Denmark
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
![Interior with Young Woman Seen from the Back (c. 1903–04) by Vilhelm Hammershøi](/images/thumb/200px-Interior_with_Young_Woman_Seen_from_the_Back_(c. 1903–04)_by_Vilhelm_Hammershøi.jpg)
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The Kingdom of Denmark is the smallest country in Scandinavia, northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula and a number of islands north of Germany, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway.
Culture
Hans Christian Andersen is known beyond Denmark for his moralistic fairy tales, such as "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", and "The Ugly Duckling".
Karen Blixen, Niels Bohr, Søren Kierkegaard and Lars von Trier have also made a name for themselves outside Denmark. So has Georg Brandes, though he is now largely forgotten.
The capital city of Copenhagen includes the Tivoli gardens, the Amalienborg Palace (home of the Danish monarchy), The Little Mermaid.
Historically, Denmark, like its Scandinavian neighbors, has been one of the most socially progressive cultures in the world. For example, in 1969, Denmark was the first country to legalize pornography. And in 1989, Denmark enacted a registered partnership law, being the first country in the world to grant same-sex couples nearly all of the rights and responsibilities of marriage.
Cinema of Denmark
Modern film makers of note include Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who in the 1990s brought international attention to Danish cinema with the Dogme 95 film movement. Denmark was also the home of one of the most acclaimed director's in the history of cinema: Carl Theodor Dreyer .