Denmark

C

Principal Cities

Copenhagen, which lies mostly on the island of Sjælland, has a population of 501,158 (2006 estimate). Other major cities, with their populations, include the seaport of Århus, 222,559 (2003 estimate); Odense, 145,374 (2003 estimate), the capital of Fyn County; and Ålborg, 121,100 (2003 estimate), an administrative centre.

D

Religion

Lutheranism is the established religion of Denmark; about 95 per cent of all Danes are at least nominally members of the (Protestant) Evangelical Lutheran Church. The monarch must be a member of the Church, but all other people living in Denmark enjoy complete religious freedom. There is a Muslim community comprising 2 per cent of the population.

E

Language

Danish is the official language, spoken by most of the population. Faroese, a West Scandinavian language from the Indo-European family, is spoken by some as a mother tongue. Standard German is also a mother tongue for a minority, as are Jutish (considered by some to be a group of dialects of Danish, while others believe it to be a separate language), Skåne (considered by some to be a group of Swedish dialects, by others a group of Danish dialects, and by some a separate language), and Greenlandic Inuktitut (an Inuit language). Turkish, English, and Western Farsi are some of the immigrant languages spoken in Denmark.

F

Education

Organized institutional education in Denmark had its beginnings in the latter part of the 11th century, with the founding of cathedral schools and grammar schools. The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479. Throughout the early modern period the educational system was administered in conjunction with the established Church. Religious instruction was, therefore, required in all state schools. In 1739, under the influence of the teacher and dramatist Ludvig Holberg, the Danish language replaced Latin as the language of instruction. An important experiment, at Sorø, by the German educational reformer Johann Bernhard Basedow was the introduction of nature study and handicrafts into the curriculum.

In the mid-19th century, the first programme of adult education was originated in Denmark at the high school in Rødding, Jutland. Under the leadership of Bishop Nikolai F.S. Grundtvig and Kristen Kold, the school became a model for similar institutions in Europe and the United States. The institute of France Nachtegall (1777-1847) and the International People’s College, founded in 1921 at Helsingør, introduced programmes of study that were also of far-reaching influence.

Recent trends in Danish education have included an expansion of rural education programmes, the extension of higher education, and the raising of teacher-training levels.

Elementary education has been compulsory since 1814 and is, for the most part, free. All children must receive education from age 7 to 16. All students have the option of a tenth year at school, and about three quarters go on to secondary schools, to complete two- or three-year courses for university admission, or to vocational schools. In the 2000-2001 school year Denmark had about 1,665 primary and lower secondary schools, with a total enrolment of 563,576 pupils. There were around 150 higher secondary schools with 75,300 students and 110 vocational schools with an estimated 160,000 pupils. The latter included agricultural schools and home economics schools; many are private, but the state contributes to their support.

In 2001–2002 an estimated 196,204 people were studying at tertiary institutions. Among the 15 university-level institutions in Denmark are Ålborg University (1974); Århus University (1928); the University of Copenhagen (1479), the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (1858), and the Technical University of Denmark (1829), all in Copenhagen; and the University of Southern Denmark/Odense University (1966). Other institutions include the Århus School of Architecture (1965), the Copenhagen Business School (1917), and the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music (1867) and Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1754), both in Copenhagen.

In 2002–2003, 8.6 per cent of the country’s gross national product (GNP) was spent on education.

G

Culture

The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen presents drama, opera, and ballet under the auspices of the ministry of cultural affairs. The Royal Theatre was founded in 1748, and an annex, the New Stage, was opened in 1931. The theatre’s ballet company developed into a separate company—the Royal Danish Ballet—during the mid-1800s under the leadership of August Bournonville; today it enjoys an international reputation.

Denmark is famous for beautifully designed ceramics, silverware, glassware, porcelain, and home furnishings; the silverware of Georg Jensen and the furniture of Kaare Klint and Arne Jacobsen have been particularly acclaimed. Copenhagen has a permanent exhibition of arts and crafts where artists from all over the country may display and sell their work. See Nordic Art and Architecture.

All major cities and most provincial towns have public libraries. The Royal Library, in Copenhagen, founded in 1673, serves as the national library of Denmark (Det Kongelige Bibliotek). It contains some 2.7 million volumes and collections of music, manuscripts, maps, and pictures; the collections include 5,000 incunabula, books printed in the second half of the 15th century. See Danish Literature.

Of about 25 major museums, the most important is the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle (in Hillerød), mainly built between 1600 and 1620. It contains some 10,000 exhibits. The Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen, also a 17th-century building, holds a collection of arms, clothing, and furniture, as well as the crown jewels. The Thorvaldsens Museum, also in Copenhagen, contains the works of the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Also of note are the National Museum, in Copenhagen; the Natural History Museum and Den Gamle By, in Århus; the Arbejdsmuseum (Workers’ Museum) and the Resistance Museum, both in Copenhagen; and the Viking Ship Museum, in Roskilde.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts, in Copenhagen, houses a collection of paintings, sculpture, prints, and drawings by Danish artists, as well as works by 19th- and 20th-century Norwegian and Swedish artists. The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is a museum housing important works of art in Copenhagen. The art museum in Skagen houses paintings by Danish “Golden Age” artists of the late 19th century.

The capital is the home of the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Orchestra, and the Royal Danish Ballet. The Danish composer Carl August Nielsen was conductor of the Royal Society and the Music Society. He wrote operas, symphonies, and music for the piano, violin, and the string quartet.