Brief history of Denmark

The first humans – hunters and fishermen arrived in Denmark about 10,000 BC. Around 4,000
BC farming was introduced, by 500 BC iron as well. The Iron Age Danes had contact with the
Romans. By 200 AD the Danes had started to use Runes (a form of writing) for inscriptions.
Denmark suffered a terrible outbreak of plague in the 6th century. Nevertheless, trade
flourished. In the 8th century the first settlements were formed at Hedeby and Ribe. In the
Viking era, maritime activity progressed and in early 9th century the Danes raided English
monasteries. The Danish part of England was called the Danelaw but over the following
decades the English conquered it back. King Harald Bluetooth converted into Christianity 960,
most of the people followed. Once divided several kingdoms, become united in 10th century.
During the following centuries, a centralized monarchy of Denmark had been constantly
involved in struggle with both Sweden and Norway on north and Germany on south, for
supremacy of the Scandinavian trade routes, including the Baltic and Öresunds passage.
Denmark remained neutral during the WWI. In 1915 the constitution was changed to make it
more democratic. When the WW2 began in 1939 Denmark stayed neutral. However the
Germans occupied Denmark in 1940. Nearly 7,000 Jewish Danes were smuggled into Sweden.
The 1960s were years of prosperity for Denmark. In 1973 Denmark joined the Common Market
(forerunner of the EU). Unfortunately in the late 1970s the Danish economy deteriorated. In the
1980s the government introduced austerity measures to try and curb inflation. Like the rest of
Europe Denmark suffered a recession in 2009 but soon recovered. Today The Kingdom of
Denmark is a prosperous country with a high standard of living, with the population of cca 6
million. It also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean:
the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The capital of Denmark is Copenhagen.