1.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
2.
Copenhagen
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Copenhagen, Danish, København, Latin, Hafnia) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. Copenhagen has an population of 1,280,371. The Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants, the city is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road, originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a centre of power with its institutions, defences. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century and this included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing, since the turn of the 21st century, Copenhagen has seen strong urban and cultural development, facilitated by investment in its institutions and infrastructure. The city is the cultural, economic and governmental centre of Denmark, Copenhagens economy has seen rapid developments in the service sector, especially through initiatives in information technology, pharmaceuticals and clean technology. Since the completion of the Øresund Bridge, Copenhagen has become integrated with the Swedish province of Scania and its largest city, Malmö. With a number of connecting the various districts, the cityscape is characterized by parks, promenades. Copenhagen is home to the University of Copenhagen, the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1479, is the oldest university in Denmark. Copenhagen is home to the FC København and Brøndby football clubs, the annual Copenhagen Marathon was established in 1980. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, the Copenhagen Metro serves central Copenhagen while the Copenhagen S-train network connects central Copenhagen to its outlying boroughs. Serving roughly 2 million passengers a month, Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, the name of the city reflects its origin as a harbour and a place of commerce. The original designation, from which the contemporary Danish name derives, was Køpmannæhafn, meaning merchants harbour, the literal English translation would be Chapmans haven. The English name for the city was adapted from its Low German name, the abbreviations Kbh. or Kbhvn are often used in Danish for København, and kbh. for københavnsk. The chemical element hafnium is named for Copenhagen, where it was discovered, the bacterium Hafnia is also named after Copenhagen, Vagn Møller of the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen named it in 1954. Excavations in Pilestræde have also led to the discovery of a well from the late 12th century, the remains of an ancient church, with graves dating to the 11th century, have been unearthed near where Strøget meets Rådhuspladsen
3.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
4.
East Kilbride
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East Kilbride is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland. It is also designated as Scotlands first new town on 6 May 1947, the area lies on high ground on the south side of the Cathkin Braes, about 8 miles southeast of Glasgow and close to the boundary with East Renfrewshire. The town is enclosed by the White Cart River to the west and the Rotten Calder to the east and this area was previously the site of the small village of East Kilbride, prior to its post-war development. The earliest evidence of habitation in the dates back to ancient graves found near the Kype Water to the south of the district. Roman coins and footwear have also found in the area. East Kilbride takes its name from an Irish saint named St Bride, dál Riatan monks introduced her order to Scotland. The anglicisation Kil, takes its root from the early Celtic monastics that St. Brigit is representative of, the Céile Dé were the clients or companions of God. In modern Gaelic, Cille Bhrìghde translates similarly as the clients or companions of Brigit, over the centuries, the church has been destroyed and rebuilt several times, and, as a result, its current location has moved from the original site by about 50 metres. The area of Calderglen was celebrated as a wooded valley. It was the home of a family known as the Maxwells of Calderwood who resided in Calderwood Castle. The remnants of Calderwood Castle were demolished in 1951 and only a few parts of the structure remain, East Kilbride grew from a small village of around 900 inhabitants in 1930 to eventually become a large burgh. The Great War postponed any housing improvements, as did the Treaty of Versailles, in turn, this was followed by the Great Depression. After the Second World War, Glasgow, already suffering from housing shortages. From this unlikely backdrop a new dawn emerged which would bring East Kilbride to its unlikely success, in 1946, the Clyde Valley Regional Plan allocated sites where overspill satellite new towns could be constructed to help alleviate the housing shortage. Glasgow would also undertake the development of its housing estates. East Kilbride was the first of five new towns in Scotland to be designated, in 1947, followed by Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston, the town has been subdivided into residential precincts, each with its own local shops, primary schools and community facilities. The housing precincts surround the centre, which is bound by a ring road. Industrial estates are concentrated on the outskirts of the town, in northern, western and southern directions, East Kilbride forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation
5.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
6.
Bornholm
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Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of the westernmost part of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, dairy farming, tourism is important during the summer. There is a large number of Denmarks round churches on the island. The total area according to www. noegletal. dk was 588.36 square kilometres, the island is called solskinsøen because of its weather and klippeøen because of its geology, which consists of granite, except along the southern coast. The heat from the summer is stored in the rock formations, as a result of the climate, a local variety of the common fig, known as Bornholms Diamond, can grow locally on the island. The islands topography consists of rock formations in the north sloping down towards pine and deciduous forests, farmland in the middle. Strategically located in the Baltic Sea, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries and it has usually been ruled by Denmark, but also by Lübeck and Sweden. The ruin of Hammershus, at the tip of the island, is the largest medieval fortress in northern Europe. Bornholm Regional Municipality, established January 2003 by the merger of Bornholm County with 5 municipalities, Bornholm was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county — the others were Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. On 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its county status. The island is situated between 54/59/11 and 55/17/30 northern latitude and 14/45 and 15/11 eastern longitude and it typically takes 3 hours for passengers and freight to travel between Rønne and Copenhagen via Ystad in Sweden. There is a ferry departure mostly reserved for freight of goods between Rønne and Køge, if there is capacity on a departure, normal passengers can come aboard. There are also routes to Sassnitz and Świnoujście. Between Bornholm Airport and Copenhagen Airport by airplane it is 25 minutes, the Ertholmene archipelago is located 18 kilometres to the northeast of Bornholm. These islands, which do not belong to a municipality or region, are administered by the Danish Ministry of Defence, many inhabitants speak the Bornholmsk dialect, which is officially a dialect of Danish. Bornholmsk retains three grammatical genders, like Icelandic and most dialects of Norwegian, but unlike standard Danish and its phonology includes archaisms and innovations. This makes the difficult to understand for some Danish speakers. However, Swedish speakers often consider Bornholmian to be easier to understand than standard Danish, the intonation resembles the Scanian dialect spoken in nearby Scania, the southernmost province of Sweden
7.
Copenhagen Municipality
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Their combined population stands at 763,908. The Municipality of Copenhagen is the most populous in the country with a population of 602,481 inhabitants, the municipal seat of government is the Copenhagen City Hall. The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen is Frank Jensen, since 2010, the relationship between Copenhagen Municipality and the wider city of Copenhagen is one of an administrative unit within a significantly larger city, cf. the City of London or the City of Brussels. In the Middle Ages, Copenhagen was defined as the area enclosed within the city walls, the city centre lies in the area originally defined by the old ramparts, which are still referred to as the Fortification Ring and kept as a partial green band around it. In 1856 the ramparts were pulled down allowing for growth and expansion, in 1901 the city expanded to include Amager and Valby, while Frederiksberg became an enclave within the municipality. The Finger Plan in the half of the 20th century led to expansion outside of the municipal boundary. Copenhagen Municipality was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a county, the others being Frederiksberg Municipality and Bornholm, on 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its county privileges and became part of Region Hovedstaden. Copenhagen Municipality is a division covering the central city and certain additional areas. It encloses Frederiksberg Municipality and stretches east to the waterfront, neighboring municipalities are Gentofte, Gladsaxe and Herlev to the north, Rødovre and Hvidovre to the west, and Tårnby to the south. The City Hall Square is the old centre of the city, from which an old shopping street leads northeast to Kongens Nytorv, christiansborg Palace, which houses the Danish parliament, is located on the islet of Slotsholmen. The municipality is divided into ten administrative, statistical and tax districts, the suffix -bro in the names Østerbro, Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Amagerbro should not be confused with the Danish word for bridge, which is also bro. The term is thought to be an abbreviation or short form of the Danish word brolagt meaning paved, the two figures for 1 February 1901 are before and after the municipality annexed some nearby parishes. The apparent decline since the mid-1900s are due to the figures not including the suburban and urban areas - notably Frederiksberg - outside Copenhagen municipality, Copenhagen Municipality is distinct from the wider Copenhagen urban area. The seat of Copenhagens municipal council is the Copenhagen City Hall, the council is chaired by the Lord Mayor—currently Frank Jensen—who oversees the civic duties of the fifty-five representatives of the council. The council usually meets every week at 17,30 on a Thursday. All members of the council are elected every four years, in the municipal elections in November 2013, the Social Democrats remained in first place with 27. 8% of the vote, while the Red-Green Alliance was in second place with 19. 5%. The Social Democrats have claimed the office of mayor for the past 110 years and it has six political committees and a finance committee. The annual budget for the city is proposed in August and finalized in October, the accounting firm Deloitte is responsible for auditing the City of Copenhagens accounts
8.
Frederikssund Municipality
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Frederikssund Kommune is a municipality on the shores of Roskilde Fjord in the northern part of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. On 1 January 2007, the municipality was enlarged to include the old Jægerspris, Slangerup and it now covers an area of 250 km² and has a population of 44,401. As of 1 January 2014 its mayor is John Schmidt Andersen, Frederikssund municipality belongs to Region Hovedstaden. The seat of its council is the town of Frederikssund with a population of 15,283. The town is connected to the Hornsherred peninsula by the Kronprins Frederik bridge, the former municipalities of Jægerspris and Skibby are located on this peninsula. The ten largest urban areas in the municipality are, The new harbour provides the finishing touches to the harbour developments which began in the 1990s. There are also plans to build a new residential development to the south of Frederikssund near Store Rørbæk
9.
Wuxi
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Wuxi is an old city in southern Jiangsu province, China. The city borders two other cities, Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east, and borders Zhejiang Province as well in the south. It also covers a coastline of the Yangtze River in the north, the modern name consists of the Chinese characters 无锡, literally translated no tin. According to a myth, at the time of the Warring States, while burying a pot to prepare food, a soldier found a stone plaque engraved with the words If there is tin there is an army, there will be conflict under heaven. If there is no tin, there will be peace under heaven, however, some scholars believe the name may have been originated from 吳墟, meaning the Ruins of Wu, due to Meicuns role as the original capital of the region. Another interesting theory suggests the name comes from a Chinese transcription of an indigenous Baiyue name honoring a bird deity. Others believe that the name could be derived from an ancient pronunciation of the name Fu Xi, Former translations to English include Wu-shi, Wushi and Wu-hsi. According to traditional Chinese historians, two Zhou princes, Taibo and Zhongyong, founded the first Chinese state in the area of Wuxi around the 11th century BC and this state of Wu had its first capital at Meili, generally thought to be the village of Meicun in Wuxi. Taibo and Zhongyong helped develop Wus agriculture and waterways and the area soon flourished, Taibo died without an heir, and Zhongyong succeeded him as King of Wu. His descendants were later officially enfeoffed by the Zhou court as vassals before declaring themselves full kings again during the Spring, a shrine to Taibo was set up in todays Meicun. Although the original structure was eventually destroyed in war, it has been rebuilt several times. A stone carved with sayings by Confucius can still be seen at the modern Taibo Shrine, the State of Wu became one of the strongest kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn period. Sunzi, who wrote the famous the Art of War came to Wu, Wu was considered one of the seven strongest kingdoms during this period. Some of Sunzis descendants still live in Sunxiang in Wuxi near the Plum Garden, however, Wu was later defeated by the State of Yue, todays Zhejiang and Fujian, which in turn was overthrown by the State of Chu and incorporated into Chu during the Warring States period. The cultural and economic center of the Wu area shifted to Suzhou after the reign of the first Qin dynasty emperor, Qin Shi Huang, during the Han dynasty, Wuxi was set up as a county by emperor Han Wudi. Historic records show that tin was discovered during the early Han era, soon, however, the tin was depleted. This was once believed to be the origin of the name Wuxi, the name was changed to Youxi, meaning having tin, during the Wang Mang conflicts period because Wang wanted to change the name. Agriculture and the industry flourished in Wuxi and the town became a transportation center under the early Tang Dynasty after the construction of the Grand Canal
10.
Gribskov Municipality
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Gribskov Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden. The municipality covers an area of 278 km², and has a population of 40,850. The municipality was created on 1 January 2007 as a merger of municipalities of Græsted-Gilleleje. Its mayor as of 1 January 2014 is Kim Valentin, a member of the agrarian liberal Venstre political party, there is a large concentration of dolmens and tumuli within the municipality. Of special mention is Valby Hegn, a small close to Helsinge and Gribskov
11.
Glostrup
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Glostrup is a Danish town in Region Hovedstaden, forming one of the western suburbs of Copenhagen. It is the seat of Glostrup Municipality, with an estimated population of 22,357 as of 2015. During the 20th century Glostrup developed from a railroad town into a modern middle class suburb. The population reached a peak during the 1970s flight from central Copenhagen, while most of Copenhagens western suburbs are dominated by public housing projects, Glostrups mix is around the Danish average. A series of companies, e. g. Grontmijs and Motorolas Danish sections, along with NKT Holding. Along with the municipalities, it forms the center of Copenhagens productive industry. Glostrup Municipality has a total of 21,200 jobs in the private, Glostrup is also home to a series of public offices and institutions, e. g. Københavns Vestegn Police Departement and Glostrup Court, covering the western and northern suburbs of Copenhagen. Glostrup Hospital was inaugurated in 1958 and employs 3,200 people, the village of Glostrup was established some time between 1000 and 1197 and is named after its founder Glob. The village is first mentioned between 1186 and 1197 as Glostorp, but Glostrup church is from around 1150, indicating that a community was already found at the site at this point. Most of the privately owned land came under Roskilde Cathedral over the couple of centuries but was confiscated by the Crown after the Reformation in 1536. Sources from 1682 indicate that the soil in the area was quite fertile as the village consisted of eight farms and 13 houses, most of the smallholders worked for the farmers. In 1773, when the new Roskilde Road was constructed between Copenhagen and Roskilde was constructed, it became the road of the area. Glostrup was a station on the new railway, Denmarks first, Glostrup changed character and the population grew significantly during the last decades of the century. A poorhouse was established in 1862 and it was followed by a pharmacy in 1864, an increasing number of industrial enterprises also established in the area. Lever Brothers opened a factory in 1924. Glostrup Housing Association was founded in 1943 as a part of the expansion of the Danish capitol, the growing population combined with the already miserable living conditions in the central city led to a series of national plans to expand the number of housing units. The largest project of the association was the building of 1,200 housing units in relation to the building of Glostrup Hospital and they were built between 1956 and 1965, ultimately defining Glostrup as a suburb rather than a village. Other large plans included the erection of Avedøre Stationsby and the Hvissinge Plan, transport in Glostrup has historically been dominated by the railroad station opened on the first Danish railroad in 1847 between Copenhagen and Roskilde
