Denmark - Photos

Kingdom of Denmark
Kongeriget Danmark




Kingdom of Denmark

Denmark (Danish: Danmark), officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom includes two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. At 43,094 square kilometres (16,638.69 sq mi),[10] with a population of around 5.6 million inhabitants, Denmark consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and the Danish archipelago of 407 islands,of which around 70 are inhabited. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. A Scandinavian country, Denmark shares strong cultural and historic ties with its neighbours Sweden and Norway. The national language, Danish, is closely related to and mutually intelligible with Swedish and Norwegian.
Interesting facts about Denmark

History & Culture

The Danish monarchy is a popular institution in Denmark and is one of the oldest in the world. The current monarch, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, can trace her lineage back to the first Viking kings of Denmark over 1000 years ago. Denmark is a wonderful place to experience royal traditions, monuments, palaces and celebrations.

• The Danish royal family is probably the oldest uninterrupted European monarchy. It traces back its roots to legendary kings in the Antiquity. Gorm the Old, the first king of the "official line", ruled from 934 C.E.

• The flag of Denmark, Dannebrog, is the oldest state flag in the world still in use by an independent nation. It was adopted in 1219.

• Denmark has had no less than 14 Nobel laureates, including 4 in Literature, 5 in Physiology or Medicine, and one Peace prize. With its population of about 5 million, it is one of the highest per capita ratio of any country in the world.

• Denmark is the homeland of the Germanic ethnicity and culture. The Franks, Burgundians, Jutes, and the Norses (Vikings) all trace their origin back to Denmark (as well as Norway and Sweden for the latter).

• In the 9th and 10th centuries, Danish Vikings invaded and settled in parts of Western Europe as far as North Africa. They founded the Danelaw in Northern England, and were granted to Duchy of Normandy (named after the Norse men) by the King of France.

• As a result of the "Danish exodus" in ancient and medieval times, most people in Germany, the Benelux, Northern and Eastern France, and Britain can claim Danish ancestry.

• Between 1397 and 1524, the whole of Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland) as well as southern Finland was unified under Danish rule, with Copenhagen as capital. The Denmark-Norway Union (including Iceland and Greenland) lasted until 1814.

• Dyrehavsbakken, 10 km north of Copenhagen, is the world's oldest operating amusement park. Its origins can be traced back to the late 16th century, when entertainers and artists working in this spring park attracted crowds from all over Europe. Cabarets made their appearance in 1866, and the first wooden roller coaster opened in 1932. Other modern attractions followed, and the park now features six high-speed roller coasters and over 30 other rides.

• The Danish prince Hamlet, the fictional character of William Shakespeare's famous play, was inspired by an old Danish myth of the Viking Prince Amled of Jutland.

• The Danish fairy tales writer Hans Christian Andersen, is well known around the Western world, notably for such tales as "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid" (adapted by Disney), and "The Ugly Duckling".
• The architect of the iconic Sydney Opera House was the Dane Jørn Utzon (1918-2008). In 2007, he became only the second person to have his work recognised as a World Heritage Site while he was still alive.


Geography of Denmark



The country occupies an area of 43,094 square kilometres (16,638.69 sq mi).

Located in Northern Europe, metropolitan Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland and 443 named islands (1,419 islands above 100 square metres (1,100 sq ft) in total). Of these, 72 are inhabited, with the largest being Zealand and Funen. The island of Bornholm is located 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. The largest cities with populations over 100,000 are the capital Copenhagen on Zealand; Aarhus and Aalborg in Jutland; and Odense on Funen.

Denmark has a coastline of more than 7,300 km

Land use



Business & Economy

Denmark is known for the Danish cooperative movement within among others farming, the food industry (Danish Crown), dairy production (Arla Foods), retailing (Brugsen), wind turbine cooperatives and co-housing associations. Many large companies are also headquartered in Denmark, such as: A. P. Moller-Maersk Group (shipping), Vestas (wind turbines), Carlsberg (brewery), Danske Bank (banking), DONG Energy (power and natural gas), ECCO (shoes), H. Lundbeck (pharmaceuticals), Novo Nordisk (pharmaceuticals), Coloplast (pharmaceuticals), Pandora (jewellery), Danfoss (industrial services), Grundfos (pump manufacturer) and Lego Group (toys) , Kopenhagen Fur - - Scandinavian Tobacco Company - F.L. Smith - Hempel - The Rockwool Group - Chr. Hansen - The VKR Group - SAS Group (Scandinavian Airlines) - Foss - Oticon - Jysk - Radiometer - ISS Group - Haldor Topsøe - Brüel & Kjær - NKT Holding - DSV A/S.

Copenhagen Airport is the largest airport in Scandinavia and 15th busiest in Europe.

• Denmark has the highest employment rate in Europe (75%).

• The world famous building toys Lego are from Denmark

• The A.P. Møller-Mærsk Group (commonly known simply as Mærsk), headquartered in Copenhagen, is the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the world, employing over 100,000 people in 125 countries.

• Carlsberg and Tuborg are two of the most famous Danish beer brands.

• The Danish company Bang & Olufsen (B&O) manufacture some of the most upscale audio products, television sets, and telephones in the world.

Copenhagen


Copenhagen (Denmark) by Mirko.Pavia, on Flickr

No. 0864 Copenhagen by Henrik Lundholm Andersen, on Flickr

Copenhagen (13) by jim_skreech, on Flickr

Nyhavn, famous harbour area in Copenhagen Denmark by phototouring, on Flickr

The Roofs of Copenhagen by Jan Lykke (myfoto.dk), on Flickr