The Viking Age, c. 790–1050 | |
|---|---|
| 777 | The Saxon prince Widukind fled to the Danish king Sigfred |
| 793 | Sacking of the monastery in Lindisfarne |
| 804–810 | Godfred’s wars against Charlemagne |
| 823 | Beginning of Bishop Ebbo of Reims’ Christian mission in Denmark |
| 826 | Baptism of Harald Klak |
| 843 | Partition of the Frankish empire |
| 845 | First Viking attack on Paris |
| 854 | Horik I killed |
| 865–878 | Viking armies in England |
| 934 | Danes attacked by the Saxon king Henry I |
| c. 958 | Burial of King Gorm at Jelling |
| c. 963 | Baptism of Harald Bluetooth and Denmark’s official conversion to Christianity |
| 974 | Otto II attacked the Danevirke |
| c. 975–980 | Construction of the Trelleborg fortresses |
| c. 987 | Sven Forkbeard’s rebellion against Harald Bluetooth |
| 991- | Sven Forkbeard’s raids on England |
| 1013 | Sven Forkbeard’s conquest of England |
| 1014 | Death of Sven Forkbeard |
| 1016 | Conquest of England by Cnut the Great |
| c. 1018 | Cnut became king of Denmark |
| 1027 | Cnut participated in the coronation of Emperor Conrad II in Rome |
| 1035 | Death of Cnut the Great |
| 1042 | Death of Harthacnut |
The High Middle Ages, 1050–1340 | |
|---|---|
| 1061 | Division of Denmark into eight dioceses |
| 1086 | Murder of King Knud the Holy |
| 1103/1104 | Lund upgraded to an independent Nordic archdiocese |
| 1131 | Murder of Duke Knud Lavard |
| 1146–1157 | Conflicts between Svend, Knud, and Valdemar |
| 1157–1241 | ‘Age of the Valdemars’ |
| 1167 | Construction of Copenhagen castle by Bishop Absalon |
| 1168 | Danish conquest of Rügen |
| 1219 | Danish conquest of Tallinn |
| 1227 | Danes defeated at the Battle of Bornhöved in Holstein |
| 1250 | Murder of Erik IV Plovpenning in Schleswig |
| 1282 | First royal håndfæstning |
| 1286 | Murder of Erik Klipping in Finderup Lade |
| 1332–1340 | Interregnum |
The Late Middle Ages, 1340–1523 | |
|---|---|
| 1340 | Valdemar Atterdag elected king after the interregnum (1332–1340) |
| 1360 | Conquest of Skåne provinces and Gotland (1361) by Valdemar Atterdag |
| 1365 | Redemption of the last mortgaged territories by Valdemar Atterdag |
| 1370 | Peace of Stralsund: the war between Valdemar Atterdag and the Hanseatic towns ended |
| 1385 | Oluf, son of Margaret I, came of age and was proclaimed king of Denmark and Norway |
| 1387 | Death of King Oluf; Margaret I elected ‘regent lady and master’ |
| 1397 | Foundation of Kalmar Union; Erik of Pomerania proclaimed king |
| 1412 | Death of Margaret I; rule of Erik of Pomerania |
| 1424 | Emperor Sigismund confirmed Erik of Pomerania as Duke of Schleswig |
| 1432 | Erik of Pomerania defeated in the war over Schleswig |
| 1434 | Rebellion in Sweden |
| 1436 | Erik of Pomerania exiled on Gotland |
| 1443 | Christopher of Bavaria crowned king of the union |
| 1448 | Accession of Christian I as king of Denmark and Norway |
| 1457 | Christian I became king of Sweden, deposed in 1464 |
| 1460 | Christian I became duke of Schleswig and count of Holstein |
| 1471 | Christian I defeated at the Battle of Brunkeberg near Stockholm |
| 1474 | Holstein elevated to the status of duchy |
| 1490 | Division of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein between King Hans and Duke Frederik |
| 1494 | Denmark declared by diet to be an indivisible elective monarchy |
| 1497 | King Hans’ conquest of Sweden |
| 1500 | Defeat of King Hans and Duke Frederik at the Battle of Ditmarschen |
| 1501 | King Hans expelled from Sweden |
| 1520 | Stockholm Bloodbath |
| 1523 | Christian II deposed and exiled |
Reformation and power state, 1523–1660 | |
|---|---|
| 1523 | Christian II deposed by the nobility and Frederik I crowned king |
| 1526–1528 | Reformation in Haderslev and Tørning districts |
| 1526 | Danish Church organized as a de facto territorial church, without the need for papal approval of the bishops |
| 1530 | Violent iconoclastic attack at the Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen |
| 1533 | Death of Frederik I; interregnum |
| 1534–1536 | ‘Count’s Feud’ (civil war) |
| 1536 | Reformation; Catholic bishops imprisoned |
| 1537–1539 | New church ordinance issued in Latin (1537) and Danish (1539); 1542 in the duchies |
| 1559 | Accession of King Frederik II |
| 1563–1570 | Nordic Seven Years’ War |
| 1573 | Publication of Tycho Brahe’s De nova stella |
| 1582 | Marriage ordinance |
| 1588 | Christian IV became king; regency government |
| 1596 | Christian IV came of age |
| 1611–1613 | Kalmar War |
| 1617 | Statute against witchcraft |
| 1625–1629 | Christian IV’s intervention in the Thirty Years’ War (Kejserkrigen) |
| 1629 | Church statute regulating morality |
| 1643–1645 | Torstensson Feud |
| 1648 | Frederik III crowned king |
| 1657–1660 | Wars with Sweden (first and second Karl Gustav Wars) |
| 1658 | Peace of Roskilde – Skåne, Halland, and Blekinge ceded to Sweden |
| 1659 | Swedish attack on Copenhagen |
| 1660 | Introduction of absolute monarchy |
Absolute monarchy, 1660–1814 | |
|---|---|
| 1660 | Absolute power conferred on Frederik III at a meeting of the estates |
| 1661 | Sovereignty Act confirmed absolute power of the king |
| 1665 | King’s Code – written constitution for the absolute monarchy – signed by Frederik III |
| 1670 | Death of Frederik III; succeeded by his son Christian V |
| 1675–1679 | Skåne War |
| 1683 | Danish Code – standardized legal code (Norwegian Code 1687) |
| 1688 | Great Land Register – land tax standardized |
| 1699 | Death of Christian V; succeeded by his son Frederik IV |
| 1700–1721 | Great Northern War – Denmark involved in 1700 and 1709–1720 |
| 1708 | Poor law |
| 1721 | Arrival of colonialist Hans Egede in Greenland |
| 1730 | Death of Frederik IV; succeeded by his son Christian VI |
| 1733 | Introduction of stavnsbånd – movements of rural males restricted |
| 1736 | Confirmation obligatory for all children |
| 1739 | Schools law: compulsory primary education in rural areas, and reform of Latin schools in the towns |
| 1746 | Death of Christian VI; succeeded by his son Frederik V |
| 1766 | Death of Frederik V; succeeded by his son Christian VII |
| 1770–1772 | Christian VII incapacitated; power assumed by German physician Struensee |
| 1773 | Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo (Mageskiftetraktaten): resolution of the so-called Gottorp question; Schleswig and Holstein under the Danish king |
| 1788 | Stavnsbånd abolished (in force from 1800) |
| 1792 | Transatlantic slave trade banned (in force from 1803) |
| 1799–1815 | Napoleonic Wars; Denmark involved 1807–1814 |
| 1801 | Battle of Copenhagen |
| 1807 | British bombardment of Copenhagen and confiscation of the Danish fleet |
| 1808 | Death of Christian VII; succeeded by his son Frederik VI |
| 1813 | National bankruptcy |
| 1814 | Treaty of Kiel; Norway ceded to Sweden |
From absolutist composite state to nation state, 1814–1914 | |
|---|---|
| 1814 | Denmark was a composite state, consisting of the kingdom of Denmark and the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg; Holstein was a member of the German Confederation |
| 1814–1815 | Congress of Vienna |
| 1831 | Law establishing four advisory assemblies of the estates |
| 1834 | National liberal newspaper Fædrelandet published for the first time |
| 1835 | First meetings of the advisory assemblies of the estates |
| 1839 | Death of Frederik VI; succeeded by his cousin Christian VIII |
| 1840 | Law on the use of language in Schleswig: Danish was the language of administration where it was also used in churches and schools |
| 1842 | Language question politicized in Schleswig; ‘Denmark to the Eider’ proclaimed by Orla Lehmann’s National Liberals |
| 1846 | Increased polarization and radicalization of the two national movements |
| 1848 | Death of Christian VIII; succeeded by Frederik VII, the last absolute king |
| 1848–1849 | Absolute rule abolished and replaced by a constitutional monarchy |
| 1848–1850 | First Schleswig War |
| 1849 | Constitution 5 June |
| 1857 | Freedom of Trade Act (Næringsfrihedsloven) |
| 1864 | Second Schleswig War; duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg ceded |
| 1866 | 1849 constitution revised |
| 1870 | Foundation of the political party Det Forenede Venstre |
| 1871 | Foundation of the Social Democratic party |
| 1875–1894 | Government of J.B.S. Estrup – constitutional struggles |
| 1880 | Foundation of the conservative party Højre |
| 1882 | Foundation of the first co-operative dairy |
| 1886 | Fortification of Copenhagen began |
| 1891–1892 | First social insurance legislation |
| 1899 | September Compromise following a major labor market conflict |
| 1901 | ‘System change’ – first Venstre government formed on the basis of parliamentary majority in the Lower House |
| 1905 | Foundation of the Social Liberal Party (Det Radikale Venstre) |
The world war era, 1914–1945 | |
|---|---|
| 1914 | August laws – increased state regulation of the economy |
| 1915 | New democratic constitution giving women and servants of both sexes the right to vote in parliamentary elections |
| 1917 | Sale of Danish West Indies to the USA (US Virgin Islands) |
| 1918 | Iceland recognized as an independent state in personal union with the Danish crown |
| 1919 | Smallholders’ act guaranteed cheap government loans for new smallholdings |
| 1920 | Reunification of northern Schleswig after a referendum, establishing the current Danish–German border |
| 1920 | Easter Crisis following the dissolution of the government by the king |
| 1922 | Collapse of Landmandsbanken |
| 1924 | First Social Democratic government, led by Prime Minister Stauning |
| 1926 | Liberal government led by Prime Minister Madsen-Mygdal |
| 1929–1940 | Social Democratic–Social Liberal coalition governments led by Prime Minister Stauning |
| 1931 | First crisis agreement between the government and the Conservative People’s Party |
| 1932 | Exchange Control Office (Valutacentralen) founded |
| 1933 | Kanslergade Agreement |
| 1935 | Peak support for Social Democratic Party, with 46% of the vote |
| 1935 | Opening of the first bridge across the Little Belt |
| 1938 | Holiday Act gave workers two weeks of statutory holiday a year |
| 1939 | Social Democratic government’s proposal for a new constitution rejected in a referendum |
| 1939 | Non-aggression pact between Germany and Denmark |
| 1940 | German occupation of Denmark |
| 1941 | Denmark joined the German Anti-Comintern Pact |
| 1941 | Danish ambassador to Washington formalized a treaty with the US government putting Greenland under the control of the American military |
| 1942 | Emergence of resistance groups carrying out acts of sabotage against the German occupying power |
| 1943 | Major strikes directed against the occupying power; collapse of policy of cooperation |
| 1943 | Deportation of Danish Jews to German concentration camps; approximately 7,000 rescued |
| 1944 | Danish police force dissolved |
| 1944 | ‘People’s strike’ (folkestrejke) in Copenhagen |
The post-war era, 1945–1973 | |
|---|---|
| 1945 | Denmark liberated by British troops 4–5 May, with the exception of Bornholm |
| 1945 | Denmark became one of the founding members of the UN |
| 1948 | Receipt of American Marshall Aid approved by parliament |
| 1949 | Denmark signed the NATO Treaty |
| 1951 | New defence agreement with the USA for Greenland |
| 1952 | Establishment of the Nordic Council |
| 1953 | Greenland’s status as a Danish colony ended |
| 1953 | New constitution |
| 1956 | Universal old age pension implemented |
| 1959 | Foundation of the Socialist People’s Party |
| 1964 | Beatles concert in Copenhagen |
| 1966 | Contraceptive pill legalized |
| 1967 | Foundation of Left Socialist Party |
| 1968 | Student revolt at the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus |
| 1968 | Establishment of the Central Person Register (CPR) |
| 1969 | Denmark became the first country in the world to legalize pornographic images |
| 1970 | Foundation of the Christian People’s Party |
| 1970 | Municipal reform |
| 1972 | Foundation of the Progress Party |
| 1972 | Referendum on Danish membership of the European Communities (EC) |
| 1972 | Social Democrat Anker Jørgensen became prime minister |
| 1973 | Free abortion introduced, giving all women the right to an abortion within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy |
| 1973 | Foundation of political party Centre Democrats |
| 1973 | Denmark became a member of the EC |
Global times – after 1973 | |
|---|---|
| 1973 | First oil crisis |
| 1973 | ‘Earthquake election’; number of parties elected to parliament doubled |
| 1973 | First comprehensive environmental law |
| 1976 | First law on equal pay for work of equal value |
| 1978 | Coalition government of Social Democrats and Venstre |
| 1979 | First European Parliament elections; home rule for Greenland |
| 1979 | Second oil crisis |
| 1982 | Poul Schlüter took over from Anker Jørgensen as prime minister |
| 1982 | Greenland voted in a referendum to withdraw from the EC |
| 1986 | ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum on Single European Act |
| 1986 | Law on TV2, breaking the Danish Radio (DR) television monopoly |
| 1987 | First law on aquatic environment |
| 1988 | End of the so-called ‘footnote policy’ |
| 1990 | Danish warship Olfert Fischer sent to the Gulf during the first Iraq War |
| 1992 | Danish UN peacekeeping soldiers sent to Croatia and Bosnia |
| 1992 | Maastricht Treaty rejected in a referendum |
| 1993 | Conservative prime minister Poul Schlüter resigned after a scandal over the family reunification of Tamil refugees in Denmark; replaced by Social Democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen |
| 1993 | Majority ‘yes’ vote in a referendum on Edinburgh Agreement |
| 1995 | Foundation of Danish People’s Party |
| 1997 | Great Belt Bridge from Fyn to Sjælland opened for rail passengers, and for motorists the following year |
| 1999 | Danish aircraft participated in NATO action in the Kosovo war, without a UN mandate |
| 2000 | Euro rejected in a referendum |
| 2000 | Øresund Bridge opened |
| 2001 | Anders Fogh Rasmussen replaced Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as prime minister; a new ‘system change’ in Danish politics |
| 2001 | Danish troops sent to the war in Afghanistan |
| 2003 | Danish troops sent to the Iraq war, without a UN mandate |
| 2005 | Cartoon Crisis |
| 2007 | New municipal reform introduced |
| 2011 | Helle Thorning-Schmidt elected as the first female prime minister |
| 2011 | Denmark participated in the international bombing of Libya, with a UN mandate from the Security Council |
| 2015 | Terrorist attacks on a cultural center and synagogue in Copenhagen |
| 2015 | Denmark ratified the UN’s Paris Agreement on the climate |
| 2015 | EU opt-out on home and justice affairs rejected in a referendum |
| 2019 | Election: heavy defeat for Danish People’s Party and Liberal Alliance; new government formed under prime minister Mette Frederiksen (Social Democrat) |
| 2020 | First comprehensive climate law adopted by the Danish parliament |
| 2020 | Start of COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark |
| 2022 | Danish EU defense opt-out rejected in a referendum, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine |