Denmark – land of sea and islands

Compared to its size, Denmark has a very long coastline, 7,500 km, and no place in the country is further than 52 km from the sea. To the west is the rough North Sea, which, during storms, crashes against coastal cliffs, eroding away sand and clay, which is later deposited elsewhere as long sandbars. Over the years, this process has created several large, shallow fiords. Between Denmark and the Scandinavian Peninsula lies the Kattegat Sea, with more shallow and calm waters, and its southern shores border the Baltic Sea, which stretches east and north, along Poland, the Baltic States, Russia, the east coast of Sweden, and Finland.

The Danish part of these wetlands covers only about one tenth of the entire Waddensea, the majority being situated in Germany and Holland. In the Danish part, high tide brings in about 1 km³ of seawater, causing the water level to rise about 1 m on average, flooding most of the area. During low tide, when the water has receded, a layer of fine sand and organic matter, so-called silt, is left behind. In this way, tides have created huge sand flats, covering about 1,000 km².

Numerous animals like worms, crustaceans, shrimp, mussels, and snails feed on tiny plankton in the silt. Fishes and birds feed on these animals, and millions of migratory birds rest here in spring and autumn to feed and build up a layer of fat, before continuing their migration. During the summer months, female harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) come ashore on sandy islets to give birth to a single pup.

Before Stone Age people, about 5,500 years ago, began their slash-and-burn agriculture, forests of oak (Quercus), maple (Acer), elm (Ulmus), linden (Tilia), ash (Fraxinus), and many other tree species covered the country from coast to coast. Much forest was cleared to make more farmland, causing the landscape to become more open. On many hill tops, Stone Age people erected dolmens, burial chambers, constructed of huge stones. Still today, many of these dolmens dot the Danish landscape.

Over the following centuries, throughout the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Middle Ages, further forest was cleared, and by 1800 very little forest indeed remained – a mere 3% of the country was forest-clad. Small pockets of virgin forest only survived on steep hills, on the tip of peninsulas, and on some islets.

Since the Stone Age, many trees were considered sacred, especially huge and hollow ones, which were treated with great respect and often spared, when the forest was cleared. Supposedly, many of these sacred trees possessed healing powers, for instance where two branches joined to form an ‘eye’. As late as in the 19th Century, many people believed that a child with rachitis could be healed by creeping through an ’eye’, preferably on a Thursday night. By this action, the disease would be transferred to the tree.

Widespread planting of trees began in Denmark around 1850, and today almost all forests are manmade. Beech, oak and various conifers are planted in straight rows, only to be cut down decades later and brought to the sawmill. Since the 1990s, however, forest management has changed, many pockets of forest now being designated as ’natural forest’, in which tree felling only takes place on a very small scale. In some of these forests, no management at all takes place, and after a few decades they become completely wild, full of dead and fallen trees. Many threatened species of plants and animals have found a refuge in these natural forests.

Many other beautiful flowers grow on the moors. In European Middle Age folk medicine, arnica (Arnica montana) was considered a powerful healer. An older name of the plant, of German origin, means ’good against disease’. However, it is in fact very poisonous and should be used with great care.

In humid areas on the moors, several species of sundew (Drosera) can be found. The leaves of these plants are covered in numerous sticky glandular hairs, in which insects and other small animals easily get stuck. The glands contain enzymes, which are able to break down the external chitin layer of the animals, after which the plant can utilize nitrogen and other nutrients in the animal. The glandular drops reflect sunshine, like dew, and an older Danish name of these plants is ‘Virgin Mary’s Tears’. The glandular hairs were collected and sold as a remedy for warts and many other ailments.

Sundew and other flesh-eating plants are described in depth on the page Plants: Carnivorous plants.

The past three or four decades have shown a general improvement in the condition of the rivers. Most waste water is now being treated, and use of chemical fertilizers near rivers has been restricted. Fish like salmon (Salmo salar) and trout (Salmo trutta), which had almost disappeared, have been re-stocked and are now flourishing.

The otter (Lutra lutra) had almost gone extinct in Denmark by 1970, mainly due to hunting and drowning in fish traps. Since 1967, when the species was legally protected, it has made a dramatic comeback. Today, openings of fish traps must be covered by a relatively fine-meshed net, which prevents otters from swimming into the traps.

Hundreds of lakes, large and small, dot the landscape – refuges for fishes, birds, dragonflies, and many other animals. During the 1950s and 1960s, unfortunately, a draining fever was raging in Denmark, causing numerous lakes and marshes to be reclaimed and turned into farmland, and the rest were more or less polluted.

Today, however, lakes are generally much cleaner, many drained lakes have been re-established, and a large number of small waterholes have been established to benefit frogs, toads, and salamanders, as well as other wildlife.

On several occasions during the last 500 years, often for long periods, Bornholm was occupied by Germans or Swedes, and after World War II, in 1945-46, by Russians. But despite their isolated position, people here have always remained faithful to Denmark, proudly considering themselves Danes.

In the 1600s, a number of wars were fought between Denmark and Sweden. The Danish King, Christian V, ordered a fortress erected on a tiny islet near the island of Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea, south of Sweden. Construction took place 1684-1687. This island, which until then had been uninhabited, was named Christiansø, in honour of the king. Later, the neighbouring island was named Frederiksø, in honour of his successor, Frederik IV.

Two days after Summer Solstice, on the 23rd of June, countless piles of wood and shrubs are ignited, and people gather around the fires to sing summer songs. In fact, this pleasant custom has its origin in the gruesome Middle Age persecution of witches, who were accused of sorcery and burned at the stake. Today, a ‘witch’, made of straw and dressed in old clothes, is often placed in the fire, sitting on a broom, on which she flies to Bloksbjerg, a hill in Germany, where, reputedly, witches would meet to perform their grisly rituals.

In summer, Denmark is a land of green fields of barley, wheat, rye, oat, sugar beet and other crops, interspersed with small woods, meadows, and streams. By Midsummer, flowers abound in meadows, along forest edges, and on road sides. Birds are busy feeding the next generation, and from waterholes newly transformed frogs and toads emerge by the thousands.

During the shorter days of October, trees prepare for the winter. Leaves turn red, yellow, or brown, falling silently to the ground, if not a fierce storm tears them off the branches, whirling them around and leaving them in piles. Children love to shuffle their feet through these piles of leaves, which weigh next to nothing. Remember the poem Gathering leaves by American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963)?

Numerous pictures, depicting autumn foliage, are presented on the page Autumn.

Migrating birds now leave for warmer parts of the world, and from Scandinavia and Russia, millions of other migrant birds pass through Denmark. Birdwatchers flock around the best birding areas to enjoy the colourful spectacle of huge gatherings of birds.

The short winter days of Denmark are cold and moist, and the sky is often covered by dark, low clouds. During the long nights, hooting owls or the eerie mating call of foxes can be heard. Occasionally, severe cold will prevail for long periods. Snow covers the ground, and the landscape is quiet. Children bring out their sledges or skis from basements and garages, zooming down steep hills, often turning over and getting buried in the soft snow. On the frozen ponds, people love skating. Sometimes the layer of ice on lakes and shallow seas becomes so thick that people arrange car races on the ice.

May is the sweet spring time, full of flowers and bird song. Danes put away their winter clothes and stroll in the forests. The beech now unfolds its lovely, pale green leaves. They have a pleasant, slightly acid taste, but only when they are young. After just a few days, their taste becomes bitter. Everywhere, bright yellow fields of flowering rapeseed dot the landscape.

Birds are now very busy building nests and laying eggs, but some hardy birds like cormorants and ravens (Corvus corax) already have fledged young. Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) give birth to their fawns, usually twins. The fawns are speckled, making them blend well with the surroundings, when they lie without moving among dead leaves on the forest floor.

The generic name Phalacrocorax is from the Greek phalakros (‘bald’) and korax (‘raven’), while the specific name carbo is Latin, meaning ‘coal’, thus ‘the coal-black, bald raven’, where bald refers to the white crown (albeit feathered) of the great cormorant during the breeding season. After being severely persecuted in Denmark for hundreds of years, this species was protected in 1971, and has since then made a dramatic comeback.

Incidentally, fishermen at various localities in China have been using tamed cormorants of this species for fishing for thousands of years. Pictures, depicting this practice, are shown on the page Fishing.

This species is very common in Denmark, its numbers greatly increased by hunters, who release large numbers of this species. The released ducks are mainly of Russian descent, and today the original indigenous mallard of Denmark is probably extinct due to hybridization with released birds.