Christian V of Denmark

Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699.

Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree that institutionalized the supremacy of the Danish king, he fortified the absolutist system against the aristocracy by accelerating his father’s practice of allowing Holstein nobles and Danish commoners into state service.

As king he wanted to show his power as absolute monarch through architecture, and dreamed of a Danish Versailles. He was the first to use the 1671 Throne Chair of Denmark, partly made for this purpose. His motto was: Pietate et Justitia (With piety and justice).

Biography

Early years

Christian was elected successor to his father in June 1650. This was not a free choice, but de facto automatic hereditary succession. Escorted by his chamberlain Christoffer Parsberg, Christian went on a long trip abroad, to Holland, England, France, and home through Germany. On this trip, he saw absolutism in its most splendid achievement at the young Louis XIV's court, and heard about the theory of the divine right of kings. He returned to Denmark in August 1663. From 1664 he was allowed to attend proceedings of the State College. Hereditary succession was made official by Royal Law in 1665. ChristIan was hailed as heir in Copenhagen in August 1665, in Odense and Viborg in September, and in Christiania, Norway in July 1666. Only a short time before he became king, he was taken into the Council of the Realm and the Supreme Court. He became king upon his father's death on 9 February 1670, and was formally crowned in 1671. He was the first hereditary king of Denmark, and in honor of this, Denmark acquired costly new crown jewels and a magnificent new ceremonial sword.

Denmark

Denmark (ⁱ/ˈdɛnmɑːrk/; Danish: Danmark [ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊]), officially the Kingdom of Denmark is a country in Northern Europe. The southernmost of the Nordic countries, it is southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark is part of Scandinavia, together with Sweden and Norway. It is a sovereign state that comprises Denmark and two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark proper has an area of 42,924 square kilometres (16,573 sq mi), and a population of 5,707,251 in January 2016. The country consists of a peninsula – Jutland – and an archipelago of 443 named islands, of which around 70 are inhabited. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate.

Ø, Denmark

Coordinates: 56°27′32″N 9°37′57″E / 56.45889°N 9.63250°E / 56.45889; 9.63250

Ø is a piece of land in the valley of the Nørreå in the eastern part of Jutland, Denmark. Its name means island (ø in the Danish language) and probably comes from the island-like approach to this piece of land, although it is completely landlocked and surrounded by meadows.

Ø is famous among lexicographers for the extreme brevity of its name: the single letter Øand for the people there.

See also

Sources

Danish sites

Danmark (islet)

Danmark (English: Denmark) is an islet located near Sandvika in the Municipality of Bærum, Norway.

Whilst the original meaning is not exactly verified, the name of the islet reflects Norwegians' (friendly) joking with the relatively small geographical size of Denmark proper. Alike Denmark, this islet is flat, small, and located oversea south of Bærum. The name predates 1814, when the personal union known as Denmark–Norway was dissolved. In a sale of land in the 1780s, it was mentioned that the sale included 'a little island called Denmark' (Danish: en lille ø kaldet Danmark).

References

Literature

External links

Coordinates: 59°53′26″N 10°32′00″E / 59.8906°N 10.5334°E / 59.8906; 10.5334