Themes
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Caspar Jørgensen
Industry - From mills to computers
Even though Denmark is known as an agricultural nation, industry has played a major role in the development of the welfare state. Around 1840, factories began to appear in earnest, and soon more were working industrial jobs than in agriculture. And between 1930 and 1970, the industrial sector was…
Niels Wium Olesen
World War II - Sleeping with the enemy
The German occupation in 1940-45 was the most dramatic episode in Denmark in the last hundred years. Compared with the brutality other Nazi occupied countries faced, conditions in Denmark were mild, and the democratic system functioned during most of the Occupation. But the price for the…
Tyge Krogh
Crime and punishment - From the noose to the electric tag
That crime doesn't pay is something punishment has always needed to prove. But the way criminals are punished has changed radically down through history. At one point capital punishment was common, and the sentence was often justified by citing God's law". Today, criminals need not…
Birgitte Holten
Denmark as a colonial power - Spices, sugar, slaves and a special relationship
Denmark has had colonies in places as exotic at Tranquebar in the east, and St Croix in the west. Even though Denmark was only a minor colonial power, it was at times profitable. Two of the original northern colonies, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, remain a part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Ulla Tofte
Planned and unplanned towns and cities - Urban development, from castle to council
The evolution of urban planning in Denmark begins with the star-shaped street layout that had castles or churches at their centres. The development includes the French-inspired designs that served as monuments to royal power and today’s municipal planning. But some elements such as the use of…
Michael Bregnsbo
Absolute monarchy - The foundation of the welfare state
Absolute monarchy in Denmark refers not just to a type of government, it also refers to the period 1660-1848. During this period, Denmark as a state and society underwent fundamental changes. Compared with other countries, the period of the absolute monarchs in Denmark was unique - partly because…
Klaus Petersen
The social welfare state - Paradise found?
In the years following World War II, Denmark became a welfare society. It is tempting to think of the developments as a clearly defined project, but that fails to take into account the coincidental interplay between the political visions and the actual changes. No-one in 1945 could have predicted…
Thomas Wegener Friis
The Cold War - The Russians never came
No sooner was World War II over than a new war had begun. Until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Cold War divided not just the world, it also divided countries and even families. It was a conflict that pitted democracy against dictatorship, and with both sides armed with nuclear weapons, it was a…
Per Nyholm
European stories - Europe - the beautiful story
From cannons to coffee tables. Denmark and Europe across a cultural millennium.
Thomas Roland
Visiting Danish pre-history - Visiting the past
Sometimes, history is best experienced where it actually happened. The past continues to live inside prehistoric burial chambers and along the ramparts of ancient battles. The Danish Prehistory in Nature" programme has helped to open up many of the country's most impressive prehistoric…
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