The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid is a statue depicting a mermaid, in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, The statue sits on a rock in the harbour off Langelinie promenade. It has become a popular target for defacement by vandals and political activists. It has a height of 1.25 metres and weighs 175 kilograms.

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet.

His initial attempts at writing fairy tales were rewrites of stories that he heard as a child. It was during 1835 that Andersen published the first installment of his immortal Fairy Tales. The collection consists of nine tales that includes The Tinderbox, The Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid, and The Emperor's New Clothes. The quality of these stories was not immediately recognized, and they sold poorly.

The Little Mermaid tale (summary):

Under The Sea

The little mermaid is the daughter of the mer-king, who lives in a castle under the sea. She is the youngest of six sisters. The mer-king is a widower and his mother keeps house for him and the children. The little mermaid, the most beautiful of the king's six daughters, has a quiet nature.

Meeting the Prince

The king allows the princesses to go to the surface of the sea on the occasion of their 15th birthdays. They all look forward to this special occasion, with the older ones who have had a glimpse sharing their stories with the younger mermaids. When it is the little mermaid's turn to swim to the surface, she sees a ship with a prince on it, celebrating his birthday. The ship sinks and the mermaid rescues the prince and takes him to shore, returning to the water before humans see her.

The Sea Witch's Potion

After this brief encounter with the prince, the little mermaid starts to yearn to become human and win his love. She goes to a sea witch to ask for help. The sea witch gives her a potion to rid herself of her tail and grow legs, which the witch warns her will cause her great pain to walk on. In return, the little mermaid gives up her voice to the sea witch. If the little mermaid can get the prince to return her love and marry her, she will gain a human soul. Otherwise, the little mermaid will die and not live the normal mermaid lifespan of 300 years.

Finale

The little mermaid swims to the surface and goes to the prince's castle. The prince sees her as a foundling and befriends her. She charms the whole court with her dancing, but cannot communicate except with her eyes and gestures. Ultimately, the prince finds himself a human bride and the little mermaid loses her life. She becomes a spirit daughter of the air who will gain an immortal soul after 300 years by performing good deeds for humans.

The Typical Food of Denmark

Typically for Danish people there are 3 main meals on a day:

• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner

A typical breakfast in Denmark consists of breakfast cereals such as oatmeal, corn flakes, yoghurt. Bread or bread rolls with different kind of cheeses and jams, too.

Weekends or festive occasions may call for Danich pastries or a bitters, such as Gammel Dansk.They accompanied the breakfast with cofee, skimmed milk or tea.

Glazed apple Danish

Oatmeal

In Denmark, lunch is usually a cold meal consisting a few simply prepared pieces of 'smorrebrod' (open rye-bread sandwiches) with slices of cold meat, sausage or egg.

Leverpostej, a liver paste prepared from pig's liver and lard, is also frequently used as a spread.

Most of Danish people have a quick lunch at work or school either in the cafeteria.

A variety of common Danish open faces sandwiches.

Skinke med italiensk salat

Roast beef med remoulade

Leverpostej

For the average family, dinner is the one meal of the day where everyone can be gathered. Dinner usually consists of just one main course, often a meat dish with potatoes and vegetables or salad.

Stegt flæsk med persillesovs

Boller i Karry

Flæskesteg med rødkål

Medisterpølse

Typical and popular Danish Desserts.

Rice Pudding - whipped
 cream and cherry sauce is a must
 for all Danes at Christmas time.

“Rabarbergrød” - Stewed rhubarb dessert
can be served with vanilla cream
 - whipped cream or milk.

"Koldskål" - Fridge buttermilk
with vanilla and lemon flavour.
Served with fruit or biscuits.

Red Berry Pudding with whipping cream.
 A national dessert and mostly
for the summertime.

"Øllebrød" - Rye beery dessert of
 rye bread - sugar - mild beer
and whipped cream.

Laia Suñé Brunet

Hillerøid

Hillerød is a Danish city with a population of 30,570 located in North Zealand. Hillerød is the capital of "Region Hovenstaden" (The Capital Region), one of the five regions in Denmark, and is also the third-largest city in this part of Zealand after Copenhagen and Helsingør. 

The city of Hillerød has a rich trade and cultural life. Hillerød is especially known for Frederiksborg Castle, in the center of the town. Another cultural institution is “Hillerød Viden- og Kulturpark” (Hillerød Knowledge and Culture Park); a library with surrounding culture workshops and game spots. This is the gathering spot for the cultural life of Hillerød - with exhibitions, music and theatre.





The city has many cafes, restaurants, shopping facilities, museums etc. and the cultural events are numerous. The links below will guide you to everything you need to know about Hillerød, whether you are a tourist who needs information on what’s going on, or a business contemplating setting up in Hillerød.

The city is undergoing a rapid process of change in line with the steady globalisation of the world. Hillerød is characterised by a high quality of life, a safe and healthy environment and a variety of both large and small events for those who choose to live in Hillerød. The city is a fine place to live and gives priority to equality between people and to equal opportunities.





Frederiksborg Castle

The Frederiksborg Castle is a castle located in Hillerød, Denmark. It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV, and is now known as the National History Museum of Denmark. The current building replaced a previous building commissioned by Frederick II, and is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia. The palace is located on three small islands in the middle of Palace Lake, surrounded by a huge baroque formal garden.





In 1850, the palace was used as a residence by Frederick VII of Denmark. During the night of 16 to 17 December 1859, when he was in the castle, a fire destroyed much of the interior of the main palace. The reconstruction was financed by public subscription, with major contributions from the king, the state and prominent philanthropist J. C. Jacobsen of the Carlsberg brewery industry, which also provided funds to establish the National History Museum, which now occupies Frederiksborg. A large collection of paintings of notable Danish painter Carl Heinrich Bloch are found in the palace. Commissioned by the palace, these paintings represent largely the life of Jesus Christ.


Lluís Pérez i Miquel Alemany

History of Denmark: Century by century

To understand the history of Denmark, I think that show the history century by century is the easiest way to learn the history of this country. First of all, we have to know that Denmark is one of the oldest countries of the world. The vikings were the most famous citizens of Denmark. They appeared during the Iron Age. The word "Denmark" comes from a stone called "Jelling Stone". The word was carved on this stone.

XI Century: The vikings lived in Denmark. They were traders and adventurers. They travelled around Europe on board of a ships called "drakkars". In the photo we can see one of these ships travelling around the sea. The best place in Denmark to see things from the vikings is Roskilde. The vikings didn't become christians until the end of the century under the influence of other countries of Europe. At this moment, the vikings had the control of Scandinavia.  

XII Century: Valdemar I of Denmark founded the city of Copenhague.

XII Century: Denmark created his first constitution. Copenhague became an important commercial city. We have to know that Denmark is located between Russia and Mediterranean Sea.

   

XIV Century: The danish traders began to compete against the Hansa traders. On this century Norway, Sweden and Denmark signed an alliance to protect against the Germanic Countries.

XV Century: The Kalmar Union help Denmark to control Sweden and Norway, so this countries became an officially Danish territory.  

XVI Century: Sweden didn't accept the control of Denmark so after a century full of wars, Sweden got the independence from Denmark. Also the Luter Reform arrived in Denmark changing most of the religious feelings in Denmark.  

XVII Century: Christian IV got built a lot of castles and palaces in Copenhague. Copenhague became an aristocratic city.  

XVIII Century: The danish kings created a social rights for the population much better than the french rights after the revolution. Denmark became one of the most advanced countries in Europe.

XIX Century: Denmark took part in the Napoleonic Wars. Denmark allied with France. Due to this aliance, England government got angry and bombed Copenhague. Denmark was defeated and Norway got the independence. However, this century was a period of social, economic and politic development so Denmark created a new constitution(1849).

  

XX Century: Denmark was occupied by the German army during the Second World War. Denmark help Jewish people to escape from the German Army through the sea. Denmark took part on the OTAN. Denmark is a member of the European Union since 1972.  

XXI Century: Denmark refuses the Euro after a Referendum. Right now Denmark is governed by Margrethe II(Queen) and Helle-Thorning-Schmidt(prime minister). Both are women.

                                                                                                                         ARTURO JUÁREZ