On the following pages you can find a brief introduction to Denmark and the Danes.

 

Vikings (approx. 1000 AC) founded quite a number of Danish traditions: travelling, sailing, agriculture, building and design to name a few.

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy and the oldest in the world. Our present Queen Margrethe II descends from Sweyn Forkbeard (986-1014).

The single chamber parliamentary system with "Folketinget" (parliament) has 179 members, including 2 elected on the Faroe Islands and 2 in Greenland. The voting age is 18 years. At the moment we have approximately 10 different political parties. The "statsminister" (prime minister) is the head of the nation.

 

The Kingdom of Denmark is approx. 43.000 km2 and counts the peninsula Jutland (Jylland) north of Germany and over 400 islands. No place is further than 60 km away from the sea. The capital, Copenhagen, is situated on the island Zealand (Sjælland). The main islands are connected by bridges. The Kingdom includes the Faeroe Islands and Greenland. The total population is around 5.4 mio.

Denmark is one of the Scandinavian countries, but unlike the others, very flat. The highest peak is 189 m. You can drive across the country from the very north/west to the south/east in 6 hours.

The 7400 km coastline includes 5,000 km of beach – all public. Both water and beaches are clean. This invites the Danes to go to the beach a lot when the weather permits.

 

The weather is a big topic in general conversations, as it often changes.

Basically Denmark has mild weather – meaning cool summers and mild winters.

Summer: Sometimes we call them the green winters, because of long periods of overcast and rain, and sometimes we will have three weeks of sun. Heat waves with temperatures up to 30°C (86°F) are rare. But one thing, that foreigners find extremely different are the nights. In the summer it does not get dark until 11 pm and then it is light again by 4 am.

Winter: In the winter we may have some snow but it rarely stays very long. The days are short - during December it gets light at 8.30 am and it is dark by 4 pm. So we really enjoy candles which we use a lot during winter.

Visist www.dmi.dk for specific weather statistics and online weather reports.

82,1% are members of "Den Danske Folkekirke" – The Danish Lutheran Evangelical State Church (January 2008). However, Danes are not as such church goers. The values of the Danes are based in the Christian faith, but mostly we only go to church for special occasions e.g. Christmas, baptisms, weddings and funerals. All people living here will enjoy complete religious freedom.

 

Danish is the official language in Denmark. Danish is not an easy language for foreigners to learn but it's a good idea to get some knowledge to understand more of the culture.

"All Danes speak English" – we hear that a lot. It makes it easy for foreigners. More than 75% of the population speaks English. However, many Danes will be modest about it. Children start learning English when they are 9 years old, and before they finish school they will have had lessons in at least two foreign languages. Apart from English it is German, French or Spanish. Danes, Norwegians and Swedes understand each other's languages. Movies are not dubbed in Denmark, but have Danish subtitles. However, most cartoons and children’s movies are dubbed.

 

The currency in Denmark is Danish crowns (Kroner). However, as a member of the EU many shops in Copenhagen accept Euro. Most Danes have a DANkort, a national debit card issued by all banks. The card is accepted everywhere and because of its popularity credit cards are not accepted in some places, for instance  supermarkets.

 

Dogs and cats are popular in Denmark. Both dogs and cats are normally inside the home and close to the family. When in public you must clean up after your dog and it has to be on a leash.

 

220 Voltage. Two pins. Adapters are available. In most cases you are better off purchasing new electrical units upon arrival.

Denmark is one hour ahead of GMT