According to estatelearning, Denmark is a Scandinavian country located in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the south, Sweden to the east, and Norway to the north. The capital city of Copenhagen is renowned for its historic buildings, cobblestone streets, and canals. The country is known for its stunning landscapes which include beaches, rolling hills and lush forests. Denmark is also home to numerous islands with picturesque villages and quaint harbors. With its rich culture and diverse landscape, Denmark makes an ideal destination for travelers seeking a unique vacation experience.

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Political Tradition 1900-45

The economic structure and the class conditions it conditioned were relatively stable throughout the first part of the 20th century. Export-oriented agriculture – and trade – continued to be the deciding factor in the economy, while the craft and industry predominantly produced for the domestic market. The social and political development, with its peaceful and incremental character, must be seen in this background. The class struggle was institutionalized early. This happened first and foremost with the September settlement in 1899 between employers and trade unions. A labor law system was set up with a mediation institution and a Labor Law to regulate the conditions in the labor market. Politically, some form of early on was also initiated class collaboration. The so-called system change in 1901, when the Left formed government after the Right, marks the real introduction of parliamentarism. The struggle for political democracy was continued by the Social Democracy and the Radical Left against the Right and parts of the Left. The fight resulted in the Constitution of 1915, which extended the right to vote. The change also gave women, tying and country workers the right to vote. However, the voting age was still 35 years. Women were first allowed to vote in 1918, and the first female minister, Nina Bang, was elected in 1924.

The class line of cooperation, the deprivations of World War I, and strong anti-militaristic movements among the youth provided the basis for the development of a leftist opposition within the working class. It was expressed in part in the Syndicalist Trade Opposition Association (FS) under the leadership of Christian Christensen, whose activities culminated in 1917-18. Partly in that part of the Social Democracy – i.e. the youth organization – in 1918 broke out and formed DKP. The formation of the Communist Party also came under the impression of the revolution in Russia in 1917, but in the 1920’s it was extremely difficult to develop a coherent policy and build its organization. Its development during this period was tumultuous, and the Communist International (Comintern) intervened on several occasions in the development of the party.

History of Denmark

The centralist state, which was a legacy of monarchy, as well as a relatively effective and reliable bureaucracy and judiciary, enabled the political settlement of class cooperation to be implemented. This resulted in noticeable results in the social, health and education sectors. But most crucial to stability was undoubtedly the confidence in the broad strata of the population to the results of the economic and political struggle. This was reflected in an ever-increasing affiliation with the Social Democracy. From the 1920’s to the early 70’s, the party – with minor fluctuations – got approx. 40% of the votes.

Germany’s stronger position during the 1930’s triggered an ever closer Danish support behind the southern Nazi neighbor. Foreign policy was formulated by radical Foreign Minister P. Munch, and the Social Democracy found no reason to question this policy. Since the Franco-German War (1870-71), Denmark had declared itself neutral, and during World War I, the country had used its neutrality to enrich itself through trade with both belligerents. Denmark retained its policy of neutrality, viewed the German rearmament in the 1930’s with concern and went a long way not to arouse Germany’s disapproval.

This policy was continued during the German occupation (1940-45). Social democracy today emphasizes that cooperation policy with the occupying power was the basis for Denmark being so little marked by the war. Therefore, until the end of the world war, the Allies were in doubt as to whether Denmark should be regarded as Germany’s ally or as an occupied country. The fact is that during the first years of the occupation, the cooperation politicians went very far economically and politically with a view to subjecting Denmark to the German strategic interests (see The Occupation Period).

  • Countryaah: Check to see the location of Denmark on the world map. Also covers major mountains, rivers and lakes in Denmark.

Copenhagen municipality

Copenhagen Municipality, a municipality that includes the central parts of Greater Copenhagen, located on the islands of Zealand, Slotsholmen and Amager. With 602,481 inhabitants (2017), the municipality is by far the largest in the country, measured by population. The City of Copenhagen is unaffected by the municipal amalgamations of the structural reform in 2007.

The Citizens’ Representation in the City of Copenhagen consists of 55 members (2016). Frank Jensen from the Social Democrats has been mayor since 2010.

The population culminated in 1950 with 768,000 inhabitants and then declined until 1992 before growing again. The growth in the 1990’s was mainly due to relocations from both home and abroad, while the growth thereafter is due to a birth surplus.

As the many newcomers from before 1950 have died, the population in the municipality has changed. Many younger families live in the municipality’s new buildings, and immigrants have taken over the homes in a significant part of the older housing stock.

Incidentally, the composition of the population is characterized by the city’s role as a teaching center; a quarter of the inhabitants are young people in their twenties, who primarily inhabit the many small apartments in the housing stock.

The municipality administers an annual budget of DKK 47.3 billion. (2014) and has over 45,000 employees (2014) Denmark’s largest workplace. The average income for the municipality’s citizens is approx. 10% lower, and the average wealth below half the level of the Greater Copenhagen area as a whole. Since 1917, the City of Copenhagen has been led by the Social Democrats.

Denmark – Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen, capital of Denmark; 613,288 residents (2018), excluding Frederiksberg and Gentofte municipalities. Copenhagen, which is located on Zealand and Amager by the Sound, is Denmark’s largest city. The metropolitan area, which comprises Copenhagen’s continuous urban development, has 1. 3 million residents.

Copenhagen is governed by the Magistrate, which consists of a mayor and six mayors (mayoral council), all politically elected by the Citizens Representation of 55 members (municipal council). State oversight is exercised by the Minister of the Interior through the Vice President, who is the head of the Copenhagen Bureau and has the functions of a county governor. Frederiksberg Municipality also has county municipal status and is directly under the Ministry of the Interior.

Business

Copenhagen’s business sector has undergone major changes in recent decades. The scope and importance of the industry has decreased sharply, while service and service industries, primarily trade, transport, finance and insurance, IT, education and private and public administration, now together account for more than 90 percent of jobs.

Despite the industry decline in central Copenhagen, several large and well-known industrial workplaces remain in the city. These include the graphic industry (Berlingske Tidende, Politiken and Ekstra Bladet). Well-known industrial sectors are furthermore the brewery industry with Carlsberg Bryggerierne A / S (no brewery operations are no longer in Copenhagen). The previously extensive textile and clothing industry has declined sharply since operations were moved to areas with lower production costs. The formerly extensive shipbuilding industry (mainly represented by A / S Burmeister & Wain) is also now almost completely discontinued. Man B & W Diesel A / S (manufacturing of engines) is one of the current engineering companies. In the crane municipalities, which are part of Greater Copenhagen, there are now also large industrial areas. This is mainly the mother, market-oriented manufacturing has been located. These include the engineering company Brüel & Kjær A / S (measuring instruments), Novo Nordisk A / S (pharmaceuticals), the confectionery companies Anthon Berg and Toms Fabrikker (now merged with Toms & Anthon Bergs Chokoladefabrikker A / S).

Copenhagen is also the seat of International Service A / S, the country’s largest service and security company, and for one of Scandinavia’s largest trading companies, the Østasiatiske Kompagni A / S, and for the head offices of the country’s largest banks and insurance companies. In the retail sector, the two department stores are mainly magazine Du Nord and Illums as well as Illum Bolighus (furniture) and Georg Jensen Sølvsmide (gold and silver works).

Copenhagen is a major transport center. The city’s port is one of the largest in the country and includes the North Harbor with the Free Harbor and Langelinie as well as the Eastern Harbor with the Prøvestenen on Amager’s east side. Port traffic is focused on both cargo handling and passenger traffic. Regular boat connections are maintained with Rønne at Bornholm, Malmö, Oslo and Swinoujcie in Poland. The city is also a hub for rail traffic between the Nordic countries and the European continent as well as a center for Danish rail traffic. The international airport at Kastrup, located at Amager, is the Nordic region’s busiest with more than 23 million passengers per year. Copenhagen’s important role as a transport center is reflected in the many large transport companies, eg. shipping companies DFDS A / S and A / S J. Lauritzen.

Cityscape and architecture

The inner village (old town) dates back to the Middle Ages. Remains of the oldest buildings can be experienced in the tower ruins at Jarmers Plads, under Christiansborg’s basement and in the basement arches of St. Gertrude’s monastery at Hauser Plads.

During the Renaissance, the city was decorated with a number of buildings, for example the castle Rosenborg (1634), Børsen (1625) and Trinitatis Kirke (1657) with the associated Round Tower (1642). Then also added to the fleet’s crew townhouse neighborhood Nyboder and the district of Christianshavn with its Dutch-inspired canals.

In 1749, the fortified city was extended north to the Castle (1669). The new district with a right-angled street network was named Frederiksstaden. Its pearl is the octagonal Amalienborg Castle Square, which is bounded by four similar rococo palaces (1754), designed by Nicolai Eigtved. In the middle of the site stands Fredrik V’s equestrian statue in bronze by JFJ Saly. Through the opening to the east is seen the pompous fountain in the park Amaliehaven (1983, Jean Delogne) and beyond this harbor; to the west is the grouping of the round Frederik Church, later called the Marble Church (1749–1894, completed by Ferdinand Meldahl), with its copper dome.

Major fires have repeatedly (including 1728 and 1795) destroyed the Inner Village; only a few older houses are preserved, such as Nyhavn 5-9, Gråbrødre Torv 1-7 and Magstræde 17-19. After the British bombing in 1807, such a radical renewal took place that most of the interior K. gives a distinct neoclassical impression with highlights in public buildings such as the Cathedral (Vor Frue Kirke, 1826, CF Hansen), the Arrest Building, the Dom House and the former Metropolitan School, now the Universe (all 1816, CF Hansen).

The rest of the 19th century is represented by buildings such as the Synagogue (1833, GF Hetsch) and the wonderfully polychrome Thorvaldsens Museum (1848, Gottlieb Bindesbøll) as well as eclectic buildings such as the Royal Theater (1874) at Kongens Nytorv, the Pantomime Theater in Tivoli (1874). New Carlsberg Glyptotek (1891) with a glass-covered palm house. The three latter are, like the State Museum of Art (1895) designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup.

Several of these buildings are located on the site of the former fortifications, which were demolished in the late 1850s and today can be regarded as a green ring of parks and lakes around the central city. Tivoli, with its distinctive gardens, was built on the embankment as early as 1843, and the important town hall in Nordic architecture (1905, Martin Nyrop) was also erected outside the medieval city limits. Furthermore, the elegant Palace Hotel (1910, Anton Rosen) is marked on City Hall Square, and from the same period can be found at Strøget (Frederiksberggade 16) former Metropolitan Theater and at the administration building of the Gothersgade Belysningsvæsen (Electricity Authority).

To the Danish tradition, the impressive Grundtvig Church (1940, PV Jensen Klint) connects with the surrounding residential buildings On the mountain on the northwestern edge of the city. More down-to-earth are the townhouse extensions Bakkehusene (1922, Ivar Bentsen and Thorkild Henningsen) below Bellahøj, while Politigården (police house) (1924, Hack Kampmann, Aage Rafn and others) is executed in a monumental classicist style. Characteristic of the interwar period are the numerous housing estates of the large farm type, of which the most famous is Hornbækhus (1923, Kay Fisker).

The functionalist era is richly represented west and north of the inner city. by Kay Fischer’s two residential complexes Vestersøhus (1939) and Dronningegården (1944), the Radiohuset at Frederiksberg (1945, Vilhelm Lauritzen) and in the Klampenborg housing area Bellavista (1934, Arne Jacobsen) and Søholmradhusen (1955, the same architect).

In post-war housing construction, point houses in Bellahøj and Høje Gladsaxe are noticeable, but also dense, low residential areas such as Albertslund Syd. Particularly successful are Solbjerg Have at Frederiksberg (1980, the architectural office of the Folkestegnestuen) and Fuglsangspark (1983, the architectural firm Vandkunsten) in Farum. Recent significant works are Bagsvær Kirke (1976, Jørn Utzon) and the interior department store Paustians Bolighus in Nordhavnen (1987, Utzon Associates) and the Handelshøjskolen at Frederiksberg with surrounding housing extensions (1988, Henning Larsen), as well as the attempt at neo-nationalistic buildings around Høge Taastrup station (1986). Jacob Blegvad). Among the works of recent years are the extension to the Royal Library, called The Black Diamond (1999, Morten Schmidt, Bjarne Hammer and John F. Lassen), and The Royal Theater’s Opera House.

Christiania

Christiania is an alternative society, so-called sanctuary, in Christianshavn in Copenhagen. It is a former military area and was occupied in 1971 by a group of activists seeking an alternative lifestyle. It covers 18 hectares and is estimated to have about 1,000 residents. Christiania has often been questioned by the authorities; Early on, problems with crime and drugs arose. The residents themselves have sought to remove heavier drugs, but the task has proved difficult. Within the area there are. workshops, children’s homes, bakeries, cafes, restaurants and several interesting buildings, including erected recycled building materials. In 2004, the Parliament decided to clean up the area.

Cultural Life

Denmark’s national scene is The Royal Theater at Kongens Nytorv, with two stages (Gamle and Nye), and there is drama, opera, musical and ballet, the latter with ancestry from August Bournonville’s time. In 2005, an opera house belonging to the Royal Theater was inaugurated.

Among the city’s other, more than 20 theaters include the Folketeatret, the Betty Nansen Theater, the Violet Theater, Østre Gasværk and Gladsaxe Theater (in the suburb of Gladsaxe). During the summer months, Tivoli with the Pantomime Theater, Tivoli’s Concert Hall and the revue room Glassalen are the center of cultural life with, among other things. Tivoli Symphony Orchestra, which operates during the rest of the year under the name Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In the Radio Hall’s concert hall, Denmark’s Radio plays three permanent orchestras, the Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Entertainment Orchestra and the Radio’s Big Band. The Royal Chapel is affiliated with the Royal Theater, and classical music is also regularly performed in the New Carlsberg Glyptotek, chamber music, etc. in the State Museum of Art and in Louisiana in Humlebæk. Copenhagen is one of Europe’s leading jazz cities with a. k. a. an annual jazz festival.

Copenhagen is richly equipped with museums. Behind Charlottenborg (at Kongens Nytorv), where the Academy of Fine Arts has its premises, lies its exhibition building. The National Museum of Art exhibits both old and newer domestic and foreign painting, graphics and sculpture. Rosenborg Castle houses, among other things. the Danish national regalia. Thorvaldsen’s Museum at Slotsholmen mainly comprises the artist’s own works. Among other museums, many of which are private, are the Kunstindustrimuseet, Den Hirschsprungske Samling (Danish 19th century art, including the Golden Age and Skagen painters), David’s Collection (including Islamic art and older Danish silver and porcelain) and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek with both antique and newer sculpture, but also a large collection of paintings including. French impressionists and Danish golden age art. Nikolaj Church near Strøget has temporary exhibitions of current Danish artists. Outside Copenhagen, Louisiana is first and foremost Louisiana in Humlebæk with modern art as well as the Nivaagaard Painting Collection in Nivå and the Ordrupgaard Collection in Charlottenlund.

Among the historical museums are the Copenhagen City Museum, the large National Museum, housed in Prinsens Palæ, with collections of archeology, folk culture, ethnography, etc. , while a branch and the large open-air museum (an equivalent to Skansen in Stockholm) are located in Brede in Lyngby north of the city. . Book history exhibitions are arranged in the Royal Library, in the vicinity of which is the Tøjhusmuseet with weapons history collections. History painting and portraits are displayed in the National History Museum at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød northwest of the city.

The Zoological Museum – well separated from the zoo Zoo – is a very modern and educationally arranged exhibition with large panoramas etc. Other special cultural institutions are the Tycho Brahe Planetarium, The Blue Planet (aquarium in Tårnby municipality), the Circus building (where Cirkus Benneweis plays from May to October), the popular amusement park Dyrehavsbakken (“Bakken”) at Klampenborg, north of the city, where the Bakkerevyen belongs to the drawers. Another culturally historically interesting scene there is Bakkens Hvile with old-fashioned artist entertainment. International guest games of various kinds are often given in the Falkoner Center and Brøndby-Hallen. Copenhagen was the European Capital of Culture in 1996.

History

The city’s oldest history is relatively unclear. The starting point for Copenhagen, which in sources before about 1200 was called Havn, was a good natural harbor with a convenient location for connections across the Sound. A single younger source refers to Havn as early as the 1040s, but the place is otherwise known only in 1167 when the Roskildebishop Absalon, later Archbishop, had a new castle built in Havn. Absalon had about 1160 received the castle Havn with associated buildings in the extension of Valdemar I, and the place then remained in Roskilde bishop’s possession until 1416.

The name of the place was changed about 1200 to Copenhagen (‘Copenhagen’), which indicates that the settlement at the castle did not get city character at this time. Copenhagen received its first city rights in 1254, expanded 1294. Due to the trade and herring fishing in the Sound, Copenhagen grew strongly during the 13th century and the beginning of the 13th century. In addition to an older parish church, three new churches were erected. One of them, Our Lady Church, was rebuilt in the early 1300s into one of Denmark’s largest city churches. A gray fraternity monastery was established in 1238, while the city was fortified with ramparts and moat at the latest by the middle of the 13th century. Copenhagen was burned by a fleet from Lübeck in 1249 and captured by the Hanseatic forces in 1368, when the castle was demolished.

In 1416 the city came into possession of the crown, after which Copenhagen gradually became Denmark’s capital. Copenhagen’s castle was rebuilt as a royal palace, several noble families acquired property in Copenhagen, and the city became the role model in Danish city legislation. Copenhagen expanded greatly during the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, becoming one of the largest and most important cities in the Nordic region. The fortifications of the city were strengthened, and the city churches expanded during the late Middle Ages. A sacred monastery was added in 1474 and a clarinet monastery was established at the end of the 1400s. A large new town hall was built in 1475, and Denmark’s first university was founded in Copenhagen in 1479. As early as about 1526, a bourgeois movement existed within the bourgeoisie. During the count feud 1534–36, Copenhagen together with Malmö conducted a very independent policy.

Copenhagen’s true heyday began during Kristian  IV, who purposefully strived to make Copenhagen the northern European mercantile center. Big bastions replaced the old fortifications. A new fortress town, Christianshavn, began to be built on the Amager side in 1618, and monumental buildings such as Børsen, Tøjhuset and Holmen’s Church were erected around the castle. Within the medieval urban area, the Trinitatis Church was built with the Round Tower and the student house Regensen, and in a new district north of the medieval city center, Rosenborg Castle was erected.

Major expansions of the city to the north and east were undertaken during Frederik  III, and new fortifications withstood the Swedes’ siege of Copenhagen in 1658–60, not least the failed storm in February 1659. Following the introduction of the one-world government in 1660, Copenhagen’s position as the center of the Danish-Norwegian empire was strengthened. The city became the seat not only of the royal power but also of the greatly expanding central administration and was unconditionally the main fortress of the kingdom, where a new strong line of bastions to the east was completed about 1700.

After some stagnation due to the plague in 1711 and a violent fire in 1728, Copenhagen experienced strong growth from the middle of the 18th century thanks to the country’s neutrality in the major wars and trade, among other things. the Danish colonies in America, Africa and Asia. The population rose from about 65,000 in 1728 to about 93,000 in 1769 and 100,000 in 1801. In 1731, Copenhagen’s medieval castle was demolished, and Christiansborg was erected on the same site. Towards the end of the 18th century, Copenhagen suffered a series of accidents. In 1794 the great castle and the following year the whole of the southern part of the city burned. During the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark participated in the French side, and Copenhagen was attacked by the British in 1807; During a violent bombing for three days, large parts of the newly rebuilt city burned down.

With the beginning of industrialization circa 1850, a long downturn was reversed for Copenhagen. In 1847, the railway was opened to Roskilde, and after an extensive cholera epidemic in the old overpopulated districts in 1853, free space was left for speculative construction of housing in the new densely built “bridge neighborhoods”, where there could be highly polluting industrial activities between residential buildings. The downsides of industrialization continued to characterize Copenhagen during the second half of the 19th century, but from about 1892 improvements began slowly with rising real wages for the workers and with attempts to remedy the worst social conditions. To this end, large state investments were made in connection with the new fortress around Copenhagen, the “Vestenceinten”, which was built in 1886-94.

In the years 1901–02, several surrounding old villages were incorporated (while Frederiksberg lay as an enclave surrounded by the City of Copenhagen), where the city’s area tripled and its population reached up to 400,000. Especially since 1945, dense urban development has expanded over large parts of the surrounding area, while The actual Copenhagen (Copenhagen Municipality) since 1950 (768,000) has had a declining population, as many people and workplaces have moved to surrounding municipalities. Copenhagen has therefore increasingly been characterized by service functions: the health care organization, the central administration, the university and other cultural institutions, etc. This development, with a large population not employed in business and relatively few large taxpayers, has caused serious financial problems for the municipality of Copenhagen.

History of Denmark
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