Portal:Denmark

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Denmark is the smallest and southernmost of the Nordic countries. Unified in the mid 10th century, it is also the oldest. Located north of its only land neighbour, Germany, south-west of Sweden, and south of Norway, it is located in northern Europe. From a cultural point of view, Denmark belongs to the family of Scandinavian countries although it is not located on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The national capital is Copenhagen.

Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland, which borders Schleswig-Holstein; many islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Vendsyssel-Thy, Lolland, and Bornholm; and hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has historically controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea, and those waters are also known as the Danish Straits.

Denmark has been a constitutional monarchy since 1849 and is a parliamentary democracy. It became a member of the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1973. The Kingdom of Denmark also encompasses two off-shore territories, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, both of which enjoy wide-ranging home rule. The Danish monarchy is the oldest existing monarchy in Europe, and the national flag is the oldest state flag in continuous use.

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Hans Christian Ørsted (August 14, 1777 – March 9, 1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist, influenced by the thinking of Immanuel Kant. He is best known for discovering the relationship between electricity and magnetism known as electromagnetism.

From 1806, Ørsted was a professor at the University of Copenhagen. He was instrumental in the founding of the university's Faculty of Science shortly before his death. In the 1960's the main building complex of the university's new science campus was named in his honor.

Ørsted was the driving force behind the founding of the Technical University of Denmark in 1829 and served as its first director. The present-day department of applied electronics is named Ørsted·DTU in his honor.

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Christianshavns Kanal, Copenhagen, in morning light.

Photo credit: Mahlum

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Did you know

... that despite being marketed as Tages' international breakthrough, Studio was only issued in Sweden and Denmark upon original release?
... that the terracotta statue of George Washington by the Danish-American sculptor Nels N. Alling was entirely funded by the local Scandinavian community?
... that Charles Winckler, a Danish national shot put and discus champion, won his only Olympic medal in a tug-of-war tournament?
... that US general Tommy Franks reportedly did not have time to become an expert on the Danish Air Force?
... that before becoming the first director of the Danish Language Council, Sabine Kirchmeier was a local politician who reported the mayor to the police?
... that, between the ages of six and ten, Dorthe Emilie Røssell helped smuggle weapons and propaganda for the Danish resistance movement in her doll's pram?
... that the Danish geologist Tove Birkelund received a gold medal for her early work on fossils of Scaphites in Greenland?
... that Carl Jorgensen and Gust Zarnas were the first NFL players from Denmark and Greece?

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The Royal Danish Navy is the sea-based branch of The Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for the maritime defence and sovereignty of danish, greenlandic and faroese territorial waters. Other tasks includes surveillance, search and rescue, icebreaking, oil spill recovery and prevention as well as contributions to international tasks and forces.

During the period 1509-1814 when Denmark was in union with Norway, the Danish Navy was part of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. Today the Danish navy is very modern and most of the large ships were commissioned in the post-Cold War era. The Danish navy has some relatively large ships in the fleet, despite the smallness of the country, primarily due to its strategic maritime location as the NATO member controlling access to the Baltic.

Danish Navy ships carry the prefix KDM which stands for Kongelige Danske Marine (English: Royal Danish Navy).

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Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age.

Roskilde train station is a major stop between Copenhagen and the regions of Denmark located to its west. With a population of 46,701 (1 January 2010), the city is an important economic center for the region.

Roskilde has a pedestrian street running down the center of the city, with many shops, restaurants, and cafés. Several tourist attractions draw visitors from around Denmark and the world. The local university has an education program that invites international students to attend for a year.

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