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https://www.q-files.com/geography/europe/denmark.
Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
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Geography, Europe, s.v. "Denmark," accessed March 19, 2024.
https://www.q-files.com/geography/europe/denmark
Denmark
The Scandinavian country of Denmark is made up of the Jutland Peninsula (Jylland) and more than 400 surrounding islands. Smoothed down by glaciers during the last Ice Age, Denmark’s land is low-lying. Most of Jutland and the islands are covered by sediments, called moraines, deposited after the ice cap melted. The sandy soils of southern Jutland come from sediments laid down by meltwater streams. The Danish coastline has many sea inlets and shallow lagoons. Although it lies in northern Europe, Denmark is warmed by the seas that almost surround it, giving it a relatively mild climate. Summers are cool, while in winter, averages temperature are not far below 0°C (32°F).
People
Denmark’s people—Danes—are closely related to Swedes and Norwegians. Their Germanic ancestors settled in the country in the 4th century AD. During the Viking age, Danish warriors raided the shores of England and Ireland, later conquering and settling in these lands. Today, Danes enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world. In Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, more than one third of people travel to work by bicycle. In fact, there are more bikes in the city than people.
Economy
Denmark has long been politically stable and has a thriving modern economy. Around one-third of Danes work in industry, in small factories producing goods such as machinery, electronic equipment and medicines. These industries are concentrated around Copenhagen. Danish furniture, ceramics and textiles are recognized for their clean, simple designs.
Bridges and tunnels
Denmark's larger islands are connected by bridges: the Little Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen (Fyn); the Great Belt Bridge connects Funen with Zealand (Sjælland); the Øresund Bridge connects Zealand with Sweden. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link is a planned 18-kilometre (11-mile) tunnel that is proposed to connect the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland across the Baltic Sea.
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands lie around halfway between Norway and Iceland in the North Atlantic Ocean. Home to about 50,000 people, the islands have had their own government since 1948 but are still officially a part of Denmark. The Faroe Islands' capital is Tórshavn. The landscape is rocky and there are hardly any trees. Many of the 18 main islands are joined together by bridges and tunnels.
Most Faroese people make a living by fishing or sheep farming. Whale hunting, called grindadráp in Faroese, is legal and organized locally. The catch of pilot whales provides food for many of the inhabitants. The Faroese language is closely related to Icelandic. Weather systems sweeping across the Atlantic Ocean bring rainy, stormy weather nearly all year round, but also keep temperatures on the islands mild.
Consultant: Nicholas Harris
Facts about Denmark
Population 5,806,015
Area 42,434 sq km
Highest point Yding Skovhøj (including burial mound) 173 m (561 ft)
Capital Copenhagen, population 1.28 million
Other major cities Århus (pop. 237,551), Odense (145,931)
Language Danish
Religions Christian (Evangelical Lutheran) 80%, Muslim 4%, others 16%
Ethnicity Danish, Faroese (small groups of Greenlandic, German, Turkish, Iranian and Somali peoples)
Currency Danish krone (DKK)
Chief exports machinery, pork, dairy products, fish, medicines, furniture, windmills
History of Denmark
12,500 BC
First hunter-gatherers live in the region that is now Denmark
3900 BC
Farming societies begin to emerge
4th century
A Germanic people called the Jutes live on the Jutland Peninsula
9th century
Beginning of the Viking age in Denmark; Viking explorers from Denmark discover Greenland and Iceland, raid, conquer and trade along Europe’s coasts
853
Danes invade Ireland and found settlements
865
Danes begin settling in England; they establish their rule in parts of eastern England, known as Danelaw
958
Harald Bluetooth becomes King and makes Denmark a Christian country
Early 11th century
Danish king Cnut rules Denmark, England and Norway as a single realm
1397
Denmark joins together with Sweden and Norway to form the Kalmar Union, ruled by Denmark’s Queen Margaret I
1523
Sweden breaks away from the Kalmar Union
1563–70
Denmark goes to war with Sweden to try and reclaim it for the Union
1536
Denmark converts to Lutheranism, a form of Protestant Christianity
1647–51
A combination of poor harvest and plague kills 20% of Denmark’s population
1801–07
During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain attacks Copenhagen and Denmark’s navy
1814
At the Treaty of Kiel, Denmark passes control of Norway to Sweden; it still rules Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands
1849
Denmark sets up a parliament and becomes a constitutional monarchy
1850s
Industrialization begins; first railways are built in Denmark and people begin to migrate to the cities
1914–18
Denmark is neutral during World War I
1940–45
Nazi Germany invades and occupies Denmark during World War II
1945
Denmark grants independence to Iceland
1948
Faroe Islands are granted self-government but remain part of Denmark
1949
Denmark joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
1972
King Frederick IX dies; he is succeeded by his daughter, Margrethe II
1973
Denmark joins the European Economic Community (later to become the European Union)
1979
Greenland is granted self-government, but remains part of Denmark
1993
After rejecting it in 1992, Danes vote to accept the terms of the Maastricht Treaty and join the new European Union
2000
New bridge and tunnel open between Copenhagen and the southern Swedish city of Malmö; travel time between the two is now just 15 minutes
2011
Helle Thorning-Schmidt becomes Denmark's first female prime minister
2015
Two civilians shot and others wounded at a cultural centre and a synagogue in Copenhagen in gun attacks by terrorists, suspected to be Islamic extremists (February)
2024
Queen Margrethe II abdicates in favour of her son, who becomes King Frederik X