The Kingdom of Denmark (in Danish: Kongeriget Danmark) is a constitutional monarchy that constitutes a community of nations, Denmark itself as part of northern Europe and two autonomous countries: the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in the extreme North America. The relationship between the member states of the kingdom is referred to as Rigsfællesskabet .

Facts about Denmark

– The official name of Denmark is Kongeriget Danmark (Kingdom of Denmark)

– Denmark consists of the mainland province of Jutland and 443 islands.

– Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. The role of Head of State is exercised by the queen and head of government is the prime minister.

– The population of Denmark is 5.731 million people, or less than half the population of the city of São Paulo.

– The country is one of the most developed in Europe and one of the nations with the best quality of life in the world.

– The Danes were in control of Norway, Sweden and parts of Germany and the United Kingdom in the past. Denmark and Norway formed a single kingdom until 1814.

– Most of the population speaks Danish, a language closely related to German, Swedish and English. A Danish person can easily understand Swedish and Norwegian. The opposite is also true: Norwegians and Swedes understand Danish.

– Like much of the population of the region of Scandinavia, the Danes are descendants of the Vikings.

– Denmark was one of the few European Union countries that did not adopt the euro as a currency. The local currency is the Danish krone .

– The Danish summers are mild, with maximums around 25º C. While in winter, the temperatures can reach -10º C with ease. Snowfall is common.

– The seasons are very well distributed. In winter, the sun will rise at 9am and set at 4pm. In summer, it rises at 5am and sets at 11pm.

– The story of Hamlet by William Shakespeare was set in Denmark.

– The typical foods are: pork loin, roast duck and Danish black bread. The most popular dish is the potato with herring. By the way, the Danes eat potatoes at almost every meal.

– A typical drink from Denmark (as well as from all Scandinavia) is akvavit, a kind of potato distillate.

– The most famous Danish company is Lego.

– Famous Danish people include physicist Niels Bohr, astronomer Tycho Brahe, writer Hans Christian Andersen, actress Brigitte Nielsen, musician Lars Ulrich (drummer of Metallica) and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.

Etymology

The etymology of the word Denmark, and especially the relationship between the Danes and Denmark and the unification of the country as a single kingdom, are still matters that attract debate.

This discussion is mainly focused on the prefix “Dan” and it is believed that it refers to the historical person named King Dan. The issue is further complicated by a number of references in context to Scandinavia or elsewhere in Europe like Greek and Roman literature, as well as in medieval literature.

Most consider the origin of the first part of the word in connection to the meaning of “flat earth”, related Germanic and Sanskrit words. The suffix probably means “forest” or “frontier”, with probable references to the border forests in southern Schleswig.