DENMARK. 



645 



Statistic. The straits formed by the Baltic, between the Danish 



— f """' islands, are numerous. The most remarkable of these 

 Strain. are t{le tWQ Be j ts an( j t}le Sount | i^ e Li tt i e B e i t; h av _ 



ing Sleswick and Jutland on one side, and Funen on 

 the other, at its greatest breadth between Arroe and 

 Alsen, is about nine miles over. It is not more than 

 one mile between Snohoe and Middelfart. The Great 

 Belt divides the island of Funen from that of Zea- 

 land. Its breadth, at the usual passage between Ny- 

 borg and Kerser, is about eighteen miles ; and at other 

 places becomes still somewhat straiter. The Sound 

 separates the island of Zealand from the Swedish pro- 

 vince of Schonen. From Elsineur on the Danish to 

 Helsenburgh on the Swedish coast, where it is nar- 

 rowest, it is nearly four miles over. Through this 

 .strait, one of the most celebrated and most frequented 

 in Europe, almost all ships bound to the Baltic pass. 

 And it is here that the King of Denmark exacts from 

 the merchant vessels of all nations, that toll which 

 forms a considerable source of his revenue, and which 

 is an acknowledgment of his sovereignty of those seas. 



Gulfs. The Baltic also frequently advances into the country; 



and forms numerous gulfs, called in the language of 

 the country Fiords. In Funen are the gulfs of Oden- 

 see, of Nyborg, and of Kiertmind. In Zealand is the 

 gulf of Tsfiord, which divides itself into two arms, 

 the one of which advances towards Holbeck, and the 

 other towards Roschild. On the east coast of the Pe- 

 ninsula, the most considerable gulfs are those of Kiel 

 and of Heiligenhafen in Holstein, and of Flensbourg 

 and of Appenrad in Sleswick. To these may also be 

 added the Sieve, in the neighbourhood of the town of 

 Sleswick, which is more properly a long bay than a 

 river. In Jutland are the gulfs of Colding, Veile, 

 Horsens, Randers, and Marriager. These bays afford 

 a number of good harbours, though sand, however, is 

 apt to collect in them. Towards the north-east of 

 Jutland is the great gulf of Limfiord, which penetrates 

 so far into the country, that it approaches within two 

 or three miles of the German Sea, while another arm of 

 it advances southward to the town of Wiborg, a length 

 of about eighty or ninety miles. At its entrance on the 

 eastern coast it is about two miles broad, but afterwards 

 becomes greatly wider. The towns situated on this gulf 

 enjoy the advantage of being sea-ports, though in the 

 heart of the province. But at the entrance of the 

 Limfiord are considerable obstructions, and the depth 

 of its waters has a good deal diminished. Perhaps it 

 may one day become merely an inland lake. At not a 

 more distant period than the corrimencement of the 

 seventeenth century, it was practicable for ships of war 

 to enter it, though now it will scarcely admit merchant 

 vessels. These are the most important bays on the 

 eastern side of the peninsula of Jutland. When Ave 

 double Cape Skag, which is the most northern point of 

 Jutland, and enter the Western Sea, the gulfs are less 

 numerous and less considerable. The only gulfs use- 

 ful for navigation, are those of Husum, Toendern, and 

 Norstrand, in the Duchy of Sleswick. The navigation 

 of the whole of this coast is greatly obstructed by con- 

 tinued shoal* and sand banks. 



Cities. Almost the only city of any considerable size or im- 



portance in Denmark i s Copenhagen ; though the Danes 

 have dignified with this name above 6'0 of their towns. 

 This is the capital of the kingdom, and the best built 

 city of the north. It stands on the eastern shore of 

 the island of Zealand, about 25 miles to the south of 

 the Sound ; and contains a population of about 90,000. 

 The second city of Denmark is Altona on the Elbe, 



within a gun-shot of Hamburgh; and containing 25,000 Statist!?*. 

 inhabitants. In Zealand, besides Copenhagen, there < """"Y""~' 

 are Roschild the ancient metropolis, Elsineur, Holbeck, 

 &c. In Funen, Odensee the capital of the island, Ny- 

 borg, Sevenborg, and Alsens. In Jutland are Aalborg, 

 Wiborg, Aarhusen, Ripen, Randers, Horsens, Frederics- 

 odde, Colding, Ringkioping, &c. The chief towns of 

 Sleswick are the capital Sleswick, Flensburgh the 

 largest and most populous town of the Duchy, Gottorp, 

 Ekrenford, Fredericstadt, Tonningen, Husum, Glucks- 

 burgh, Hadersleben, Tondern, Sunderburg, and Nor- 

 burg. There are in Holstein, besides Altona already 

 noticed, the towns of Rensburg, Kiel, Gluckstadt, Pin- 

 neberg, Itshoa, Wilster, &c. For a more particular de- 

 scription of the cities and towns of Denmark, see the 

 separate articles Altona, Copenhagen, Roschild, &c 



CHAP. It 



Face oftJie Country, Climate, Soil, Agriculture, Natural 

 History , 



The aspect of the Danish islands is, in general, plea- Face of tfre 

 sant and cheerful, consisting of plains intersected by country, 

 gentle hills, sometimes insulated, and sometimes conti- 

 nuous, forming agreeable vallies. The heights, for the 

 most part, are clothed with pasture, or shaded by tufts 

 of trees ; whilst clear and azure lakes occasionally ani- 

 mate the scene. The province of Jutland presents a 

 ruder aspect, but at the same time more varied and im- 

 posing, diversified with majestic forests, upland moors, 

 and fertile pastures. Holstein and Sleswick are level 

 and well cultivated countries, resembling England in 

 their variety of hills, woods, rivulets, meadows, and 

 corn fields. The environs of Ploen are distinguished for 

 their picturesque, and those of Sleswick, Flensburg, , 

 and Apenrad, for their romantic beauties. 



The whole of Denmark may be considered as pos- Climate. 

 sessing, in general, a humid and rather a temperate cli- 

 mate. The sky is often obscured with thick fogs. The 

 west and south-west winds, which are the most fre- 

 quent, generally bring rain. It falls in the greatest 

 abundance during the months of October and Novem- 

 ber. According to a medium of twenty-six years, it 

 rains annually about 130 daj's, and thunders thirteen. 

 The transition from summer to winter, and from win- 

 ter to summer, is very rapid ; the agreeable seasons of 

 spring and of autumn being but little known. Though 

 the thermometer, in general, does not fall beyond 12° 

 or 13° below freezing, nor rise to more than 25° above 

 it, yet sometimes the heats in summer are very intense; 

 and there are occasionally winters of extreme severity, 

 and the seas are also frequently impeded with ice. The 

 warm weather seldom commences before the end of 

 May or the beginning of June, and the nights are cool 

 during almost the whole summer. The cold sets in 

 about the end of September, and it frequently freezes 

 in October. The coldest months are December, Ja- 

 nuary, and February ; but during these there are of- 

 ten thaws for many days. In March and April the 

 weather becomes milder, though it is subject to con- 

 tinual changes. A calm and serene sky, and an at- 

 mosphere free of vapours, are seldom enjoyed by the 

 inhabitants of Denmark ; but, in general, at least in 

 the higher situations, the air is sufficiently salubrious. 

 The heat is greater, and continues longer in the du- 

 chies than in the rest of Denmark. This is particular- 

 ly the case in Holstein. The influence of the sun, join- 

 ed to the quality of the soil, produces in some district* 



