Portal:Denmark

Wikipedia portals: Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Natural sciences People Philosophy Religion Society Technology edit   Welcome to the Denmark Portal! Velkommen til Danmarksportalen! Shortcut: P:DEN Denmark is the smallest and southernmost of the Nordic countries. It is also the oldest. Located north of its only land neighbour, Germany, southwest 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 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, plus a large number of islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Vendsyssel-Thy, Lolland, and Bornholm as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has historically controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea, and these waters are also known as the Danish straits. Denmark has been a constitutional monarchy since 1849 and a parliamentary democracy since 1901. Denmark 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 wideranging home rule. The Danish monarchy is the oldest existing monarchy in Europe, and the national flag is the oldest state flag in continuous use. More about Denmark ... Show new selections edit   Biography of the Week 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: Grundtvig - Ole Rømer - Hans Christian Ørsted Archive – Read more... edit   Picture of the Week Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. Photo credit: Elgaard Archive – About edit   Did you know... ...that Hotel Astoria (pictured) at Copenhagen's main railway station was designed to look like a steam locomotive? ...that the medieval Horne Church in Denmark has box seating for the nobility that was used by the family of astronomer Tycho Brahe? ...that Mandø, a Danish island in the Wadden Sea has about as much land area in mudflat as its considerable arable land? ...that the Isted Lion, an important Danish war monument, was located in Berlin for almost 70 years, but was returned to Denmark on the orders of General Dwight D. Eisenhower? More facts... edit   Selected article Lego (trademarked LEGO) is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts. Lego bricks can be assembled and connected in many ways, to construct such objects as vehicles, buildings, and even working robots. Anything constructed can then be taken apart again, and the pieces used to make other objects. The bricks, originally manufactured from cellulose acetate, were a development of traditional stackable wooden blocks that locked together by means of several round studs on top and a hollow rectangular bottom. The blocks snapped together, but not so tightly that they required extraordinary effort to be separated. The toys were originally designed in the late 1940s in Denmark and have achieved an international appeal, with an extensive subculture that supports Lego movies, games, video games, competitions, and four Lego themed amusement parks. ...Archive/Nominations More... edit   Selected place Freetown Christiania, is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood and Anarchist community of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (85 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Civic authorities in Copenhagen regard Christiania as a large commune, but the area has a unique status in that it is regulated by a special law, the Christiania Law of 1989 which transfers parts of the supervision of the area from the municipality of Copenhagen to the state. The rules forbid stealing, violence, guns, knives, bulletproof vests, hard drugs and bikers' colors. Famous for its main drag, known as Pusher Street, where hash and skunk weed were sold openly from permanent stands until 2004, it nevertheless does have rules forbidding 'hard drugs', such as cocaine, amphetamine, ecstasy and heroin. The region negotiated an arrangement with the Danish defence ministry (which still owns the land) in 1995. Since 1994, residents have paid taxes and fees for water, electricity, trash disposal, etc. The future of the area remains in doubt, though, as Danish authorities push for its removal. ...Archive More... edit   Categories Select [+] to view subcategories [−] Denmark [+] Buildings and structures in Denmark [+] Communications in Denmark [+] Danish culture [+] Economy of Denmark [+] Education in Denmark [+] Environment of Denmark [+] Films shot in Denmark [+] Geography of Denmark [+] Government of Denmark [+] Health in Denmark [+] History of Denmark [+] Danish law [+] Denmark-related lists [+] Military of Denmark [+] Danish people [+] Politics of Denmark [+] Science and technology in Denmark [+] Danish society [+] Sport in Denmark [×] Time in Denmark [+] Transport in Denmark [×] Images of Denmark [+] Denmark stubs edit   Denmark topics edit   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 edit   Related portals Faroe Islands Finland Iceland Norway Normandy Sweden Europe EU Ancient Germanic culture What are portals? · List of portals · Featured portals edit   Associated WikiMedia Denmark on Wikibooks  Denmark on Wikimedia Commons Denmark on Wikinews  Denmark on Wikiquote  Denmark on Wikisource  Denmark on Wikiversity  Denmark on Wiktionary  Manuals and books Images and media News Quotations Texts Learning resources Definitions Purge server cache