State · 800 – present

Denmark

A state of 800 – present — 1,226 years, still standing in Europe. The atlas records 88 things within it — wars and battles 43 · unrest and atrocity 2 · famine and plague 4 · natural disasters 5 · treaties 9 · people 23 · works and ideas 2. Its line of rulers holds 65 people, 63 with dated terms.

Still standing: the span runs to the year of the build, 2026.

For the full story, the article on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); this page holds what the record says of the state.

Stood: 1,226 years; and still standing
Rulers: 65; the Monarch of Denmark
Most ground: 2.26 million km²; in 1946
Within it: 88; recorded rows
Symbols: 3; on record, with years

Map: Denmark in 1946, its borders in gold among its neighbours — Denmark in 1946, when it held the most ground the borders dataset draws for it: 2.26 million km². Its neighbours wear their tints, as on the atlas's own map. Borders from Cliopatria (CC BY 4.0), coast and rivers from Natural Earth, cities from Reba, Reitsma & Seto 2016 (CC BY 4.0), each city under the name it bore that year.

Denmark in 936, first mapped — The rise and the fall in one frame: the same ground at the years the borders dataset first maps it, maps it largest, and last maps it.

Denmark in 1946, at its largest — The rise and the fall in one frame: the same ground at the years the borders dataset first maps it, maps it largest, and last maps it.

Where it sits in time

Five thousand years, 3000 BCE to 2026; the state in gold.

Rulers

The line of Monarch of Denmark - the office this state names as its head of state.

deposed, abdicated, exiled or removeddied in officeleft alive by a regular roadstill in officeending not on recorda second row: a reign that began before the last had ended — rival claimants, or a shared throne

Ruler	Reign	Length	How it ended · source	To the ruler before
Sigfred	770 – 800	30 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone
Gudfred	800 – 810	10 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child
Hemming of Denmark	810 – 812	2 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone
Harald Klak	812 – 813	1 year	left office aliveread off the dates alone
Harald Klak	819 – 823	4 years	left office aliveread off the dates alone
Harald Klak	826 – 827	1 year	left office aliveread off the dates alone
Horik II	854 – in office	in office since 854	still in office
Harthacnut I of Denmark	917 – 934	17 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone
Gorm the Old	934 – 964	30 years	the term ends after the recorded deathread off the dates alone	child
Canute Danaást	947 – 962	15 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	child
Harald Bluetooth	962 – 985	23 years	died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone	sibling
Swein Forkbeard	986 – 1014	28 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death	child
Eric the Victorious	992 – 993	1 year	left office aliveread off the dates alone
Harald II of Denmark	1014 – 1018	4 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Cnut the Great	1018 – 1035	17 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Harthacnut	1035 – 1042	7 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Magnus the Good	1042 – 1047	5 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Sweyn II of Denmark	1047 – 1076	29 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Harald Hen	1076 – 1080	4 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Canute IV of Denmark	1080 – 1086	6 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Olaf I of Denmark	1086 – 1095	9 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Eric I of Denmark	1095 – 1103	8 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Niels	1104 – 1134	30 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Eric II of Denmark	1134 – 1137	3 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	nephew or niece
Eric III of Denmark	1137 – 1146	9 years	ended otherwise, as coded — neither deposed nor a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	nephew or niece
Sweyn III of Denmark	1146 – 1154	8 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Canute V of Denmark	1147 – 1157	10 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Valdemar I of Denmark	1154 – 1182	28 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Canute VI of Denmark	1182 – 1202	20 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Valdemar II of Denmark	1202 – 1241	39 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Valdemar the Young	1215 – 1231	16 years	died by accidentWikidata's manner of death	child
Eric IV of Denmark	1241 – 1250	9 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Abel, King of Denmark	1250 – 1252	2 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Christopher I of Denmark	1252 – 1259	7 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Eric V of Denmark	1259 – 1286	27 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Eric VI of Denmark	1286 – 1319	33 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Christopher II of Denmark	1320 – 1326	6 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	sibling
Valdemar III of Denmark	1326 – 1329	3 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Christopher II of Denmark	1329 – 1332	3 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Valdemar IV of Denmark	1340 – 1375	35 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Olaf II of Denmark	1376 – 1387	11 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	grandchild
Margaret I of Denmark	1387 – 1412	25 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	parent
Erik of Pomerania	1396 – 1439	43 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Christopher of Bavaria	1440 – 1448	8 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	nephew or niece
Christian I of Denmark	1448 – 1481	33 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Hans, King of Denmark	1481 – 1513	32 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Christian II of Denmark	1513 – 1523	10 years	deposed or killedcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Frederick I of Denmark	1523 – 1533	10 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell
Christian III of Denmark	1534 – 1559	25 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Frederick II of Denmark	1559 – 1588	29 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Christian IV of Denmark	1588 – 1648	60 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Frederick III of Denmark	1648 – 1670	22 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Christian V of Denmark	1670 – 1699	29 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Frederick IV of Denmark	1699 – 1730	31 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Christian VI	1730 – 1746	16 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Frederick V of Denmark	1746 – 1766	20 years	died a natural deathcoded by Kokkonen & Sundell	child
Christian VII	1766 – 1808	42 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death	child
Frederick VI of Denmark	1808 – 1839	31 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death	child
Christian VIII	1839 – 1848	9 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death
Frederick VII of Denmark	1848 – 1863	15 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death	child
Christian IX	1863 – 1906	43 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death
Frederick VIII of Denmark	1906 – 1912	6 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death	child
Christian X	1912 – 1947	35 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death	child
Frederik IX	1947 – 1972	25 years	died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death	child
Margrethe II	1972 – 2024	52 years	resignedWikidata's end cause on the term	child
Frederik X	2024 – in office	in office since 2024	still in office	child

65 rulers, 63 with terms dated as terms, covering 770 – 2024. Median reign 16 years. 19 of 65 handovers irregular - a killing, a deposition, a rival claimant, a rising or a coup beside it. A blank in the last column means no kin on record, which is coverage, never “unrelated”.

Heads of government

The line of Prime Minister of Denmark, drawn and never measured: a cabinet is not a reign.

Birgitte Nyborg Christensen	undated
Adam Wilhelm Moltke	1848 – 1852
Christian Albrecht Bluhme	1852 – 1853
Anders Sandøe Ørsted	1853 – 1854
Peter Georg Bang	1854 – 1856
Carl Christoffer Georg Andræ	1856 – 1857
Carl Christian Hall	1857 – 1859
Carl Edvard Rotwitt	1859 – 1860
Carl Christian Hall	1860 – 1863
Ditlev Gothard Monrad	1863 – 1864
Christian Albrecht Bluhme	1864 – 1865
Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs	1865 – 1870
Ludvig Holstein-Holsteinborg	1870 – 1874
Christen Andreas Fonnesbech	1874 – 1875
Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup	1875 – 1894
Tage Reedtz-Thott	1894 – 1897
Hugo Egmont Hørring	1897 – 1900
Hannibal Sehested	1900 – 1901
Johan Henrik Deuntzer	1901 – 1905
Jens Christian Christensen	1905 – 1908
Niels Neergaard	1908 – 1909
Carl Theodor Zahle	1909 – 1910
Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg	1909 – 1909
Klaus Berntsen	1910 – 1913
Carl Theodor Zahle	1918 – 1920
Niels Neergaard	1920 – 1924
Michael Pedersen Friis	1920 – 1920
Otto Liebe	1920 – 1920
Thorvald Stauning	1924 – 1926
Thomas Madsen-Mygdal	1926 – 1929
Thorvald Stauning	1929 – 1942
Vilhelm Buhl	1942 – 1942
Erik Scavenius	1942 – 1943
Knud Kristensen	1945 – 1947
Vilhelm Buhl	1945 – 1945
Hans Hedtoft	1947 – 1950
Erik Eriksen	1950 – 1953
Hans Hedtoft	1953 – 1955
H. C. Hansen	1955 – 1960
Viggo Kampmann	1960 – 1962
Jens Otto Krag	1962 – 1968
Hilmar Baunsgaard	1968 – 1971
Jens Otto Krag	1971 – 1972
Anker Jørgensen	1972 – 1973
Poul Hartling	1973 – 1975
Anker Jørgensen	1975 – 1982
Poul Schlüter	1982 – 1993
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen	1993 – 2001
Anders Fogh Rasmussen	2001 – 2009
Lars Løkke Rasmussen	2009 – 2011
Helle Thorning-Schmidt	2011 – 2015
Lars Løkke Rasmussen	2015 – 2019
Mette Frederiksen	2019 – …

Ground held, by year

km² inside its borders as the borders dataset draws them, measured on an equal-area grid; a step series, held between the years the dataset maps.

56,900 km² in 950, 2.26 million km² in 2000; at its largest 2.26 million km² in 1950. Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0.

Flags and arms, in order

Each symbol with the years its own statement gives; the timeline flies the one of the year on screen.

coat of arms, undatedNational coat of arms of Denmark · CC BY-SA 3.0
coat of arms, undatedNational Coat of arms of Denmark no crown · CC BY-SA 3.0 · User:Galico ; User:Derfel73
flag, from 1748Flag of Denmark · Public domain

What happened within it, by century

Every row the atlas hosts under this state, by the century it began in: wars and battles in red, risings, regime changes and massacres beside them, everything else in grey. A tall bar is a century the record is full for, which is partly a fact about Wikipedia.

800 – 8994 rows

Gorm the Old · ruler · 890 – 958
Harthacnut I of Denmark · ruler · 857 – 934
Gudfred · ruler · 800 – 810
Hemming of Denmark · ruler · 800 – 812

900 – 9991 row

Harald Bluetooth · ruler · 911 – 985

1000 – 10992 rows

Magnus the Good · ruler · 1024 – 1047
Ingibiorg Finnsdottir · person · 1050 – 1069

1100 – 11991 row · 1 wars and battles

Battle of Grathe Heath · battle · 1157

1200 – 12993 rows · 2 wars and battles

Battle of Wesenberg · battle · 1268
St. Lucia's flood · disaster · 1287
Battle of Bornhöved · battle · 1227

1300 – 13992 rows

Margaret I of Denmark · ruler · 1353 – 1412
Saint Marcellus's flood · disaster · 1362

1400 – 14993 rows

Christian II of Denmark · ruler · 1481 – 1559
Frederick I of Denmark · ruler · 1471 – 1533
Treaty of Ribe · treaty · 1460

1500 – 15994 rows · 2 wars and battles

Frederick II of Denmark · ruler · 1534 – 1588
Christian III of Denmark · ruler · 1503 – 1559
Northern Seven Years' War · war · 1563 – 1570
Count's Feud · war · 1534 – 1536

1600 – 169925 rows · 18 wars and battles · 1 risings, regime changes and massacres

Frederick III of Denmark · ruler · 1609 – 1670
Frederick IV of Denmark · ruler · 1671 – 1730
Christian VI · ruler · 1699 – 1746
Treaty of Roskilde · treaty · 1658
Treaty of Copenhagen · treaty · 1660
Battle of the Sound · battle · 1658
Burchardi flood · disaster · 1634
Battle of Dessau Bridge · battle · 1626

and 17 more in the atlas.

1700 – 179915 rows · 8 wars and battles

Christian VII · ruler · 1749 – 1808
Laki · disaster · 1783
Peace of Travendal · treaty · 1700
Christmas Flood of 1717 · disaster · 1717
Treaty of Frederiksborg · treaty · 1720
Battle of Gadebusch · battle · 1712
Carolean Death March · battle · 1719
Battle of Dogger Bank · battle · 1781

and 7 more in the atlas.

1800 – 189923 rows · 12 wars and battles · 1 risings, regime changes and massacres

Max Planck · scientist · 1858 – 1947
Sigrid Undset · writer · 1882 – 1949
The Little Mermaid · literature · 1837
Niels Henrik Abel · scientist · 1802 – 1829
The Emperor's New Clothes · literature · 1837
Hjalmar Schacht · politician · 1877 – 1970
Second Schleswig War · war · 1864
Treaty of Kiel · treaty · 1814

and 15 more in the atlas.

1900 – 19991 row

Halldór Laxness · philosopher · 1902 – 1998

2000 – 20993 rows

COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark · plague · 2020
Hoyvík Agreement · treaty · 2005
COVID-19 pandemic in the Faroe Islands · plague · 2020

Among all states

Each measure against the states that carry it, never against all of them: a bar is the share of those states below this one.

How long it stood1,226 years
stood longer than 98% of 3,187 states with a recorded end or still standing.
The most ground it held2,256,000 km²
held more ground at its peak than 92% of 1,465 states with a border in Cliopatria.
Wars recorded per century0.4
had more wars on record per century than 90% of 3,187 states, counting the wars the atlas hosts under each.
How long a reign lasted, at the median16 years
had longer reigns, at the median, than 51% of 967 states whose dated line can carry a median.
Rulers on record65
has more rulers on record than 99% of 1,968 states with a line of rulers.

Open in the atlas

On the timeline, 677 – 2149, with everything that stood beside it.
On the map in 1946, live: scrub the year and watch its borders move.
Investigate it: what led to it, what came of it, and its succession analysed.

Wikidata Q35 (CC0) · borders Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0 · coast and rivers Natural Earth · symbols from Wikimedia Commons, each credited above · data built 2026-10-06 · Pastlas v2.9.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.