Because of the many islands, Denmark has many bridges. The main parts of the country, and most of the bigger islands, are connected by roads and railroads. One of the world's longest bridges connects the eastern and the western parts of the country, and there is a large bridge to Sweden also. There is still no bridge across the Baltic Sea to Germany, but it will most likely be built in a few years. The bridge to Sweden was expensive, took a long time to build, and required much planning by engineers.
There are still many islands with no bridges to the mainland. People have to go by boat or airplane to reach these islands. Many islands will never be reached by bridges, because they are too small or too far away. If the island has too few people, bridges are often not built because it is expensive to build.
Cycling is very popular in Denmark because the ground is so flat. Copenhagen is a city that is very bicycle friendly, with bicycle lanes extending over 12,000 km.
The people of Denmark have always depended on the sea. In earlier days, people could not travel anywhere unless they went by boat. Many Danes were fishermen or merchants. Even today, many Danes spend much time near or at the sea.
Farming has always been one of the main occupations. Because of the climate and the soil, Denmark is a good place for agriculture. Export of food to the neighbouring countries is one of the most important sources of income for the country. Danish hams and cookies are exported throughout the world.
Perhaps the most famous Dane is actually Hamlet, the title character of William Shakespeare's famous play, which was set in the real castle of Kronborg in Helsingør, north of Copenhagen. The play was based on an old Danish myth of the Viking Prince Amled of Jutland, and his quest for revenge against his father's killer. Another widely known Dane is Hans Christian Andersen, an author mostly famous for such fairy tales as "The Little Mermaid", and "The Ugly Duckling". Also Karen Blixen, Tycho Brahe and the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard are well-known worldwide. There are many famous Danish scientists, including Niels Bohr, the famous physicist who developed the first working model for the atom, and Ole Rømer, who discovered the speed of light. Hans Kirk, although less well-known outside of Denmark, is the author of the best-selling Danish novel of all time, "The Fishermen".
Danes enjoy many different types of music, including ballets, jazz music, pop and rock. Denmark's most famous classical composer is Carl Nielsen. Famous Danish bands include Aqua, a pop band, and The Raveonettes, an indie rock band. The most famous Danish rock star is Lars Ulrich of the band Metallica.
The cuisine of Denmark is like the other Nordic countries (Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden), as well as that of northern Germany, consists mainly pork meat and fish. Traditional Danish food includes "frikadeller" (fried meatballs, often served with potatoes and various sorts of gravy). Fish is also widely eaten, especially on the west coast of Jutland.
Christmas () is the main feast of the year. Christmas is traditionally celebrated on the eve, December 24, and this is when the main Christmas meal is eaten and presents are unwrapped.
In midwinter, a fast is celebrated. Children are dressed up, and go from house to house begging for money. This practice has in the recent years been taken over by Halloween, and most people give candy not money. A barrel filled with candy is smashed with clubs. The person who makes the candy fall out is appointed queen of cats and the person who hits the last stick is appointed king of cats.
Midsummer is celebrated with a huge bonfire in the evening of June 23. Most Danes have a three-week summer holiday in July or August.
The most popular sport in Denmark is football (soccer). Sailing, swimming and other water sports are very popular because of the long coastline. Another common sport is cycling, (Copenhagen has been nicknamed the "City of Cyclists" because of the popularity of bicycles for moving around), which has become popular in Denmark partly because of the flat land all over the country. Indoor sports such as badminton and handball are also popular during the long winters.
Monarch is a word that means king or queen. Denmark is the oldest monarchy in Europe. The current monarch is Queen Margrethe II, who has been the queen since 1972. Denmark does not currently have a King. Margrethe's husband was called a prince because he was the son-in-law, not the son, of the previous King. He died on 13. February 2018 at the age of 83. The royal couple have two children:
In 2008 Prince Joachim married for the second time. His new wife is from France and is called Marie, with whom he has a son and a daughter.
Death
Death is the end of a life in an organism. All biological and living activity of the living thing stop, including the mind and the senses. The usual signal for death in humans and many other animals is that the heart stops beating and cannot be restarted. This can be caused by many things. All living things have a limited lifespan, and all living things eventually die.
Living things that have died are normally described as being dead. Death of humans is often investigated for the cause, in case of crime (such as murder), accident or disease that may continue to kill other humans. About 150,000 people die every day around the world. About two thirds of these people die because of age. In addition to the physical body, some believe humans also have a soul and believe that the soul can continue without a body (afterlife), move into another body (reincarnation), or cease to exist (annihilationism). Religions have different beliefs about this issue. Many cultures have their own customs and rituals to respect the dead.
When people talk about things or events that lead to the death of a plant or animal, those things or events are usually described as being deadly, or fatal. In the case of diseases, they are described as "terminal". Humans are no different from any other lifeform. Our bodies have an ability for self-repair, but that ability is limited. Finding the cause of death is a medical speciality called pathology. In medicine, death is when the heart stops beating for more than several minutes. There are special times in which people recover even though the heart has stopped for 30 minutes, such as near-drowning in very cold water. If machines are used to help the heart and lungs work, then the moment of death is more difficult to know.
Death is commonly a sad or unpleasant thing to people. It can make people think about their own death. People might miss or be sad for the person who has died. They might also be sad for the family and friends of the person who has died.
In any society, human death is surrounded by ritual - a wake or funeral is normal. In some places it was common to "eat" the dead in a form of ritual cannibalism. But this is no longer common, in part because disease like kuru can be passed this way. Human dead bodies are taboo in most societies and must be handled in special ways - for a combination of religious and hygiene reasons. A human dead body must always be reported in law, to be sure it is disposed of properly.
Finding the cause of any human death and stopping a similar death from happening to someone else are the main reasons people look into "human morbidity" or let dead bodies be cut open and looked at in an autopsy. Some religions do not allow autopsies, because they feel the body is holy. Autopsies are usually required by the state if someone dies and people do not know why. The autopsy helps find out if someone killed the person on purpose, tried to hurt them, or if they died from a sickness.