Denmark
Denmark provides the link between mainland Europe and Scandinavain, it is one of the smallest countries in Europe, but previously had one of the biggest empires. All of these factor combine to make Denmark a unique country to visit. The country consists of the Jutland peninsula and over 400 surrounding islands.
The country is relatively flat and has many dedicated cycle lanes for outdoor enthusiast.
- Denmark took its name from Danes from Sweden who colonised the country around 500 AD.
- Tollund Man, the body of a prehistoric man found in the Tollund peat bog, can be seen in the museum at Silkeborg.
- Odense, the capital of Fyn and one of the largest cities in Denmark, may derive its name from "Odin's shrine".
- Ribe, Denmark's oldest town, was an international trading centre in the eighth century.
- Place names, in the UK, ending in -by (Whitby) and -thorpe (Scunthorpe) were Viking settlements.
- Important Vikings were buried in ships together with their horses and other possessions.
- The Oresund Fixed Link connecting Sweden with Denmark was opened in July 2000. The Link is 15,950 metres - a bridge links up with a 3,510m tunnel on the Danish side.
Total Area:43,094 sq km Land Borders: Germany
Population: 5,450,661
Life Expectancy: 78 years HIV % Total Poulation:0.2%
Ethnic Groups: Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali
Languages:Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
Prime Minister:Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN GDP - Per Capita: $34,600
Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs.
The Viking Timeline
793 Vikings first raid in England. The monastery of St. Cuthbert at Lindisfarne is sacked
844 Vikings raid Seville in Spain
845 Vikings, led by Ragnor, travel up the River Seine in France
845 The French King pays a ransom to prevent the sacking of Paris
860 Vikings attack Constantinople
862 Vikings found Novgorod in Russia
874 Vikings settle Iceland
900 Vikings raid the Mediterranean coasts
911 Vikings under Rollo are settled in Normandy
981 Erik the Red discovers Greenland
986 Vikings land in Canada
1000 Greenland and Iceland are converted to Christianity by the Vikings
1001 Leif Eriksson reaches the American coast
1050 Vikings found the city of Oslo in Norway which is established as a major trade center.
965: Harald Bluetooth (Harold I) converts the Danes to Christianity
1016: the Danish king Canute (Knut) II defeats the Wessex King Edmund and becomes King of Denmark and England
1028: Danish Canute conquers Norway
1035: Canute dies. The heir to Denmark and England is Hardacnut
1042: Hardacnut dies suddenly and Edward the Confessor regains the throne of England
1350: the Black plague, "Svartedauen" sweeps Denmark and Scandinavia killing one third of the inhabitants
1397 - Union of Kalmar unites Denmark, Sweden and Norway under a single monarch. Denmark is the dominant power
1660: Denmark becomes a hereditary monarchy under Frederik III
1729: Greenland becomes a Danish province
1814 - Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden
1914-18 World War I - Denmark is neutral
1939 - Denmark signs 10-year non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany
1940 - Germany invades Denmark
August 1945 The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1945 - Germany surrenders and Danish occupation ends.