The People

The Danes are a Germanic people closely related to the Swedes and the Norwegians. Danish, a Germanic language, is the principal language.

Although Denmark has an established church—the Evangelical Lutheran Church—Danes have complete freedom of religion. About 90 per cent of the people are baptized Lutherans; Roman Catholics, Baptists, and Jews form the largest non-Lutheran groups.

Illiteracy is almost unknown in Denmark. Education is free and compulsory for the first nine years. Institutions of higher learning include the University of Copenhagen (founded in 1479) and the universities of Aarhus (1928) and Odense (1964). There is an extensive system of adult education.

Soccer is the leading sport in Denmark. Gymnastics, bicycling, and water sports are also popular. Important cultural institutions are the Royal Theater, founded in 1748, the Royal Ballet, established about 1800, and the Royal Orchestra, which has been in existence since 1448. The National Museum and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts are located in Copenhagen. Shakespeare's Hamlet is performed each summer at Kronborg Castle, Elsinore (Helsingor), the site chosen by Shakespeare as the setting for the play.

Danes who have made important contributions to science include Tycho Brahe, a 16th-century astronomer; Niels R. Finsen, a Nobel-Prize-winning physician; and Niels Bohr, who helped develop modern atomic theory. Important figures in the arts are Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark's most famous author, and composer Carl Nielsen. Sören Kierkegaard was one of the most influential of modern philosophers.