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.
St. Bendt's Church, Ringsted
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St. Bendts is a church in Ringsted, Denmark, which was originally part of a Benedictine monastery that burnt down in the 18th century. Built in the Romanesque style, it is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia and it is considered to be one of Denmarks architecturally finest churches. Furthermore, it is of historical interest as it is first Royal church in Denmark and it houses the tombs of many of Denmarks earlier monarchs. The church was dedicated to St. Mary. In 1157, Saint Canute Lavards bones were moved into a new chapel in the church with the approval of St. Canutes son, many miracles were said to have occurred there and the church immediately became a popular site for pilgrimages. With the funds raised from the pilgrims and thanks to Valdemars royal patronage, Valdemar had from the beginning designed the church for the Danish monarchy. The church formed the wing of a large monastery, probably built at the same time as the church. The architectural style indicates Lombard influence, possibly because the Benedictines brought Lombard builders to Denmark, the structure is cross-shaped with a central tower, typical of Romanesque architecture. There were, however, some modifications in the Gothic style such as the vaults, replacing the original flat ceiling. For centuries, the served as the monastery church, it was only after the Reformation that in 1571 it became a normal parish church. A fire in 1806 destroyed the monastery and damaged the church, as a result, the western wall was pulled down and replaced with an Empire style facade. The brickwork of the outer walls was covered with cement. Large-scale restoration work was carried out between 1899 and 1910 by the Danish architect H. B, storck who set out to restore the church to its former Romanesque style. It was the first time such extensive restoration work had been carried out in Denmark, the church took on its old appearance with new Romanesque windows in the nave. A pyramid-shaped spire was added to the tower, the cement was removed from the outer walls revealing the churchs original red brickwork. As the church houses the tomb of Valdemar the Great, it is of historical significance to Denmark. Since St. Canutes relics were enshrined in a chapel behind the high altar, indeed, from 1182 to 1341 all the Danish kings and queens were buried in St. Bendts. Apart from Valdemar the Great, they included Canute VI, Valdemar II, Eric VI and it is second only to Roskilde Cathedral for the number of royal Danish tombs it contains
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Frederiksberg Municipality
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Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality on the island of Zealand in Denmark. Part of Copenhagen, it is surrounded by Copenhagen Municipality and its mayor is Jørgen Glenthøj from the Conservative Peoples Party. The city of Frederiksberg is the town in the municipality. Frederiksberg is located as an enclave within the municipality of Copenhagen, the municipality was originally situated west of Copenhagen, but after a number of smaller municipalities were merged with Copenhagen in 1901, it became completely surrounded by Copenhagen. Frederiksberg was one of the three last Danish municipalities not belonging to a County—the others being Copenhagen and Bornholm, on 1 January 2007, the municipality lost its county privileges and became part of Region Hovedstaden. Frederiksberg municipality was not merged with other municipalities as the result of nationwide Kommunalreformen
8.
Glostrup Municipality
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Glostrup Kommune is a suburban municipality and town in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand approx. 10 km west of Copenhagen in eastern Denmark, the municipality covers an area of 13.31 km², and has a total population of 22,151. Its mayor as of 2010 is John Engelhardt, a member of the Liberal Party political party, from 1947 to 1960 the population in the municipality doubled due to the expanding suburbs of Copenhagen, reaching the municipality in the post-war period. Glostrup was designated as a new suburb along the western Tåstrup-finger of the Copenhagen Finger Plan of 1947, the main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Glostrup, home to three quarters of the population. Other towns in the municipality are Hvissinge and Ejby, until 1974 the town of Avedøre also belonged to this municipality. Being an exclave, it was merged into the neighbouring Hvidovre Municipality, neighboring municipalities are Rødovre to the east, Herlev and Ballerup to the north, Albertslund to the west, and Brøndby to the south. Glostrup was not merged with other municipalities by January 1,2007 as the result of nationwide Kommunalreformen, the church of Glostrup originates from the 12th century. Glostrup municipality is governed a municipal council, council elections are held the third Tuesday of November every four years, the next time in 2013. After a competition Arne Jacobsen was chosen as architect, the new city hall was inaugurated in 1959. The municipality has twice as many employed within its borders compared with its own workforce, the largest employer in the municipality is Glostrup Hospital with 2,500 employees. Vestforbrænding in Ejby is Denmarks largest incineration plant, major companies based in the municipality include Pandora, Kopenhagen Fur. International companies, whose Danish subsidiaries are based out of Glostrup, include Grontmij, most of the municipalitys housing stock is built between 1950 and 1975. 42 percent of its dwellings are owned by public housing corporations, as a result of the influence of the housing corporation, more than half the housing stock is between 60 and 99 square meters. As a result of the population in the Copenhagen area. The dwellings are detached houses and terraced houses planned in former industrial areas. The largest greenspace in Glostrup Municipality is Vestskoven that straddles the border with Albertslund where most of its 13 square kilometer are located, the West Rampart follows the eastern boundary of the municipality. Ehby Bog is located in the corner, on the border with Ballerup. The table show the population in Glostrup Municipality since 1890, note the drop in population following the transfer of Avedøre to Hvidovre Municipality in 1974
9.
Gentofte Municipality
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Gentofte Kommune is a municipality in the Capital Region of Denmark on the east coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. It covers an area of 25.54 km2, and has a population of 74,548. Since 1993, its mayor has been Hans Toft, a member of the Conservative Peoples Party, the municipality is an amalgamation of three formerly independent towns, and several other local settlements, all close to one another. The site of its council is in Charlottenlund. The three original towns were Gentofte, Vangede and Ordrup and it later included Tuborg, Skovshoved, Dyssegård, Hellerup, Jægersborg, and Klampenborg. Neighboring municipalities are Lyngby-Taarbæk to the north, Gladsaxe to the west, the Øresund, the strait that separates Zealand from Sweden, is to the east. Gentofte municipality was not merged with other municipalities in the 1 January 2007 nationwide Kommunalreformen, Øregård Museum Gentofte Municipality is home to four public upper secondary schools, Øregård and Gammel Hellerup in Hellerup, Aurehøj in Gentofte and Ordrup Gymnasium in Ordrup. Gentofte Studenterkursus offers a 2-year programme, the most important parks are Charlottenlund Beach Park, Hellerup Beach Park, Bernstorff Park. Natural habitats are found at Gentofte Sø, a lake with lots of birds on it, Ermelunden in Jægersborg and Gammelmose in Vangede, Øregård Park with a beautiful lake, benches. A small section of Jægersborg Dyrehave also extends into the municipality, while the rest, arne Jacobsen, architect and furniture designer, who built extensively in Gentofte and lived on Strandvejen. Shipping tycoon Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller also had his residence in the municipality, composer Per Nørgård was born in Gentofte. Writer Dan Turèll lived in the Vangede part of Gentofte from 1955–1964 and he documented these years in his 1975 book Vangede billeder. He moved to Los Angeles in 1980, singer an songwriter Agnes Obel was born in Gentofte. She moved to Berlin in 2005, musician Alex Vargas was born in Gentofte. He moved to London at 17
