Portal:Denmark
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  The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark) is smallest and southernmost Nordic country. It is also the oldest. Located north of its only land neighbour, Germany, southwest of Sweden, and south of Norway, it is located at in northern Europe. From a cultural point of view, Denmark belongs to the family of Scandinavian countries although not located on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The national capital is Copenhagen. Denmark borders both the Baltic and North Seas. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland, which borders northern Germany, plus a large number of islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Vendsyssel-Thy, Bornholm, and Lolland as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago. Denmark has historically controlled the approach to the Baltic Sea, and these waters are also known as the Danish straits. Denmark has been constitutional monarchy since 1849 and a parliamentary democracy since 1901. Denmark became a member of the European Union in 1973. The Kingdom of Denmark also encompasses two off-shore territories, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, both of which enjoy wideranging home rule. Both the Danish monarchy and the national flag have been referred to as the world's oldest of their kind. (more...) Selected article
 Aggersborg () is the largest of Denmark's former Viking ring castles, and one of the largest archeological sites in Denmark. It is located near Aggersund on the north side of the Limfjord. It was comprised of a circular rampart surrounded by a ditch. Four main roads arranged in a cross connected the castle centre with the outer ring. The roads were tunnelled under the outer rampart, leaving the circular structure intact. The ring castle had an inner diameter of 240 metres. The ditch was located eight meters outside of the rampart, and was approximately 1.3 metres deep. The wall is believed to have been four metres tall. The rampart was constructed of soil and turf, reinforced and clad with oak wood. The rampart formed the basis for a wooden parapet. Smaller streets were located within the four main sections of the fortress. The modern Aggersborg is a reconstruction created in the 1990s. It is lower than the original fortress. Selected biography
 Nicolas Steno (Danish: Niels Stensen; latinized to Nicolaus Stenonis) (January 10, 1638 - November 25, 1686) was a pioneer both in anatomy and geology. After having completed his university education in Copenhagen, the city of his birth, he set out travelling in Europe; in fact, he would be on the move for the rest of his life. In the Netherlands, France, and Italy he came into contact with prominent physicians and scientists, and thanks to his eminent power of observation he very soon made important discoveries. At a time when scientific studies consisted in the study of ancient authorities, Steno was bold enough to trust his own eyes, even when his observations differed from traditional doctrines. Steno first studied anatomy, beginning with a focus on the muscular system and the nature of muscle contraction. He used geometry to show that a contracting muscle changes its shape but not its volume. However, in October 1666, two fishermen caught a huge shark near the town of Livorno, and Duke Ferdinand ordered its head to be sent to Steno. Steno dissected it and published his findings in 1667. Examination of the teeth of the shark showed a striking resemblance to certain stony objects, called glossopetrae or "tongue stones," that were found in certain rocks. Ancient authorities, such as the Roman author Pliny the Elder, had suggested that these stones fell from the sky or from the moon. Others were of the opinion, also going back to ancient times, that fossils naturally grew in the rocks. Steno's contemporary Athanasius Kircher, for example, attributed fossils to a "lapidifying virtue diffused through the whole body of the geocosm."
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