644 



DENMARK. 



Part II. STATISTICS OF DENMARK. 



CHAP. I. 



General Geography. 



Statistics. J. he territories of the crown of Denmark are of great 

 s — ~y~— ■ • extent, and consist of several distinct, and formerly in- 

 Sxtcut. dependent, principalities. Exclusive of the islands, 

 they stretch from the river Elbe on the south, to the 

 northern extremity of Europe and the shores of the 

 Frozen Ocean, a length of 1400 English miles, by a 

 medial breadth of 1 .50. The dominions of the King of 

 Denmark are as follow: — 1st, Denmark, properly so 

 called. 2d, The kingdom of Norway, including Danish 

 Lapland. It is situated to the north of Denmark, and 

 separated from it by the Categate. On the west and 

 north it is bounded by the Northern Ocean, and on the 

 east it is divided from Sweden by a ridge of barren 

 mountains. 3d, Iceland, an island of great celebrity, 

 and of considerable extent, in the Northern Sea, about 

 400 miles west from the coast of Norway. 4th, The 

 Faroe Isles, lying south-west from Iceland, and about 

 seventeen in number. 5th, Greenland. And, 6th, The 

 colonies of Tranquebar, on the coast of Coromandel in 

 India, and of Christiansburgh on the coast of Guinea, 

 with the islands St Jan, St Thomas, and St Croix in the 

 West Indies. A full description of the first of these di- 

 visions only, viz. Denmark, belongs to the present ar- 

 ticle. A more particular account of the others will be 

 found under the articles Faroe, Greenland, Iceland, 

 Lapland, Norway, &c. ; and we trust our readers will 

 be gratified to learn, that the articles Faroe and Ice- 

 land, have been written by Sir George Mackenzie, 

 Bart, the most recent and intelligent traveller that has 

 visited these islands; and the article Greenland, by 

 Mr Giesecke, who resided there more than seven years, 

 and who has been recently appointed Professor of 

 Mineralogy to the Dublin Society, 

 ^vision?. Under the present article, we comprehend all the 

 Danish dominions south of Norway, thus including the 

 Duchies of Sleswick and Holstein. It is situated between 

 the 53° and 58° of north latitude, and the 8° and 13° of 

 east longitude, extending 260 miles in length, and 180 

 in breadth. It is bounded on the north by the entrance 

 of the Baltic, on the west by the German Sea, on the 

 south by the river Elbe and part of Germany, and is 

 divided from Sweden on the east by that part of the 

 Baltic called the Sound. This province, which, though 

 by no means the largest, is, in a political view at least, 

 by far the most important portion of the Danish mo- 

 narchy ; is composed of the Danish islands situated in 

 the Baltic, and of the adjacent Peninsula, consisting of 

 Jutland, and the Duchies of Sleswick and Holstein. 

 1st, The islands situated in the Baltic, which were the 

 ancient and are also the present seats of Danish power, 

 are, according to their extent and importance, as fol- 

 low : — Zealand, which is the seat of government, and 

 contains the capital of all the Danish dominions. It is 

 of a circular form, and measures about 200 miles in 

 circumference. The next in consideration is Funen, or 

 Fioma, which is separated from Zealand on the west 

 by the Great Belt, a strait of about 20 miles over. It 

 its about 50 miles in length, and 40 in breadth. Laal- 

 and, a small but fertile island south of Zealand, 30 miles 

 lung ; and 20 broad, Langland, to the west of Laaland, 



which takes its name from the figure of the island ; its Statistics. 

 length being upwards of 30 miles, and its breadth scarce- > - m ^y m ^ 

 \y eight. Falstria, or Falsler, about 20 miles long, and 

 l6broad. Bornholm, the subject of frequent disputes be- 

 tween Sweden and Denmark, about 21 miles in length, 

 and in breadth 13. To these may be added several 

 others, as Mona, Samsoe, Arroe, Anholt, Lessaw, Amak, 

 &c. 2d, Jutland, which is the name given to the most 

 extensive and northern division of the Peninsula, form- 

 ed by the German Sea and the Baltic. It is bounded 

 on the south by Sleswick. It is about 180 miles in 

 length by 98 in breadth. From north to south it is di- 

 vided into the provinces of Aalburg, Wiburg, Aarhusen, 

 and Ripen. 3d, The Duchy of Sleswick, or South Jutland, 

 occupies the middle of the Peninsula, having Jutland 

 on the north, and Holstein on the south. Its length is 

 upwards of 60 miles, and its breadth 48 miles. 4th, 

 The Duchy of Holstein, including within its limits 

 Stormar, Dithmarsh, Wagerland, &c. has for its boun- 

 daries on the south, the river Elbe, the country of 

 Lauenburg, and the territory of Hamburgh. This 

 Duchy extends about 100 miles in length from east to 

 west, and nearly as much from north to south. 



While Norway abounds in lofty mountains, in Den- Mountain*, 

 mark there are no heights which deserve that name. 

 The most considerable hills seldom rise above a few 

 hundred feet, though, from the great extent of plain 

 which they command, they are often very striking. 



In Denmark, the rivulets are numerous, but, as might Rivers, 

 be expected from its circumscribed situation, there is 

 scarcely a river of any note, or which is navigable for 

 ships of burden, except the Eydar, which forms the 

 boundary between Sleswick and Holstein, and after a 

 course of about 50 miles falls into the German Sea at 

 Frederickstadt. Bv means of this river and the canal 

 of Kiel, a junction has been effected between the North 

 Sea and the Baltic. Of this canal, a fuller description 

 will be found under the head Commerce, in a subse- 

 quent part of this article. In Jutland is the river Gude, 

 which has a course of about 40 miles, and falls into the 

 Categate. In Sleswick, besides the Eydar already 

 mentioned, are the Heveren, the Trenen, and the Hips, 

 and also the Colding and Skodborg, which form the li- 

 mits between this duchy and Holstein. In the duchy 

 of Holstein, besides a share of the Elbe, there are the 

 small rivers Haer and Trave, the former of which dis- 

 charges itself into the Elbe at Gluckstadt, and the lat- 

 ter falls into the Baltic. Most of these rivers are navi- 

 gable to a certain height for smaller vessels, and their 

 mouths afford convenient harbours and anchorages. 



The lakes of Denmark, though numerous, are none of Lake?, 

 them of any great extent. The lake of Ploen in Hol- 

 stein, which is one of the largest, does not exceed ten 

 miles in circumference. The seas of Denmark are the 

 Northern or German Ocean, or, as it is called in Den- 

 mark, the Western Sea, and the Baltic, chiefly that part 

 of it which is denominated the Categate. This sea is 

 remarkable for the difficulties which it offers to naviga- 

 tion. It abounds in currents, and in sands, which of- 

 ten changing their situation, deceive the vigilance of 

 the sailors. The storms too of the Categate are most 

 violent, particularly towards the end of autumn, when 

 vessels are exposed to the greatest dangers. In this 

 sea, as in the whole of the Baltic, there are no tides, 

 and its waters are less salt than those of the Ocean, 



Sezs, 



