The three lands of Denmark historically formed the
Danish kingdom from its unification and consolidation in the 10th century:
*
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
(''Sjælland'') and the
islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
south of it, with
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
as a centre
*
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
(''Jylland''), the western peninsula, and the island of
Fyn
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as ...
, with
Viborg as a centre.
*
Scania
Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...
(''Skåneland'') on the
Scandinavian peninsula, with
Lund as a centre
Each of the lands retained their own
thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...
(''ting'') and statute laws until late medieval time (
Jutlandic Law,
Zealandic Law and
Scanian Law
Scanian law ( da, Skånske Lov, sv, Skånelagen) is the oldest Danish provincial law and one of the first Nordic provincial laws to be written down. It was used in the geographic region of Danish Skåneland, which at the time included Scania, ...
). Although Denmark was a unified kingdom, the custom of rendering
homage to the King at the three individual assemblies remained. A remnant is the current division of Denmark into two
High Court districts, the Eastern and Western High Court.
During the early 19th century,
Zealand
Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020.
It is the 1 ...
and
Fyn
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as ...
became administratively united as ''Østifterne'' with a provincial assembly in Roskilde. ''Jutland'', ''The Islands'' and ''Bornholm'' remains an informal subdivision still used, notably in
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...
and public
statistics.
Bornholm is the only part to represent Scania after the rest of the region was lost to
Sweden in 1658. (Bornholm was also lost in 1658, but was recovered two years later.)
In recent decades, the less specific division between ''Eastern'' and ''Western'' Denmark has also become common, for example when describing
logistic,
economic
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
and political patterns. Funen may be attributed to both the eastern and western part of the country, the border line being either the
Great Belt
The Great Belt ( da, Storebælt, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits.
Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great B ...
or the
Little Belt
The Little Belt (, ) is a strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the North Sea and Atla ...
.
See also
*
Traditional districts of Denmark
The traditional districts of Denmark differ from the country's administrative country subdivisions nowadays, as their existence and extent are usually not defined by law. The Danes will often refer to their traditional districts if asked where t ...
*
Subdivisions of Denmark
*
Lands of Sweden
The lands of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges landsdelar) are three traditional and historical regions of the country, each consisting of several provinces. The division into lands goes back to the foundation of modern Sweden, when '' Götaland'', the land ...
*
Regions of Norway
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
Former subdivisions of Denmark
Former states and territories of Denmark
Medieval Denmark
{{Denmark-hist-stub