Denmark

Denmark is the southernmost Scandinavian country, made up of the Jutland peninsula and 406 islands between the North Sea and the Baltic. It shares a short border with Germany and covers 42,957 km² (16,586 sq mi) of low, mostly flat farmland. Copenhagen, on Zealand, is the capital, and Danish is the national language in practice, while Faroese and Greenlandic are official in the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Ribe, the oldest town, was founded around AD 700. The Jelling stones record that Harald Bluetooth made the Danes Christian around 965, and in the early 11th century Canute the Great ruled Denmark, England and Norway together. The Kalmar Union of 1397 joined Denmark with Norway and Sweden until Sweden left in 1523, and the Lutheran Reformation came in 1536. Denmark gave up Norway in 1814, adopted a constitution on 5 June 1849 that ended absolute rule, and lost Schleswig and Holstein to Prussia in 1864. North Schleswig returned in 1920. Denmark joined the European Communities in 1973.

The constitutional monarchy is governed through the single-chamber Folketing, which also passes laws for the self-governing Faroe Islands and Greenland. Voters rejected the euro in 2000, so the krone remains the currency. Services produce about three quarters of output, while farming centers on meat and dairy exports. Leading firms include A.P. Møller-Mærsk in shipping, Novo in pharmaceuticals, Vestas in wind turbines, Arla Foods in dairy and Carlsberg in beer. The flexicurity model lets employers hire and fire freely while giving unemployed workers strong support.

Kronborg Castle, Roskilde Cathedral and the Jelling Mounds are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling, Søren Kierkegaard wrote philosophical essays, and Niels Bohr advanced atomic physics. Jørn Utzon designed the Sydney Opera House, and Arne Jacobsen won wide notice for functionalist architecture in the 1960s. A bridge and tunnel across the Øresund link Zealand with Sweden. Smørrebrød, open sandwiches on rye bread, is a national specialty.