal Schleswig. The later 18th cent. was marked by important social reforms carried out by the ministers Johann Hartwig Ernst
Bernstorff, Andreas Peter
Bernstorff, and Johann Friedrich
Struensee. Serfdom was abolished (1788), and peasant proprietorship was encouraged. In the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Denmark, having sided with Napoleon I, was twice attacked by England (see
Copenhagen, battle of;
Copenhagen). By the Treaty of Kiel (1814), Denmark lost Norway to Sweden and Helgoland to England, but retained possession of Greenland, the Faeroe Islands, and Iceland. 1814 to the Present In the early 19th cent., Denmark's modern system of public education was started, and there was a flowering of literature and philosophy (led by Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard). As a result of plans for a liberal, centralized constitution,
Frederick VII (reigned 1848–63) became involved in a war with Prussia (1848–50) over the status of
Schleswig-Holstein. Denmark was defeated and agreed in the London Protocol of 1852 to preserve a special status for the two duchies. In the meantime, a new constitution was promulgated (1849), ending the absolute monarchy and establishing wide suffrage. The new government attempted (1855) to incorporate Schleswig into the Danish constitutional system, and soon after the accession (1863) of
Christian IX war broke out again (1864), this time with Prussia and Austria. Denmark was defeated badly and lost Schleswig-Holstein. This loss of about one third of the Danish territory was, however, offset by great economic gains that transformed Denmark, in the second half of the 19th cent., from a land of poor peasants into the nation |
