Portal:Denmark

Welcome to the Denmark Portal! Velkommen til Danmarksportalen! Denmark is the smallest and southernmost of the Nordic countries. Unified in the 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. Selected biography Jacob Riis in 1906. Jacob August Riis (May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914), a Danish-American muckraker journalist, photographer, and social reformer, was born in Ribe, Denmark. He is known for his dedication to using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the less fortunate in New York City, which was the subject of most of his prolific writings and photographic essays. As one of the first photographers to use flash, he is considered a pioneer in photography. Riis held various jobs before he landed a position as a police reporter in 1873 with the New York Evening Sun newspaper. In 1874, he joined the news bureau of the Brooklyn News. In 1877 he served as police reporter, this time for the New York Tribune. During these stints as a police reporter, Riis worked the most crime-ridden and impoverished slums of the city. Through his own experiences in the poor houses, and witnessing the conditions of the poor in the city slums, he decided to make a difference for those who had no voice. He was one of the first Americans to use flash powder, allowing his documentation of New York City slums to penetrate the dark of night, and helping him capture the hardships faced by the poor and criminal along his police beats, especially on the notorious Mulberry Street. In 1889, Scribner's Magazine published Riis's photographic essay on city life, which Riis later expanded to create his magnum opus How the Other Half Lives. This work was directly responsible for convincing then-Commissioner of Police Theodore Roosevelt to close the police-run poor houses in which Riis suffered during his first months as an American. After reading it, Roosevelt was so deeply moved by Riis's sense of justice that he met Riis and befriended him for life, calling him "the best American I ever knew." Roosevelt himself coined the term "muckraking journalism", of which Riis is a recognized protagonist, in 1906. Recently selected: N. F. S. Grundtvig – Ole Rømer – Hans Christian Ørsted Archive – Read more... Selected picture Four wind turbines located at sea. Wind turbines on the west coast of Jutland. Photo credit: Ecki Selected article Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark was commenced by Operation Weserübung 9 April 1940, and lasted until the German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to Allied forces on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupations during the war, most Danish institutions continued to function relatively unaffected until 1943. The Danish government remained in the country in an uneasy relationship between a democratic and a totalitarian system until German authorities dissolved the government following a wave of strikes and sabotage. The occupation of Denmark was never an important objective for the German government. The decision to occupy its small northern neighbour was made to facilitate the invasion of the strategically more important Norway; and as a means against the expected British campaign in Norway. German military planners believed that a base in the northern part of Jutland, most importantly the airfield of Aalborg, would be essential to the invasion of Norway, and they began planning the occupation of parts of Denmark, but as late as February 1940, the decision to occupy Denmark had not yet been made. The issue was finally settled when Hitler personally crossed out the words die Nordspitze Jütlands (the Northern tip of Jutland) and replaced them with Dä, a German abbreviation for Denmark. Selected place Frederikshavn is a town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to "Frederik's harbour". Frederikshavn has a population of 23,331 (1 January 2010), and is an important traffic portal with its ferry connections to Sweden and Norway. The town is well known for fishing, and its fishing and industrial harbours. The Danish term "frederikshavner" ("Someone from Frederikshavn") is used to denote a quality plaice fish, probably the most popular eating fish in Denmark. Due to its advantageous proximity to the entrance to the Baltic Sea, Frederikshavn has historically been a naval base of some strategic importance. Peder Tordenskjold barricaded himself here in the fortress that German troops had already built in the 17th century. Categories Category puzzle Select [►] to view subcategories Denmark Denmark-related lists Buildings and structures in Denmark Culture of Denmark Economy of Denmark Education in Denmark Environment of Denmark Geography of Denmark Government of Denmark Health in Denmark History of Denmark Images of Denmark Organizations based in Denmark Danish people Politics of Denmark Society of Denmark Denmark stubs Denmark topics Things you can do TASKS Expand stubs: Geography stubs · People stubs · Denmark stubs in general Help us extend these stubs and make them real articles! Categorize: Help us categorize Denmark-related articles WikiProjects: Have a look at WikiProject Denmark, WikiProject Faroe Islands, WikiProject Greenland and WikiProject Norse history and culture Noticeboard: Have a look at the Danish Wikipedians' notice board Geotag: Find coordinates for these locations and tag them: articles missing geocoordinate data Related portals Northern Europe Other countries Associated WikiMedia The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject: Commons Free media repository Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals Wikidata Free knowledge base Wikinews Free-content news Wikiquote Collection of quotations Wikisource Free-content library Wikispecies Directory of species Wikiversity Free learning tools Wikivoyage Free travel guide Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus